Buzz
The Impossible Gentlemen Offer Deluxe Experience
Pat Metheny Group bassist Steve Rodby has released his third album with the Anglo-American jazz group, The Impossible Gentlemen, called Let’s Get Deluxe. The contemporary jazz group’s influences range from Metheny, of course, to outfits like Steely Dan. Band members also include pianist Gwilym Simcock, reed/flute player Iain Dixon, guitarist Mike Walker and drummer Adam Nussbaum. Check out the title...
Advanced Bass: Increasing Technical Development
Playing with good time, develop sensitive dynamics, produce a solid tone and have the confidence to express interesting musical ideas on your bass is essential. It only makes common sense that developing a deeper bass guitar specific technical understanding and prowess is the essential path as an improvising bass player. In this lesson, we will cover some ground to gain...
The Claypool Lennon Delirium: Breath of a Salesman
Les Claypool’s latest project with Sean Lennon, aptly named The Claypool Lennon Delirium, is everything you’d imagine it would be. Built upon the bassist’s unmistakeable style, the band has a mind-altering style of rock and psychedelia. Check out this clip of “Breath of a Salesman” taken from The Late Late Show with James Corden. The synergy between Claypool and Lennon...
New Book Offers Jaco “Ultimate Bass Lesson”
Bass instructor and author Jon Liebman’s latest book teaches you how to play like one of the greats. In “Play Like Jaco Pastorius: The Ultimate Bass Lesson” Liebman examines and analyzes everything from Jaco’s technique and equipment to his licks and his “stylistic DNA,” according to one book description. Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who produced the recent, well-received “Jaco” documentary,...
Fender Unveils Flea Signature Jazz Bass
Fender has teamed up with bass legend Flea to release the Flea Signature Jazz Bass. The new model is a recreation of the bassist’s Shell Pink 1961 Jazz Bass he received from a fan and used to record the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums Stadium Arcadium and The Getaway. “Shell Pink is the rarest of Fender’s classic Custom Color finishes,...
Custom Shop: SVS Designs
Many basses tend to have similar body shapes, but that’s not the case with SVS Designs. Each bass is drawn from the imagination of its owner and tweaked for real life use by luthier Shawn Shannon. With a background in extreme metal, it’s no surprise that the basses carry a certain extreme quality in their designs, although each bass is...
Shaun Martin: Madiba
Pianist Shaun Martin’s album features some great tunes, and a great band. Here they are, with bassist Keith Taylor having fun holding down the low end on the tune “Madiba”. This one grooves.
BadBadNotGood Releases “IV”
Canadian hip-hop-influenced jazz group BadBadNotGood has returned with its latest album, IV. The album, which features founding member Chester Hansen on bass, has a sound that approximates “jam session in space between Can, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, Weather Report, Arthur Russell & MF DOOM,” according to press info. Hansen tells JiggaJuice radio that the album is a result of...
The Pixies Name Paz Lenchantin as Permanent Member, Announce Album and Tour
The Pixies are back in full force. Besides announcing a new album with an accompanying world tour, the band stated that Paz Lenchantin is now a permanent member of the iconic outfit. The bassist has been the group’s touring fill-in since January 2014. Lenchantin followed Kim Shattuck, who had replaced founding bassist Kim Deal in 2013. “I was very nervous...
Promoting Yourself as a Bassist
Q: I’m currently playing for a punk band that has pretty good local success in that genre, however, having done this for a while I know no band lasts forever and I would like to aim higher. I would also like to get my name out as a bassist available for side projects, lessons, etc. I made a separate Facebook...
Mike Stern Band: KT
The Mike Stern Band always seems to feature an impressive lineup, and this one is no exception. In this clip, the band performs “KT” at the Blue Note Milano on November 4th, 2015. The group this time features Stern on guitar, Janek Gwizdala on bass, Randy Brecker on trumpet and Steve Smith on drums.
Biffy Clyro Tries to Top Itself on Latest Album
Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro has released its seventh studio album, Ellipsis. The album comes three years after the group’s previous high-water mark, 2013’s Opposites, a fairly epic album that the band wasn’t necessarily certain that it could pull off, according to a band interview in DIY magazine. “We’ve got a benchmark,” bassist/vocalist James Johnston said. “We have to be...