Buzz
Stanley Clarke, Patrice Rushen, Ndugu Chancler: Oleo
We were sad to hear of the passing of legendary drummer Ndugu Chancler. While he is best known as the drummer for Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” his career was marked with tons of great jazz, fusion, and funk grooves. Here’s a display of some his jazz chops with pianist Patrice Rushen and bassist Stanley Clarke on the jazz standard “Oleo”....
Original Smashing Pumpkins Announce Reunion, No Bassist Named
The original members of the Smashing Pumpkins are reuniting, and of course, it wouldn’t be The Smashing Pumpkins without some drama. Bassist D’Arcy Wretzky will apparently not be joining the tour. “My apologies to all of the Smashing Pumpkins fans out there who are excited about this oncoming reunion tour of the original members of the band,” she wrote on...
Death By Audio Unveils the Deep Animation Pedal
Death By Audio was on hand at the 2018 Winter NAMM Show to show off their goods including the new Deep Animation, an envelope filter pedal that responds to your playing. “This crazy goofball responds to how you play, enveloping and filter sweeping and overdriving,” the company writes. “Finally, the perfect wave-thumping bass moving with how hard you hit your...
Bass Transcription: John Giblin’s Bass Line on “Babooshka” by Kate Bush
Kate Bush came from a very musical family, and at eleven she taught herself to play the piano. Soon after this she began to write songs and at sixteen she recorded a demo of fifty compositions and sent them to prospective record companies, but this did not lead to any offers. However, a family friend had a connection with Pink...
Kamasi Washington: Malcolm’s Theme, Live at Paste Studios
I’m a huge Kamasi Washington fan, and that’s thanks in part to the amazing bass work of Miles Mosley. Here’s an awesome stripped down version of “Malcolm’s Theme” from Washington’s 2015 album The Epic, live at Paste Studios. The song is driven by Mosley’s active bass line, which he accents with a slew of pedals to build different sections. Check...
Cliff Burton Day Announced For February 10th
Mark your calendars: Cliff Burton Day is set for February 10th. After fans started a petition on Change.org, the late Metallica bassist’s home town of Castro Valley will recognize the bassist on his birthday this year. Metallica announced the news on Twitter. “IT’S OFFICIAL! The Board of Supervisors from Alameda County has just proclaimed February 10, 2018, which would have...
Genzler Amplification Reveals BA410-3 Bass Cabinet
After unveiling a slant cab version of their BA12-3, Genzler Amplification announced another model to their Bass Array series at the NAMM Show with the BA410-3. The cab is loaded with ten cone drivers: four 10-inch cast frame woofers and six 3-inch neodymium paper cone speakers, which are in a line array. It handles up to 1,000 watts at four...
Dealing with Focal Dystonia: Resources for Bass Players
Q: In the last year or so, I’ve started having issues in my right hand. It seems somewhat random but I’ve had a few gigs we’re my ring and middle finger have completely curled into my hand, and it’s pretty scary. I think it may be Focal Dystonia. I’m wondering if you’ve ever heard about this. Maybe it’s something you...
Paul Simon: Wristband
Paul Simon shocked the world on February 5th when he released a statement that he’s retiring from touring. That led me to watch a ton of his videos, including this clip for his recent song “Wristband.” Simon is joined by longtime collaborator Bakithi Kumalo, who many know for his incredible bass lines on the Graceland album. “Wristband” comes from 2016’s...
Mark Egan and Arjun Bruggeman Release “Dreaming Spirits”
Bass wizard Mark Egan has teamed up with tabla player and percussionist Arjun Bruggeman to release an instrumental album called Dreaming Spirits. Featuring guest guitarist Shane Theriot, the project has been in the making for a decade. “This audiophile recording features 14 original instrumental compositions for a total of 70 plus minutes exploring multi-dimensional ambient grooves and masterful improvisations from...
Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (January 2018)
Time for a roundup of the good stuff… aka the top 10 bass videos of the month. Here are the top 10 reader favorite videos we shared in January. Thanks for watching, commenting and sharing! 1. ViGitarS2dio: Rock Cover of Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic” Daft Punk’s 2001 album Discovery is chockfull of catchy grooves. Here ViGitarS2dio and company cover the song...
Ernie Ball Music Man Updates StingRay Bass for 2018
Ernie Ball Music Man’s StingRay has been a time-tested model for decades, but both the four and five-string versions will be getting an update for 2018. The company made the announcement at the Winter NAMM Show. “For 2018, the StingRay4 and StingRay5 have been reimagined with new features and appointments that provide a new level of playing comfort while retaining...