RHCP Release First Studio Album in Five Years
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have released their 11th studio album, The Getaway, the band’s first record since 2011’s I’m with You. The album was produced by Danger Mouse and mixed by Nigel Godrich, and as always, features Flea on bass. And according to radio.com, frontman Anthony Kiedis told KROQ radio’s Kevin and Bean that making the album wasn’t a...
Bill Laswell Releases EP With Funk Keyboardist Bernie Worrell
Experimental composer, bassist, producer and record label owner Bill Laswell teams with iconic Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell and Indian drummer/DJ/producer Karsh Kale on his latest EP, Funkcronomic. The album, part of “M.O.D. Technologies: The Incunabula Series” features funk-based instrumental pieces combining old- and new-school sounds that evoke a stripped-down take on Funkadelic. Check out a portion of the album’s opening...
Jaco Pastorius Play-Along Book Published
Jaco Pastorius revolutionized bass playing over the course of a tragically short life, which has been depicted in the acclaimed documentary, “JACO,” produced by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo. Now, some of Jaco’s most famous bass lines (from his solo work, tenure in Weather Report, and on songs by Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock) are part of the Hal Leonard Bass...
Motörhead Shows from Late 2015 Released on CD/DVD
Two of the final shows performed by legendary metal bandleader and bassist Lemmy Kilmister have been released in audio and video formats. Lemmy led Motörhead for 40 years and continued performing even as his health began to fail him. The shows captured on Clean Your Clock occurred on Nov. 20 and 21, 2015, in Munich, Germany, just a bit more...
Paul McCartney Releases 67-Song Set
Just a little before his 74th birthday, rock/pop icon Paul McCartney has released a retrospective set called simply, Pure McCartney. The set, in its deluxe form, includes 67 songs from all eras of the post-Beatles career of the bassist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and singer, featuring his work as a solo artist, member of Wings, and with the Fireman. However, deluxe...
Brad Mehldau Trio Releases “Blues And Ballads”
The Brad Mehldau Trio has released Blues and Ballads, its first album since 2012. The trio, led by pianist Mehldau, features highly respected contemporary jazz bassist Larry Grenadier, who is also known for his past trio work with guitarist Pat Metheny. Jeff Ballard is the trio’s drummer. Blues and Ballads sees the trio, as it did on 2012’s Where Do...
Garbage Album Features Two Guest Bassists
Garbage has released its sixth studio album, Strange Little Birds, the group’s first since 2012’s Not Your Kind of People. The band, which released its eponymous debut in 1995, has retained its original personnel throughout the years: Duke Erikson, Butch Vig, Steve Marker and vocalist Shirley Manson. All the members play a variety of instruments and produce. Vig, perhaps most...
Jaco Pastorius Big Band Import CD Available
Jaco Pastorius’ music, as played in the past and closer to the present, are the focus of Now & Then, the two-CD import set from the Jaco Pastorius Big Band. The first disc of the Japanese import is the “Then” part of the package, featuring previously unreleased takes from Jaco’s 1981 “Birthday Concert.” The second disc is primarily culled from...
Pink Floyd Begins Vinyl Reissues With 4 Early Albums
Legendary rock band Pink Floyd has started its vinyl reissue campaign of its full catalogue with four albums: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (the band’s 1967 debut), A Saucerful of Secrets, the double LP Ummagumma and the soundtrack from the film More. All the albums, pressed on 180 gram vinyl, feature Roger Waters on bass, with designs replicating...
Paul Simon’s Latest Features Two Noted Bassists
Only a few of the songs on Paul Simon’s 13th solo studio album, Stranger to Stranger, feature bass, but when the bass is used, it’s in good hands. Carlos Henriquez (Wynton Marsalis Septet) and Bakithi Kumalo (known for his work on “You Can Call Me Al” from Simon’s 1986 album, Graceland) share bass duties on the tune “The Riverbank,” with...
Volbeat Releases Sixth Album
Hard rockers Volbeat have not only a new album — its sixth, Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie — but also a new bassist, Kaspar Boye Larsen. Larsen (The Hitchcocks, The Kandidate) played with the band on its most recent tour and his bands supported Volbeat in the past. He even performed live with the group on its first European...
Hellyeah Marks Fifth Studio Release
Heavy metal supergroup Hellyeah has released its fifth studio album, Unden!able. The record its the band’s first since 2014’s Blood for Blood and the first featuring Kyle Sanders (Bloodsimple, MonstrO) on bass. (Sanders is also the brother of Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders). The band also includes Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray, former Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell and former Pantera/Damageplan drummer Vinnie...