Buzz
Bass Players To Know: Donald “Duck” Dunn
For the official launch of our Bass Players to Know series, we’re starting with the man, the legend, the ’fro: Donald “Duck” Dunn. Lets cover some of the need-to-know facts, an examination of his style, and a few key listening examples… So who is Duck Dunn, anyway? Dunn was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee and is best known for...
Adam Ben Ezra: Balagusto for Solo Double Bass
Any time Adam Ben Ezra shares a new video, I know we’re all in for a treat. This time around, Adam is performing the song “Balagusto” on his 5-string upright. It is simply remarkable how he can make it sound so much bigger than one person playing live. The track is available on Adam’s Bandcamp page.
G. Love and Special Sauce Release “Sugar”
G. Love & Special Sauce founding member, bassist Jim “Jimi Jazz” Prescott has returned to fold for a new album that marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s recorded debut. Prescott previously played with the group from 1993 through 2008. The new album, , will sound somewhat familiar to old school fans of the group known for its laid-back, bluesy,...
Bass of the Week: Anaconda Crusher Standard CX5
Facebook is great for discovering new and beautiful instruments. Our friend Russ Sargeant posted a picture of this fantastic Anaconda Crusher Standard and I was hooked. Built in England, the hand-crafted bass has some nice curves for ergonomics and aesthetics. The Crusher comes in several flavors, with the Standard version offering all of the most important features in a clean...
Robert Trujillo Talks Jaco Projects
Metallica’s Robert Trujillo never met Jaco Pastorius, but like many bassists, Trujillo is a lifelong fan. Trujillo’s ties to Jaco have been growing over the last four years, starting with obtaining Jaco’s famed Bass of Doom back in 2010. Stolen in 1986 and resurfaced in 2006, the bass was the subject of a long and frustrating legal battle before Trujillo...
Zander Zon: Braveheart Theme for Solo Bass
For Zander Zon’s 50th solo bass video, he went back to one of his favorite movies for inspiration. Zander found the soundtrack for Braveheart to be “amazingly beautiful music”, and arranged the main theme for solo bass. For this arrangement, his bass is tuned B, Eb, Db, Gb.
Andres Rotmistrovsky and Sofia Ribeiro Team Up for “Lilás”
Argentine bassist Andres Rotmistrovsky and Portuguese singer Sofia Ribeiro have teamed up to create a jazzy-Brazilian album of nothing but bass and vocal music, called . The songs hail from Brazil, Argentina and Portugal, and feature No Treble favorite Rotmistrovsky, who has worked with in the vocal/bass duet form before, with Angela Watson. The sound he and Ribeiro make is...
Choosing the Right Path for Your Music Career
Q: I’ve been weaving in and out of bands for a few years, since bassists in my town are scarce. But I rarely find a band I enjoy playing with due to either the members’ personalities or the music I end up playing. As someone who wants to make a living playing music, starting my own band – with people...
Viktor Lörincz: Return of the Boomerang
One of the most popular videos we’ve ever shared is Viktor Lörincz’s “Boomerang,” back in 2011. We even had Stuart Clayton transcribe it. Now Lörincz is back with “Return of the Boomerang,” a bass solo that builds on his previous and most popular video. This one’s got it all: slapping, tapping, chords, and of course, a deep groove.
Reader Spotlight: Harry Ostrem
Meet Harry Ostrem, a busy bassist, educator and (sometimes) Mick Jagger impersonator. He has a great story, as you’ll see. Harry is the No Treble reader in the spotlight for the week of April 21, 2014. Bio: I first picked up a bass guitar in 8th grade and continuously played in rock bands and jazz combos during my high school...
Source Audio Releases The Soundblox Hub
Source Audio has released the Soundblox Hub, a box that allows for linking up five of the company’s Soundblox 2 pedals and saving the settings on each. It utilizes MIDI Program Change and Control Change messages to save and recall up to 128 pedal “scenes” to be recalled later. “For the first time, you can save the state of your...
Charles Mingus Quintet: So Long Eric
Today we’re celebrating Charles Mingus’s birthday. Here’s a video of one of my favorite Mingus tunes, “So Long Eric,” taken from Belgium’s “Jazz Pour Tous” TV program in April 1964. The quintet’s lineup includes drummer Dannie Richmond, pianist Jaki Byard, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, and alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy, for whom the song is named. Often, the song is thought...