John Goldsby Archives

On "Big Band Bass," John Goldsby steps into the spotlight with the WDR Big Band, featuring eight originals arranged by Bob Mintzer and Vince Mendoza.

After three decades at the helm of the WDR Big Band, John Goldsby has announced he’s retiring from the group. The jazz bassist, educator, and author will be seeing the year through before stepping down.

Renowned jazz bassist and educator John Goldsby has just released his third course with Discover Double Bass. “Tell Your Story” focuses on soloing concepts for the jazz bassist and features fifty lessons with over five hours of video content.

WDR Big Band Bassist John Goldsby has just released a new trio album called “Segment Vol. 1”, featuring fellow WDR rhythm section members pianist Billy Test and drummer Hans Dekker.

Jazz bassist John Goldsby has just released his second course on Discover Double Bass. “Jazz Bass Vol.2: Stretching Out” expands on the first course by digging into more challenging techniques and concepts.

This is the complete “Superbass” video performance of “Two for the Blues”, recorded at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall in 1997. The group includes Ray Brown, Christian McBride, John Clayton and John Goldsby. Goldsby shared this video with us, saying, “There is an edited version of this on Youtube, but this is nice because it has trading… This is the complete...

The Innkeeper’s Gun is a wonderful jazz trio record: both within the tradition and extending it at the same time. It features three musicians playing for the music, improvising freely on some excellent compositions. The trio have a wonderful sense of musical empathy and have previously released the hugely enjoyable Live at the Nachbar in 2008. It is music that...

Bassist John Goldsby has announced his latest album, The Innkeeper’s Gun, will be releasing June 1, 2010. The album was recorded in the middle of Goldsby’s 2009 European tour with drummer Jason Tiemann and alto saxophonist Jacob Duncan and features jazz originals by Goldsby and Duncan, plus a cover of the hit pop tune “Paparazzi” from Lady Gaga. “We were...

Here’s a great video featuring bassist John Goldsby with saxophonist Jacob Duncan and drummer Jason Tiemann performing “Ligeti Split”. The tune will be on the group’s upcoming album The Innkeeper’s Gun. Look for the album on June 1, 2010.

Sligo Jazz Project’s annual International Summer School and festival will feature two bass faculty members, double bassist John Goldsby and electric bassist Michael Manring. Sligo Jazz Project was founded in 2005 by four Sligo-based musicians to promote jazz education and performance in the area. All faculty members give one master class and two ensemble sessions each day, and perform at...

I am doing a Mingus project in May with the WDR Big Band, so I have been checking out Mingus’s music recently. He has left such a legacy on several levels: his bass playing, his rhythm section playing, his band leading and his composing. All of those aspects of Mingus’s music are interconnected, and he really made strong contributions in...

In 2002, the WDR Big Band’s “Latin Rhythms” performance at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall featured two bassists on the Paquito D’Rivera composition “Basstronaut”. The tune features two bassists: John Goldsby on double bass and Oscar Stagnaro on the electric. Big surprise… we love it. The performance also features Paquito D’Rivera (clarinet), Claudio Roditi (trumpet), Pernell Santurino (percussion), Mark Walker (drums),...