Buzz

The remaining members of Sublime, bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, have announced that they will be returning as Sublime. The official statement from their MySpace page is that they are “thrilled by the opportunity to reconnect with their fans around the world. While we all mourn the passing of our brother and bandmate Bradley Nowell some thirteen years...

Happy Sunday. Enjoy one from the archives: the Miles Davis Quintet performing “All Blues”, with Ron Carter on bass The group: Miles Davis – trumpet Wayne Shorter – tenor sax Herbie Hancock – piano Ron Carter – bass Tony Williams – drums

Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus recently wrote an op-ed piece to the Huffington Post about the current healthcare debate in the USA. Hoppus was inspired to write after an incident with caterer Ali Vatter on Blink-182’s tour. Vatter required emergency surgery to have her appendix removed after two months of being on the road, and she was uninsured. She told Hoppus...

Kala Ukulele has just released their latest invention: the Ka uBass. The uBass is an instrumental fusion with surprisingly cool results. This instrument produces a full low end and even with the 16 frets and diminished size it functions just like a bass guitar. The uBass was formed as a collaboration between Kala and Road Toad music and is built...

Today’s video features bassist Arild Andersen, performing with the Snétberger Trio. Ferenc Snétberger is on guitar and Paolo Vinaccia is on percussion, in this 2005 performance.

On October 21st 2009 legendary free jazz bassist and composer Norris Jones, better known as Sirone, passed away at the age of 69 in Berlin, Germany. Sirone was part of Revolutionary Ensemble, a jazz group formed in 1971 which featured violinist Leroy Jenkins, drummer Jerome Cooper and Sirone on bass. The group was one of the most innovative at the...

Bassist extraordinaire Marcus Miller is about to kick off a tour of Japan and Europe. The tour is “Tutu Revisited – The Music of Miles Davis” which is dedicated to the legendary trumpeter. The concert programs are based around the Miles Davis album Tutu, co-produced by Miller. The band lineup includes Miller on bass and multiple other instruments, trumpeter Christian...

Secret Society is an all-star 18-piece big band led by composer Darcy James Argue. This is not the usual music you think of when you hear the words “big band”. Darcy mixes minimalism, contemporary classical, indie rock and jazz styles. The music has great complexity and beauty and I really enjoy all the musical styles and how Darcy blends them...

Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass and Bass

Our very own Donovan Stokes posted this video, featuring his bass studio at Shenandoah University. The group, performing “Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass and Bass” by Christian Gentet from L’orchestre de Contrebasses (France), includes Dr. Stokes, Allegra Hale, Eric Price, Kevin Johnson, Robin Rhodes and Maya Jones. The performance gets the big No Treble stamp of approval.

Oteil Burbridge, the longest standing bassist for The Allman Brothers (who have been through a few in the past four decades), made a few lucky students’ day by jamming with them at their high school. Burbridge jammed on two tunes with high school band, a few of the students had the following descriptions for the Miami Herald. “It’s pretty crazy...

Faith No More bassist Billy Gould has confirmed, via Twitter, that there are U.S. dates being planned for the band’s current reunion tour: “Tweet THIS: In response to all of our concerned US brethren…YES…we yare now actively planning US dates.” Faith No More kicked off their reunion tour in June with shows in Europe, continuing to South America with Australia/New...

The Zen of Ear Training – Part 1

An important part of every musician’s evolution is ear training. It’s a strange concept, but becoming an active and educated listener pays off in a huge way. First lets cover a few points about what ear training is and isn’t and then we’ll get to the exercises. Ear training is a broad term used to cover two aural developmental practices...