Buzz

1. Player News: Billy Corgan Selects New Smashing Pumpkins Bassist After holding an open audition for a bassist, Billy Corgan has announced the band’s new keeper of the low end for the Smashing Pumpkins. 2. Video: James Jamerson Isolated Bass Track: I Can’t Get Next to You James Jamerson’s isolated bass track from the Temptations’ “I Can’t Get Next to...

Warwick has released the Just-A-Nut III Brass model to their line of bass hardware. It’s a nut which builds on the Just-A-Nut series by using high quality bell brass to improve stability and minimize long-term wear. As with the others in the line, the Brass model allows for precise adjustments to the nut’s height. The Just-A-Nut III Brass model will...

Today’s featured video comes by recommendation from Ingrid Pastorius. The Bad Plus is a jazz trio including bassist Reid Anderson, drummer David King and pianist Ethan Iverson. Enjoy!

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament is joining up with the Montana Meth Project’s 2010 Paint the State art contest. The project was started to create community action programs designed to reduce the use of methamphetamine in Montana. Ament grew up in Big Sandy, Montana, where his father was mayor for 15 years and attended the University of Montana, where he...

Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge, Jeff Bradetich’s long anticipated book on Pedagogy and Performance for the double bass, has been released. This 12 chapter books covers a wide scope including specific focus on the right and left hands, intonation, bow strokes, pizzicato techniques, standing vs. sitting, fingering concepts, harmonics, vibrato and practice methods. Bradetich has a very distinguished career, including...

Ran Levi (aka Bassran): Bass Solo

Here’s Israeli bassist Ran Levi doing a cool bass solo on his 6-string Ken Smith bass. I like his phrasing a lot.

For the last 15 years, bassist Aaron Germain has backed up a wide range of performers, including Yusef Lateef, Stanley Jordon, Andy Narell, Bonnie Raitt and many others. Now Germain has released his debut album, Before You Go, his first as a leader. The album consists of 10 tracks, featuring Germain’s compositions ranging from jazz, funk, blues and reggae. Joining...

Bachman and Turner, who reunited late last year, have made two new tracks available to their online fans. This marks their first new release together in 20 years. “I’m thrilled to be working on new music with Fred [Turner] and feel a sense of excitement and anticipation,” guitarist Randy Bachman stated. “I feel like I’m coming full circle with a...

Carole King and James Taylor have recently released a live CD/DVD combo album, Live At The Troubadour. The 2007 performance was part of a 50th anniversary celebration of the venue, but also marked 36 years since King and Taylor played at the Troubadour together. “The Troubadour in 1971 wasn’t the beginning, but it was a big step into the light...

Here’s a live performance by Christian McBride and his band, Inside Straight, performing at the Cotton Club in Tokyo in August 2009. This thing swings! Joining McBride are Tim Green on alto sax, Peter Martin on piano, Warren Wolf on vibes and Carl Allen on drums. The tune comes from the group’s Kind of Brown album (check out our past...

Shortly after the release of their fourth album, The Bled has confirmed that bassist Brad Murray has left the band. Heat Fetish, released earlier this year, has received positive reviews. Murray’s departure comes right at the beginning of their latest USA tour “The Rise” with In Fear and Faith, Of Mice and Men, and The Color Morale. No statement has...

This will be an exciting month for Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo and his wife – they’re expecting their second son to be born in the next few weeks. Stone Temple Pilots will also be releasing a new self-titled album on May 25th – the first since 2001’s Shangri-La-Dee-Da. DeLeo had the following to say in a recent interview...