Buzz
New Film to Feature Duff McKagan’s Loaded
Seattle filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlain is gearing up to make a movie based on a new album by Duff McKagan’s Loaded, which is soon to be completed. The album is yet to be titled, though a single from it is being played in rotation during the MLB World Series coverage. McKagan, who played bass for 12 years in Guns N’...
Reader Spotlight: Carter Fox
Meet Carter Fox a bassist from the greater Philadelphia area who is studying at Drexel University, and our player in the spotlight for November 2, 2010. Bio: Hailing from Lansdale, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia, 19 year old Carter Fox has been playing the upright and electric basses for the past decade and has played in every style of band...
Album Review: The Bad Plus – Never Stop
Over a decade since their formation, The Bad Plus (known for their ingenious jazz takes on rock, pop, electronica and contemporary classical tunes) have released their first record entirely consisting of originals, Never Stop. The piano, bass and drums trio have a special empathy from their decade together and make a great range of sounds creating their own genre drawing...
Owen Biddle Sets Record For Most Wah Pedals Used On a Bass
Owen Biddle of the Roots currently holds the record for most Wah pedals used on a bass at one time, according to the open source platformed Universal Record Database. Apparently he tried for six, but a bad cable cut him down to two. Who out there is gonna challenge him?
Charlie Haden Releases “Sophisticated Ladies”
Charlie Haden has just released latest album with Quartet West, entitled Sophisticated Ladies. The title is a play on the Duke Ellington tune, as the 12 tracks feature jazz standards sung by the genre’s best female vocalists, including Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones, Renée Fleming, and Haden’s wife, Ruth Cameron. Haden, who had a long standing association...
Yes Signs New Record Deal, Album Due Next Year
Legendary prog-rock band Yes has signed to a new worldwide recording deal with Frontiers Records, based out of Italy. The group will be recording their first new studio album in nearly a decade, following 2001’s Magnification. According to the release, fans can expect a release date in 2011, sometime before summer. The current Yes band members include founding bassist Chris...
Common Upright Bass Tunings (Part 2 of 2)
This is part 2 of the Common Upright Bass Tunings series. This time, we’ll cover 5 String Tunings, C extensions and some practice suggestions. Check out Part 1. Five String Tunings As long as there have been basses, there have been basses with 5 strings. Traditionally, the extra string has been used to extend the range of the instrument lower....
Esperanza Spalding: I Can’t Help It (Michael Jackson Cover)
Last year, during a live performance at Le New Morning in Paris, Esperanza Spalding performed her own arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It”. She’s performing the tune on her Godin 5-string fretless bass.
Rewind: Cliff Burton and James Jamerson Isolated Bass, Michael Anthony Opens Up, The Best Bass Lessons, Gear & More
Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of October 24 – 30, 2010. Video: Metallica: For Whom The Bell Tolls (Cliff Burton Isolated Bass) Top 10: The Best Bass Lessons (September 2010) Player News: Michael Anthony Opens Up on VH1?s That Metal Show Ask Damian Erskine: Working with Tricky Drummers Gear...
Todd Smallie and Yonrico Scott Teach Jazz To Kids
Here’s a clip of bassist Todd Smallie and drummer Yonrico Scott laying it down during cultural day at Oakgrove Elementary School. The two, who make up part of the rhythm section for the Derek Trucks band, blow through the jazz standards “Tenor Madness”, “All Blues” and “The Chicken”. Notice the Grammy on the desk…
Michael Formanek Releases First Album in 12 Years
Twelve years after his last album, jazz bassist Michael Formanek has released his fifth CD as a leader, entitled The Rub and the Spare Change. The project started Formanek recruited a few musicians just to play with, and ended up being a recording of his quartet featuring saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver. “Beforehand, I just...
The Fonk Record: Wayman Tisdale’s Final Release
Nearly a year and a half after the passing of basketball star and jazz bassist Wayman Tisdale comes the release of his final album, The Fonk Record. The 11-song album was 12 years in the making, with three funk legends lending support, including George Clinton, George Duke and the late Ali Woodson. Tisdale collaborated over those 12 years with Derek...