Hal Leonard Publishes Dream Theater Bass Anthology
John Myung’s playing in Dream Theater is hard to duplicate, but the from Hal Leonard aims to help you do just that, with transcriptions of 14 of the progressive metal band’s most popular songs as played by the iconic bassist. You can try your hand at replicating his technique, particularly his tapping style on “Metropolis-Part 1”, with the help of...
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band Releases “Life in the Bubble”
“Your life will be greatly enriched” by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band’s sixth album, . Or at least that’s what bandleader Goodwin has to say. The 10-song collection (seven of which are originals) features the Grammy-winning band, featuring Rick Shaw on bass (he also plays with Johnny Mathis, Bill Holman, and Chick Corea,) in top form. Goodwin said the players...
Oz Noy Releases “Twisted Blues Vol. 2” with Will Lee and Roscoe Beck
Bassists Will Lee (The Late Show with David Letterman) and Roscoe Beck (Leonard Cohen, Robben Ford, The Dixie Chicks, Eric Johnson) provide the low end for singular guitarist/composer Oz Noy on his sixth album, . The album is a follow-up to the 2011 release of Volume 1, also featuring Lee and Beck. An Israeli native who has called the U.S....
Mark Egan Returns With “About Now”
Mark Egan (Pat Metheny Group, Sting, Arcadia, Roger Daltry and Joan Osborne) is showing off his stellar fretless bass chops on About Now, his seventh album. Egan, a contemporary jazz composer, recorded the instrumental album as part of a trio featuring Danny Gottlieb on drums and Mitchel Forman on keyboards, both musicians with whom he has recorded before — Gottlieb...
Island Jazz, Featuring Linley Marthe, Released Debut Album
Linley Marthe, the bass virtuoso from Mauritius, has teamed up with vocalist Monika Njava in the new world music/jazz hybrid group, Island Jazz, which has released its . Njava sings in English and several dialects of Malagasy, the language of her home country, Madagascar, which lies west of the island of Maruitius — the birthplace of the now Paris-based Marthe,...
R.E.M. Releases MTV Unplugged Complete Sessions
R.E.M. was the only band to ever headline MTV’s acoustic “Unplugged” series twice, and now both those performances — from 1991 and 2001 – are available in a . The 1991 performances features the entire original band — vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry, while the 2001 performance occurred after Berry left the...
Down Releases “IV Part II”
Down has followed up the 2012 EP Down IV, Part One, fittingly enough with the 6-song set, . The group, which includes pedigrees from Pantera and Corrosion of Conformity, features a new guitarist, Bobby Landgraf. And the new EP, recorded at bandleader Philip Anselmo’s New Orleans home studio, also known as “Nodferatu’s Lair,” is full of the heavy riff the...
Incognito Returns with “Amplified Soul”
Legendary jazz funk band Incognito is back with its 16th studio album, , and as the records have since 2005, the lineup features phenomenal bassist Francis Hylton (Chaka Khan, Lulu, Miki Imai.) Although Incognito is 16 albums into their long career, the band’s sound remains as vibrant as ever, as the single “Hats (Make Me Wanna Holler)” – featuring Tony...
Judith Owen Releases “Ebb & Flow” with Leland Sklar
Judith Owen’s latest album, , evokes the sounds of 1970’s singer-songwriter troubadours, so it’s just fitting that bass legend Leland Sklar, who played on James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender” and countless other hits, is providing the low end on the record. Owen, a jazz-rock singer and her band, which also includes superstar sidemen Russ Kunkel...
Bill Laurance Releases “Flint”, Featuring Michael League
Snarky Puppy lovers, a cool thing is about to happen for you — the group’s bassist, Michael League, has produced, arranged, played on, and even released the debut album of the band’s UK-based keyboardist Bill Laurance. The album, Flint, on League’s GroundUP label, is available in a CD/DVD combo set, which is not only filled with great music, but also...
WAMI, Featuring Marco Mendoza, Releases “Kill The King”
WAMI (White Appice Mendoza Iggy) – the new supergroup featuring Doogie White (Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen), Vinnie Appice (Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Dio), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake) and 16-year-old Polish newcomer Iggy Gwadera (Anti Tank Nun) on guitar – has released its debut album, . Mendoza, who was the first to connect with the young guitarist, calls the album...
Paul McCartney’s “Out There” Tour Returns To U.S.
Paul McCartney’s “Out There” Tour is set to hit the U.S. this summer. The U.S. leg opens June 14 with McCartney’s first-ever performance in Lubbock, Texas, hometown of rock and roll icon Buddy Holly. McCartney, who requested to play the city, is a well-known fan of Holly’s work and owns Holly’s music publishing catalog. The Lubbock show and dates in...