New Albums - Page 146

Grammy-winning instrumental fusion band Snarky Puppy, led by bassist/composer/producer Michael League is hot right now. And if you want to hear what the group sounded like pre-Grammy (Best R&B Performance for its work with Lalah Hathaway) the DVD/CD set We Like It Here might just be the place to start. Recorded live in Kytopia Studios in Utrecht, Holland from Oct....

Fans of Beck’s 2002 classic album Sea Change will feel right at home with the intimate psychedelia of , which reunites the singer/songwriter with the band that backed him in the studio and on the road from 1996-2000 and 2003-2003. The players on Beck’s 12th studio album include bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen (also known for work with Nine Inch Nails, Air,...

“You just didn’t expect them to be as funky, or as greasy as they were.” That’s how Aretha Franklin describes The Swampers, the legendary house band at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in the star-studded documentary . The band, including bassist David Hood, then went on to co-found the iconic Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in 1969, solidifying the tiny...

Italian bassist and songwriter Marco Machera has released his sophomore album, . The effort includes a host of special guests, including fellow bassist Tony Levin on “Out of Blue,” drummer Pat Mastelotto, guitarist Markus Reuter and more. With an interesting cast of characters, Machera offers up a quirky take on pop music. “Dime Novels is a beast. Pretty much like...

Lake Street Dive is often called a string band with soul, and its latest album lives up to the description, as well as the acclaim the folk band has received in its young career. , out on Signature Sounds Recordings, features an eclectic pop style created by double bassist Bridget Kearney, vocalist Rachael Price, drummer Mike Calabrese and guitarist Mike...

Progressive metal band Cynic, and its bassist, Sean Malone, have released the group’s long-awaited record, , Cynic’s first in three years – and its first full-length album since 2008. Malone, aside from his Cynic and solo work, is also an author, having penned four music books, including Music Theory for Bassists and A Portrait of Jaco: The Solos Collection. It’s...

Fans of The Allman Brothers Band’s 1990’s lineup can travel in the wayback machine and experience some of its famed concerts. documents the band’s first long run at the theatre. It, and DVD release , shows off the band after it reconstituted itself for its 1989 20th anniversary with new players, including bassist Allen Woody. (Woody left the band in...

Helms Alee is an experimental metal band with a deep understanding of bass. The experimental metal trio not only includes bassist/vocalist Dana James, but its guitarist Ben Verellen, is a former bassist. He’s also the man behind Verellen Amplifiers’ Meatsmoke, a 300-watt all-tube bass amp. (James also uses the Meatsmoke for Helms Alee.) Helms Alee’s third album, , recorded on...

Blues-rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood’s legendary October 2012 performance at Bonn, Germany’s Crossroads Festival for the German TV show Rockpalast has been captured in a CD/DVD set as a part of Ruf Records’ Songs From the Road series. If you’re unfamiliar with the Brotherhood and love Southern blues/rock, these are guys to check out, with Charlie Wooton (ZydeFunk, Bonerama, Woods...

Music and sculpture combine in renowned jazz bassist Rufus Reid’s five-movement composition, , based on five sculptures by artist Elizabeth Catlett. Each movement of the piece, written for a large jazz ensemble (including Reid on bass), corresponds to a sculpture by Catlett, the late African-American artist (she died in April 2012 at age 96) whose grandparents on both sides were...

Electric bass and bassoon may seem like a strange duo setting, but OoN is proof that the instruments blend quite nicely. The group, which consists of the fabulous Ariane Cap on 6-string bass and bassoonist Paul Hanson, has released their debut album, . Named for the North Star, the album showcases a range of styles, from jazz to rock to...

Metal drone band Sunn O)))’s collaboration with Norwegian metal/heavy chamber group Ulver, , is summed up in this passage from Drowned in Sound: “This might be the closest you can get to ‘new age’ while remaining a heavily tattooed riff-worshipper.” Bassist Greg Anderson of Sunn O)))’s augmented bass feedback is featured on the “Western Horn” movement of the three-movement record....