Buzz

Paul McCartney thinks the bass player is “usually the fat guy who stands at the back“. Somehow, he’s happy with it too. Eat up. Rufus Reid has penned an interesting piece on “being a jazz bassist (and more). Stanley Clarke‘s The Toys of Men released today. SixNationState’s bassist, John Maskell, might want to reconsider his no-shoes policy (or stop the...

Stanley Clarke’s latest album, The Toys of Men, is being released October 16, 2007. Sample the release and pre-order it at Heads Up’s web site. Full release: For centuries, the artist has served as the great counterbalance to the warrior. When statesmen in opposing camps rattle their swords and draw lines in the sand, it’s left to the creators to...

Don’t know how we missed this one… maybe you did too. Gary Willis released his latest solo album in August, featuring Kirk Covington & David Gómez on drums and Gary on “everything else”. Gary has been one of our favorites since early Tribal Tech with Scott Henderson. More (incredibly detailed) info here, as well as sample audio. Source: GaryWillis.com.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of Jaco Pastorius. Jaco’s family has posted a couple of tributes: Musicians remember Jaco Gregory Pastorius’ tribute to his brother And worth a look: Jaco’s daughter Mary, and her Daddy, just daddy to me piece.

Cincinnati legend Bootsy Collins recorded a new song for his home NFL football team, the Bengals, for the third straight year. This year, he uses the a local group called the Ben-Gals and an Elvis impersonator. Bootsy says this is his best so far. Check it out for yourself at BootsyCollins.com.

A previously unknown 1964 recording of the Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy was recently discovered by Mingus’ widow and released by Blue Note. This is a double CD live recording, featuring a near identical lineup to the group who recorded “Great Concert of Charles Mingus” about a month later.

Ignacio at IG blog has deemed this week Bass Player Appreciation Week. Big surprise, we’re all for it. Stop by and comment on your favorite(s).

Double bass legend Art Davis has died after a suffering heart attack. He was 73. Davis performed with many jazz greats, including John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Louis Armstrong, and Max Roach, all while holding down a psychology practice. BBC offers a look back on his remarkable career.

Live Earth’s “Bass Off”: Big Bottom

Legendary spoof band Spinal Tap reunited for Live Earth‘s SOS event on July 7th at Wembley Stadium. Wouldn’t you know it, the show’s highlight was “Big Bottom”, featuring “every bass player in the known universe”. Yeah, bass saves the day. Check it out:

Must be the year for bass players to go on tour with their famous fathers. The latest buzz is about a Van Halen tour happening in September, with 16-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen “laying down the law”. An all-new, all-bass internet radio show has just hit the virtual airwaves. Bass Talk with Abe & Lane, a show with “more bass than...

Jaco Pastorius was this year’s Syracuse Jazz Festival dedicatee, and the focus of a panel moderated by noted biographer and jazz author/journalist Bill Milkowski. The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, conducted by Peter Graves and featuring Jeff Carswell and Will Lee on bass, and Hiram Bullock on guitar, performed at the event.

Drummer Vic Stevens has released his latest CD, “If People Could Talk“, featuring Michael Manring and Percy Jones on bass. Stevens and Manring perform together in the fusion trio McGill/Manring/Stevens.