Dream Theater Breaks Fourth Wall on New Live DVD
Dream Theater experienced a homecoming when it played the Boston Opera House earlier this year and The Berklee College of Music Orchestra and Choir made a guest appearance. The band has a deep association with Berklee. Guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung are Berklee alumni. Drummer Mike Mangini was a professor at the school before joining Dream Theater. The...
The Stanley Clarke Band Plays it Happy on “Up”
Jazz instrumentalists have the luxury of playing music all over the emotional scale, says superstar jazz bassist Stanley Clarke. That might mean pieces that are way up, way down, or esoteric. You would be right if you guessed that his latest album with The Stanley Clarke Band, , is on the cheerier end of that scale. Why did he go...
Mr. Big’s Classic Lineup Releases “…The Stories We Could Tell”
Feel the need to hear some new music from Billy Sheehan and Mr. Big? Consider that need sated. Sheehan and the rest of the original lineup of Mr. Big (including vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert and drummer Pat Torpey) reformed in 2009, and is the second release (2011’s What If… was the first) from the revitalized rockers. The opening...
Al Gare Makes Imelda May’s Rockabilly Sound Swing on “Tribal”
Question: What would rockabilly be without the bass? Answer: Nothing. Al Gare, who holds down the low end in Imelda May’s band perfectly proves the point with a swinging sound that underpins the Irish rockabilly singer’s latest album, . Gare’s playing is an absolutely essential part of May’s sound, as you can easily hear in “It’s Good to Be Alive,”...
Steve Swallow and Christian Muthspiel Duet on “Simple Songs”
Top jazz bassist Steve Swallow and Austrian composer/trombonist and pianist Christian Muthspiel have teamed up for an album of duets. While the pair have played together in the Christian Muthspiel 4, is their first as a duo. The pair eschew electronic effects on the record and let the songs develop in their own simple, yet refined way. Muthispiel composed all...
Andrew Ford Releases “50 R&B Bass Grooves You Must Know”
Bassist and educator Andrew Ford wants to help you find your groove with his latest video course, . Ford has taught at the Musician’s Institute and colleges and played with a wealth of R&B artists including Al Jarreau, James Ingram, Whitney Houston, and Chaka Khan. He’s also the man behind the Blues Bass Survival Guide video course. His career began...
“Songs From Tsongas” from Yes Reissued in Special Edition
A performance from the last tour featuring the classic Yes lineup of bassist Chris Squire, singer Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Alan White, has been released in a special edition on CD, DVD and Blu-ray. The Songs From Tsongas special edition DVD and Blu-ray packages not only capture a previously released show at the Tsongas...
Tribute to The Call’s Michael Been, Featuring his Son, Released in Deluxe CD/DVD Set
For one night, powerful-yet-underrated ’80s rockers The Call reformed in an astonishingly special way. On April 19, 2013, the band members stepped onstage at The Troubadour in West Hollywood to pay tribute to lead vocalist and bassist Michael Been, who had died in 2010 of a heart attack. Been’s bassist/vocalist son, Robert Levon Been, of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club stood...
Deep Purple Releases Full Graz Concert on “Graz 1975”
Fans of Glenn Hughes and Deep Purple (Mark III) can hear the band’s full April 3, 1975 concert at the Liebenauer ice rink in Graz, Austria on , another installment in the The Official Deep Purple (Overseas) Live Series. It’s the first time the show has been released in its entirety. The show was one of the last for the...
Rush to Release 40th Anniversary DVD Collector’s Set
If you can’t get enough of watching Geddy Lee and Rush play live, then a DVD collector’s set of the trio’s performances being released on Nov. 11 should inspire extraordinary glee as it collects some of the legendary band’s best live moments in one place. The R40 – 40th Anniversary Collector’s Box Set features live performances from all four decades...
Death from Above 1979 Returns with First Album in a Decade
Death from Above 1979 has returned after a decade-long absence. arrives 10 years after the dance/punk duo released its debut LP, 2004’s You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. The music is the first to appear from the Canadian pair (bassist/synth player/backup vocalist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger) since it reunited in 2011, following a 2006 breakup. There’s not...
Inspired Grateful Dead Show with Branford Marsalis Now Available in Official Version
If not for bassist Phil Lesh, the Grateful Dead’s March 29, 1990 show at the Nassau Coliseum wouldn’t have been quite as noteworthy as it was. On that night, Lesh invited jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis to sit in for one tune — “Birdsong.” He played it, and then, with the band’s encouragement, stayed for the entire second set. In the...