Billy Sheehan Appears on “Guitars for Wounded Warriors”
Emmy-award winning composer and guitarist Brian Tarquin has gathered some “Heavy Friends” to create the album, , featuring instrumental music inspired by America’s soldiers. For the record, Tarquin, owner of Jungle Room Studios, called upon a host of metal guitarists, including bass player Billy Sheehan. Sheehan’s work is featured on the album’s opening track, “Black Hawk.” “I had a blast...
Wonderlush EP Offers Taste of Funktastic Album to Come
Wonderlush’s funk sound is in full display on the , which features five versions (the original and four remixes) of the song “Jam” from their upcoming debut album. Propelled by terrific grooves from one half of the duo, bassist Punk Pappa, “Jam” is quite the… jam. With sounds like these, it’s not surprising the group has opened for George Clinton...
Swedish Trio Dirty Loops Releases Debut Album, “Loopified”
Dirty Loops, the Swedish trio known for its wild cover versions of songs by Justin Bieber, Adele and Justin Timberlake, has released its first album, . The band is still somewhat amazed by its success, which led to the creation of the record, according to bassist Henrik Linder. “We thought the combination of fusion and pop was so unsexy that...
New Stanley Clarke Band Album, “UP”, Set for Late September Release
Jazz-fusion bass virtuoso Stanley Clarke’s latest is set to drop September 30. UP, from The Stanley Clarke Band, promises a blend of electric and acoustic bass work from the legendary Clarke. Clarke’s former bandmates, pianist/keyboardist Ruslan Sirota and drummer Ronald Bruner Jr. appear on the album being released by Mack Avenue Records, as do acoustic pianist Beka Gochiashivili and drummer...
Mr. Big Says New Album Set for a September Release
Mr. Big has kept the reunion of its original lineup going and announced it will release a new album in September. Featuring Billy Sheehan on bass, the new album, …The Stories We Could Tell, debuts on September 23. The rest of the classic Mr. Big lineup — the one that produced the band’s massive early 1990s hit, “To Be With...
Simon Phillips Releases “Protocol II”, Featuring Ernest Tibbs
Famed drummer Simon Phillips, known for his work as both a session player and in Toto, has released his first solo project in 14 years — the jazz/rock/fusion instrumental , featuring Ernest Tibbs on bass. Tibbs is a renowned session player (David Benoit, David Garfield, Pat Kelley and Kevin Toney) who also teaches at the Musician’s Institute. Phillips says he...
George Mraz Featured on “A Touch of Radiance”
Double bassist George Mraz, known for his work with a slew of jazz greats (Oscar Peterson, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, and Carmen McRae, just to name a few) has lent his talents to pianist Yelena Eckemoff’s latest, . The album, which is attributed to the Yelena Eckemoff Quartet, is the first to feature Eckemoff...
MonoNeon Envisions John Cage on Soul Train
Ever thought about what it would have been like if avant-garde composer John Cage had performed on the funkiest show on TV back in the 1970s? Well bassist/experimental composer Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas Jr. has. And he, with the help of microtonal guitarist and composer, Michael Vick, has created a 5-track EP called, appropriately enough, John Cage on Soul Train. MonoNeon,...
SOJA Releases “Amid the Noise and Haste”
D.C.-based reggae band SOJA has released its sixth album, . Featuring bassist/vocalist Bobby Lee, SOJA’s latest is the followup to its most successful record, 2012’s Strength to Survive. The record features not only the work of Jamaican producer Supa Dups (Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Eminem) but also guest appearances by Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Michael Franti. Amid the Noise and...
Spoon Returns with First Album in Four Years, “They Want My Soul”
Spoon’s eighth album, , is the band’s first in four years. It also marks the Texas band’s shift from an indie label (Merge) to a major (Loma Vista, an imprint of Universal Music Group) and the addition of a new member — Alex Fischel on guitar and keyboards. During that four-year hiatus, bassist Rob Pope (also of The Get Up...
Saxman Gerald Albright Shows Off Bass Chops on “Slam Dunk”
Gerald Albright is well-known as a jazz saxophonist, but on his latest album, , he’s also revealing to the world his abilities as a bassist. “A lot of people don’t know that I play bass, flute and some of the other instruments… so we decided to make it – no pun intended – a slam dunk project, and bring all...
Darkest Hour Release Self-Titled Album
Darkest Hour’s includes songwriting with an otherworldly quality, courtesy of its two newest members, drummer Travis Orbin and bassist Aaron Deal (formerly of Salome), according to guitarist Michael Schleibaum. It’s the 11th album for the D.C.-area metal/hardcore outfit. The single “By the Starlight” provides ample evidence what Schleibaum was talking about, concerning the songwriting. Darkest Hour is available on and...