Buzz

We don’t imagine Les Claypool sleeps much. He’s just announced a series of summer camps, taking place May through July. Summer Camp Festival is the ninth installment of the festival, and runs May 22-24, 2009 at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL. Over 50 bands on 4 stages will perform during the three days of the festival. The festival also...

Bass amp manufacturer Markbass just launched a video contest on Youtube. If you own a Markbass rig and perform live, you’re pretty much eligible to enter for a chance to win a MoMark amp with the features of your choice. Official rules from Markbass: Video must be of a live performance. In other words, in front of an audience. The...

The schedule for the 52nd annual Monterey Jazz Festival is set, with performances by Stanley Clarke and bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding announced. The festival will be held from September 18-20, 2009 at the Monterey Fairgrounds in Monterey, California For more information and tickets, call 925-275-9255 or visit the festival’s web site.

Crazy Bass: The Spaceman Dominator

We’ve covered Spaceman and his unusual bass creations before. Here’s one from the archives: the Spaceman “Dominator” Aluminum 6-String Fretless Bass The Dominator is a full-length, 6-string aluminum bass guitar with an active EMG pickup, mounted above the strings.

Tower of Power, anchored by the legendary Rocco Prestia on bass released their newest album today. Great American Soulbook takes the band in a slightly new direction, with a collection of classic soul tunes with a Tower of Power twist. The album was produced by Emilio Castillo, the band’s founder and leader since 1968, and George Duke and features guest...

Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (B.L.U.E.), a group including bassist Tony Levin, Bill Bruford on drums, David Torn on guitar and Chris Botti on trumpet, formed after recording Torn’s 1987 Cloud About Mercury release. B.L.U.E.’s 1999 release, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, out of print for some time, is being re-released today. Here’s about the only video you’ll find of the group,...

Ibanez Electronics demoed their new Promethean Pro bass amp line at Winter NAMM 2009 with the help of bassist Rufus Philpot. The new amps will once again be on display for their unveiling at Summer NAMM in Nashville, this July. The P5110 Promethean Combo includes a 10″ woofer and detachable 250 watt head and lists for $933.32. The P500H 250-watt...

Bassist, producer and music educator Adam Nitti has just released his fourth album, Liminal, a collection of jazz, funk, R&B, rock and blues tunes written, arranged and produced by Nitti. Nitti’s supporting cast includes Marco Sfogli and Tom Quayle on guitar, Alex Argento on keys, and Marco Minnemann on drums. Other musicians making appearances include Jeff Coffin on tenor sax,...

Stevie Wonder’s live board recording from a 1974 performance in London has found its way online, featuring the smoking bass lines of Reggie McBride. We’ll let the music do the talking: check out Aquarium Drunkard’s post. Big tip of the hat to Brian Fox at Bass Player.

Victor Wooten Improvs “Yesterday”

Bassist James Ross sends us this video of him hanging out with Victor Wooten doing some improv to The Beatles’ “Yesterday” during rehearsal at The Pageant in St. Louis. Nice.

We’ve been hearing rumors about a new tour by Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten, collectively known as S.M.V. Looks like it is the real deal, as the 17th Annual Capital Jazz Festival in Columbia, MD has announced the group will be performing during the upcoming 3 day festival, June 5-7. Here’s a great video featuring the three in...

Musicians Institute in Los Angeles awarded Stanley Clarke an honorary Doctor of Music degree during MI’s commencement ceremony on March 21st. Beth Marlis, VP of Education for MI, shares “Stanley Clarke embodies the true value of education and the duty of an artist to mentor and give back to the next generation. He has selflessly and generously created opportunities for...