News - Page 246

Peter Dominguez has released Groove Dreams, an intimate and jaw-droppingly beautiful new solo double bass album. While the 10-song collection varies in content from jazz standards to new compositions to pop ballads, there is one common thread throughout: the late, great jazz legend Milt Hinton. Dominguez, who is a professor of jazz studies and double bass at Oberlin Conservatory, first...

Bassist Simon Sammut has released his sophomore solo album called Crossing. Following up on 2011’s Bassic Attitude, the effort is an evolution of his sound, which he describes as “fluid in texture and inspiration.” “The musical score and complimentary paintings are based on a common theme of ‘crossing,'” he writes. “Essentially it is about crossing barriers or boundaries whether they...

Grateful Dead fans are ecstatic about Long Strange Trip, the new four-hour documentary that tells the legendary band’s tale. It is showing in select theaters and now streaming on Amazon Prime. As in-depth as the film is, bassist Phil Lesh says it doesn’t cover the whole story. “It’s only telling part of the story,” he told Rolling Stone. “The Grateful...

Thirty-three years after the mockumentary that put Spinal Tap on the map, Derek Smalls is making a solo album. The “Big Bottom” bassist, a character played by Harry Shearer, is reportedly in the process of recording his solo debut, tentatively entitled Smalls Change. Shearer talked about the project with GQ, saying it will “shed light on the travails of partying...

The Who’s return to the Isle of Wight Festival in 2004 was important for several reasons. First, it was the first time playing the festival since their legendary 1970 performance. It had just been restarted in 2002 after a long absence. Secondly, it was the first time the band played in their home country since the untimely passing of bassist...

Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters is back with his fifth solo album, entitled Is This The Life We Really Want? It’s his first studio album since 1992’s Amused to Death. As one might expect from the songwriter’s past and present stances, the album is politically-charged. Although he regularly expresses his opinions on the current administration, Is This The Life...

2017 marks the ten years since Between the Buried and Me released their seminal album Colors. To celebrate, the band is embarking on an extensive North American tour in which they will play the album in its entirety. “Colors was our statement of rebellion,” the band states. “We were challenging how others identified us in the context of heavy metal,...

Rockabilly supergroup Headcat has been on hiatus since bassist Lemmy Kilmister’s passing in December 2015. Kilmister formed the band with Slim Jim Phantom and Danny B. Harvey back in 1999 and gigged throughout their 15 years. Now Phantom and Harvey have announced the band will continue with a new bassist/vocalist: former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent. They announced the new...

Billy Sheehan and Mr. Big are gearing up for their ninth album, due to be released on July 7th. Defying Gravity will feature the original lineup of Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Sheehan, and Pat Torpey, although Torpey shares duties with drummer Matt Starr after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The album will also see the return of their original producer....

Just a month after wrapping a three-month world tour, bass phenom Thundercat is gearing up to do it all over again. The bassist will be flying between North America, Europe, and Japan starting at the end of May and going through November. Many of the summer performances will be festival appearances, though he will start a headlining tour on August...

The Rocky Mountain Bass Slam is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in style. Dubbed “A Decade of Bass Celebration,” the annual event will take place June 4th in Golden, Colorado with a host of incredible bassists including two legends. “In 2017 the RMBS will be featuring two national bass performers in the Legendary Chuck Rainey and SuperFunk Powerhouse Doug Johns,” their...

A bass guitar owned and played by Motown legend James Jamerson will be up for auction later this month. It’s not his infamously stolen Funk Machine, but it is a 1961 Fender Precision that he owned from 1962 until 1967 or 1968. It was then that the instrument was bestowed by the bass legend to fellow Detroit bassist Billy Hayes....