Buzz
Esperanza Spalding Announces “Thank You October” Tour Dates
Esperanza Spalding will be celebrating her birth month with a string of tour dates. The “Thank You October” tour will be a two-week outing focusing on the East Coast with a single Canadian show in Toronto. Spalding, who turns 30 this year, will get the party started at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut before covering New England and heading...
Tanglewood Introduces Updated TW155-A Acoustic Bass Guitar
Tanglewood Guitars has revamped their Premier series of acoustic instruments including the TW155-A bass. The lineup’s third generation is defined by solid AA Sitka spruce tops, mahogany back and sides, and a natural satin finish. The TW155-A acoustic bass guitar has a rosewood fingerboard and matching bridge. Its body is also bound in rosewood and maple. Tanglewood fits the bass...
Jesús Rico Pérez: The Enormous Room
Bassist Jesús Rico Pérez is back with another superb Michael Manring cover. This time he takes on “The Enormous Room”, which appeared on Manring’s Thonk. The last time we featured one of Jesús’ Manring covers, we reached out to Michael to get his take. He was impressed. I bet he would be with this one as well.
Rhythm and Swing: Rodney Whitaker Releases “When We Find Ourselves Alone”
It’s all about the rhythm for Rodney Whitaker, the double bassist and head of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University who has released his eighth album, . The record features five originals and six arrangements of others’ work. But in the latter case, even standards become new when a different kind of rhythm is employed, Whitaker says in a short...
Bass Players to Know: Richard Davis
As a college student, I spent many an afternoon roaming the streets of New York City, finding new routes to take me from my hole-in-the-wall apartment to the halls of academia, and creating new musical playlists along the way. I developed a healthy obsession to certain songwriters… Van Morrison, Janis Ian, Paul Simon, and even dabbled in some West Village...
Cory Henry and Michael League: “Yesterday” and “Looking Out For Me”
Soul is pouring over in this video of Snarky Puppy members Cory Henry and Michael League playing a workshop at the Escola de Música Luciano Alf in Rio De Janeiro. The duo doesn’t need a drummer to get a fat groove going on the classic Beatles song “Yesterday,” which they later morph into Kirk Franklin’s “Looking Out for Me.”
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...
Adrenaline Mob Switches Bassists, Announces Tour
In a strange turn of events, rock supergroup Adrenaline Mob has announced that bassist John Moyer has been replaced by former Tantric bassist Erik Leonhardt. Moyer, who is also a member of Disturbed, left the group after confusion about the band’s recent tour announcement. Adrenaline Mob posted the news about their upcoming tour on social media, and Moyer posted on...
Out of the Black: An Interview with Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr
Sometimes great things come in small packages. That’s true in the case of Royal Blood, a British rock duo that gets a gargantuan sound that rivals four or five-piece bands. One of the key ingredients to that sound is the massive bass tone delivered by Mike Kerr. Kerr started Royal Blood with drummer Ben Thatcher in early 2012 after discovering...
Zander Zon: “Single-Handed” Solo Bass
Last month, Zander Zon sent me a note with some bad news. The talented bassist injured his left hand and could barely move his thumb. At first, he tried to play through it, but decided to stop and take care. He can’t pick up anything with his left hand now, making playing bass impossible. As the days passed, Zander had...
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...
Ibanez Adds New Color Finishes to SR Premium Series Basses
Ibanez stepped up its SR series in 2011 with the SR Premium, which took the company’s flagship model and gave it upgraded features. The series has traditionally kept in the vein of boutique basses with only natural finishes, but Ibanez has announced that the SR Premium 1400E and 1405E will be getting new color options of Deep Ocean Flat and...