Fender Announces 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass
Fender is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Jazz Bass model with a special edition that brings together features of the past and present. Though the style has remained mostly unchanged, the Jazz Bass has had some tweaking through its first 50 years, especially during the ’60s and ’70s. The Fender 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass features ’60s-era styled finish in...
The Jaco Pastorius Bass Method Book
Hal Leonard has announced the release of the Jaco Pastorius Bass Method. The method is penned by Ray Peterson, a bassist who was one of Jaco’s private students. The book/CD package will be comprised of note-for-note transcriptions of songs and solos along with detailed notes on the technique and theory behind the music. Also included are lessons that were gathered...
New Release from Ron Brendle and Mike Holstein: Rhizome
Jazz bassists Mike Holstein and Ron Brendle have released a new album as a duo. The album, called Rhizome, was released this month by Brendle’s LoNote Records, based in North Carolina. Brendle, who studied with Charlie Haden at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Smyrna, Florida, has performed along side jazz legends such as Charlie Byrd, Clark Terry, and...
Eric Avery Quits Janes Addiction
Though it may not come as a surprise, it is official: Eric Avery has once again quit Jane’s Addiction. The bassist, who rejoined the band in 2008, announced it via his Twitter profile. “That’s it,” He writes. “With equal parts regret and relief, the janes addiction experiment is at an end.” This came just hours after Jane’s Addiction finished its...
Sublime with Rome Announce Tour Dates
Sublime fans will be pleased to hear that the controversy surrounding the band’s name has been resolved, and original members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh will be hitting the road in April with new frontman Rome Ramirez, under the banner “Sublime with Rome”. Fourteen years after the death of founding member Bradley Nowell, the group is excited to be officially...
Dave Holland releases new Archive Series of albums
Dave Holland is helping celebrate his new web site by releasing the beginning of a new set of live performances, called the Archive Series. The best part is that the Archive Series Vol. 1: The Dave Holland Quintet ‘07 is on sale for only $1 through today. The album is a previously unreleased concert recording from a 2007 European tour...
Gear Watch: Kustom KB Series Amplifiers
Kustom Amplification has introduced a brand new line of bass amps, called the KB series. The line consists of five combo amps, ranging from 10 to 200 watts, and a 200-watt head, which is available as rack-mountable or in a standalone wooden cabinet. Kustom describes the KB series as based on producing great tone, without “useless bells and whistles.” Each...
Korn’s Fieldy Puts Finishing Touches On His “Not-So-Heavy” Solo Album
Korn bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu has announced that he is nearing completion on a new solo album, entitled Bassically, which he plans on releasing later this year. He says the music will be a sharp contrast to the heavy sound he is known for. In an interview with AOL’s Noisecreep, he said, “I’d say it’s like a jazz fusion funk...
10th Annual Summer Camp Music Festival to feature Victor Wooten and more
The Summer Camp music festival to be held in Chillicothe, Illinois promises to be another groovy, bass-filled weekend, with such acts as Victor Wooten, moe., Gov’t Mule, Railroad Earth, Steel Pulse, and many more. The festival, which is celebrating its 10th year running, is a green event which seeks to “reduce [its] carbon footprint, support local business and reduce, reuse,...
James LoMenzo keeps busy after Megadeth, with Hydrogyn
Metal head James LoMenzo has been keeping busy, despite having just left the ranks of metal legend Megadeth. LoMenzo will be recording on the new Hydrogyn album, sharing bass duties with Jake Wolf. The album is in the process of being recorded, and will be ready for release this summer, along with a tour by the band. LoMenzo’s resume also...
Gear Watch: Warwick Thumb SC Single Cutaway
Warwick has announced the Thumb SC single cutaway bass. The German made bass, which is their Thumb NT model mixed with a single cutaway design, is tailored towards jazz, funk, and R&B settings. The Thumb SC features a specially designed passive MEC soap-bar humbucker and active MEC 3-band electronics with 2 toggle switches for coil splitting. The body is US...
Bassist Billy Cox Featured on Experience Hendrix Tribute Tour
The Experience Hendrix Tour will be hitting the road in March featuring a who’s who of rock and blues artists, including bassist Billy Cox, who played with Hendrix in the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Band of Gypsys. Other performers include Joe Satriani, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brad Whitford (of Aerosmith), Doyle Bramhall II, Ernie Isley, Living...