Ron Carter Records Trio Album With Bad Plus Pianist
Ethan Iverson, pianist for The Bad Plus, always wanted to make an album with the prolific bassist/cellist/composer Ron Carter. And so now he has on The Purity of the Turf, which sees Iverson working in a trio with Carter and drummer drummer Nasheet Waits. The record is on Criss Cross records, which releases jazz recordings made by groups working together...
Aidan Hampson Releases Diva Bass Line Transcriptions
Top bass transcriber Aidan Hampson has turned his attention to the divas, releasing a book, “The Best Diva Basslines,” devoted to the bass lines the have supported the work of some of popular music’s most celebrated female singers. The track list spans more than 50 years and range from Etta James’ jazz classic “At Last” to Adele’s “Set Fire to...
Pickpocket’s “Sojourn” Was a Long Time Coming
Craig Strain’s band Pickpocket has released its debut album, Sojourn, after a decade’s worth of work. Strain, who is the band’s leader, primary songwriter and bassist, first began playing bass at age 14. He’s worked in a variety of genres throughout his career, including jazz, hip hop, folk, pop, rock, country, rnb, soul and funk. And now, he’s celebrating the...
Matt Brewer Returns With Quintet Effort
Jazz bassist Matt Brewer (Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer) leads a quintet on his latest recording, Unspoken. All the members of the quintet are top-notch players and improvisers younger than 40: tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel, pianist Aaron Parks, guitarist Charles Altura and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. Together, they bring to life seven original Brewer compositions, and their versions of Bill...
Robert Glasper Experiment’s Latest Is A Product of Equals
The Robert Glasper Experiment’s exploration of jazz and hip-hop continues on the group’s latest, ArtScience. The band’s bassist, Derrick Hodge, whose sophomore solo album The Second dropped in August (check out the No Treble interview), not only holds down the low end, but also sings one of the record’s first singles, “Find You,” according to Billboard. The core band members...
Nenad Vasilic’s Latest Is a Trio Effort
Serbian bassist Nenad Vasilic, known for his blend of jazz and Balkan styles, has released his first trio recording, Wet Paint. Vasilic, who previously recorded in slightly larger groups, focused on walking the line between vintage and modern sounds with his trio and even reached into his own past in the attempt. The album includes a cover of his favorite...
Etienne Mbappe Releases Fourth Solo Album
Etienne Mbappe handles both bass and lead vocals on his fourth solo effort, How Near How Far, released under the name, Etienne Mbappe & the Prophets. Mbappe (John McLaughlin’s 4th Dimension, Joe Zawinul, Robben Ford, Slif Keita, Ray Charles, Steps Ahead, Bill Evans) has focused more on instrumentation than vocals on this record. “The concept of the Prophets,” Mbappé said,...
Berklee Bass Professors Craft Bass Instruction Book
Three Berklee College of Music bass professors have written a new book about playing jazz bass, simply called Berklee Jazz Bass: Acoustic & Electric. The writers – bass chair emeritus Rich Appleman and bass professors Whit Browne and Bruce Gertz – are longtime faculty members at the Boston college, and between them have mentored artists like Esperanza Spalding, Bryan Beller,...
Led Zeppelin’s BBC Sessions Expands in Revised Release
Led Zeppelin has re-released its 1997 BBC sessions collection as the The Complete BBC Sessions, featuring eight previously unreleased sessions from BBC radio. All the recordings of the band, featuring bassist John Paul Jones, were captured during BBC radio performances between 1969 and 1971. The previously unreleased recordings include three performances from a 1969 session once believed to be lost....
Shirley Horn’s Trio Featured on Newly Released 1988 Live Set
A live performance from the late, great jazz vocalist and pianist Shirley Horn has been remastered and released as Live at the 4 Queens. The May 2, 1988 show at the 4 Queens Hotel & Casino featured Horn in her longstanding trio of bassist Charles Ables (d. 2001, and who switched from guitar to bass to join her group) and...
Devin Townsend Project Offers “Transcendence”
The Devin Townsend Project has released its seventh studio album, Transcendence. The record, from the progressive metal group led by Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Steve Vai) features the huge, epic sound for which Townsend is known, as well as his take on the Ween song, “Transdermal Celebration.” The band has double bass cred this time out, too, featuring not only...
Saltman Knowles Releases First Album in Five Years
The story of baseball’s longest game, and the book written about it – Dan Barry’s Bottom of the 33rd, inspired jazz outfit Saltman Knowles’ latest effort, Almost. The book reflects the players’ commitment and dedication to the game, even if they weren’t destined to make it in the major league (the game was a minor league contest). They continued to...