Buzz
Gregory Porter: Holding On, Live In Berlin
I’m a big Gregory Porter fan, so I was excited to hear he has a new coming out in November. The jazz vocalist is once again joined by bassist Jahmal Nichols, who plays beautifully crafted lines to perfection. This clip of “Holding On” is a great example with the bassist sitting just right in the pocket for most of the...
Timothy B. Schmit Releases “Leap of Faith”
Eagles and Poco bassist and vocalist Timothy B. Schmit has released the solo album, Leap of Faith. The record, recorded at his Los Angeles studio, mixes rock, country, Americana and R&B, was written as the Eagles toured. It also features a host of guests, including vibraphone from jazz player Gary Burton, and some other famous players, on the song, “Red...
Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (September 2016)
Here’s a great way to spend your evening (or afternoon, or morning): browsing through the top 10 most watched bass videos for the month. Thanks as always for watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Octavision: Three Lives Victor Wooten made an appearance with the progressive metal band, Octavision on their single, “Three Lives”. If you’ve ever wondered what Vic would sound...
Sharing Your Music on Social Media
Q: I’m in a band and most of us are of the mind that we should have as much material out there on social media as possible. We’ve started posting snippets of rehearsals, live streaming gigs and encouraging people to post videos of our shows online, etc… One member of the band is very much against it all. He wants...
Vulfpeck: Dean Town
It is always a good day at No Treble HQ when a new Vulfpeck video is released. This one has lots of extra bass goodness – and funkiness – thanks to Joe Dart and some killer beats. The tune is “Dean Town”, which is a track from Vulfpeck’s upcoming album, The Beautiful Game, due to be released on October 17th.
In Memoriam: Tim Cloonan
Sad news to report today: bass builder Tim Cloonan has passed away. The Philadelphia-based luthier owned and operated Callowhill Guitars, creating basses for some of the world’s top players including Tim Lefebvre, Dywane “Mononeon” Thomas, Owen Biddle, Derrick Hodge, Steve Jenkins, and more. Cloonan was a guitar player that saw the need for better bass care. “I’m a guitar player...
Reader Spotlight: Scott Jehlik
Meet Scott Jehlik, who got his start on bass after seeing Rush’s Exit Stage Left. He said once he experienced Geddy Lee’s “fire breathing Rickenbacker, there was no going back.” Scott is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: Scott is a long time veteran of the Los Angeles and Orange County music scene. Scott...
Advanced Bass: How to Use Melodic Quotes in Your Solos
The use of melodic quotation is prolific within the genre of jazz and its related modern styles. In this lesson, we’ll cover how to use melodic quotes in your solos and breakdown some of the commonalities used by many great jazz masters. Applying this to two choruses of a B? blues progression, we’ll take a step-by-step analysis which includes taking...
The Rolling Stones: Miss You
Ever since a new Darryl Jones documentary was announced, I’ve been listening to lots of the bassist’s work on YouTube. Here’s a great extended take of “Miss You” taken from 1995, just two years after he joined the Rolling Stones. Jones carries the groove throughout with rock solid time and feel while Mick Jagger gets into his stage antics.
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra Debut Available
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, featuring Alice in Chains frontman William DuVall and members of Mastodon and Dillinger Escape Plan, has released its debut album, Broken Lines. The band’s bassist is Grammy Award-winner Pete Griffin (Dethklok, Zappa Plays Zappa), a Los Angeles-based player who studied jazz and classical at Northwestern University, who also teaches bass in person and online. Check out the...
Bass of the Week: Versoul Swan 8
It’s not often you see an 8-string fretless, but this one takes the cake. This week we’re checking out the Swan 8 by Finland’s Versoul, which the company describes as having traditional looks with an innovative body construction. “Solid Finnish Aspen flat top on solid Alder sides, a flat back and the long scale neck (34″) create an exceptionally mature...
Talking Technique: Drills for Fills – Applied
In episode 22, we introduced a way of practicing scales that uses intervals rather than going up and down the scales themselves. We went over thirds, which gives you great materials for runs, fills, and solos. Someone asked in the comments if I could give some examples of how to use the material in a chord progression, so that’s what...