News - Page 251

They Might Be Giants has released its 17th album, Glean. It’s a rock record for the duo, which has also recorded several children’s albums (TMBG reportedly has another children’s record in the offing for 2015 as well). TMBG is fronted by songwriters and musicians John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Bassist Danny Weinkauf has been part of the backing band that...

The Alabama Shakes’ second album, Sound & Color, is being deemed kind of far out by the band itself. Founding member and bassist Zac Cockrell described in Rolling Stone the reaction he’d get when playing the moody, long piece “Gemini” for his friends. ”They’re like, ‘Uhhh…?OK.’ I don’t think they liked it. I finally quit sharing with people.” Here’s what...

Mike Gordon has announced he’ll be be hitting the road in June in support of his latest album, Overstep. Starting in Charleston, South Carolina, the tour will focus on the East Coast and Midwest with 16 dates. It wraps up June 28th at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer. Gordon will be joined by guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, keyboardist Robert Walter,...

Bassist/composer Jason Raso has explored the groove where funk and jazz meet for more than two decades. He continues in that vein on Man of 40 Faces, the Canadian’s latest album of 11 new compositions. Bassist Alain Caron joins him to duet, and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and vibraphone player Francesco Pinetti also appear on the album. The groove is ever-present,...

Progressive metal multi-instrumentalist Tony MacAlpine has released his twelfth solo album, Concrete Gardens. The instrumental record features not only MacAlpine’s virtuosic guitar work and bass stylings, but also bass contributions from Pete Griffin (Dethklok, Gryphon Labs, and ex-Zappa Plays Zappa) on five tracks, Lucky Islam on one track and Sean Delson (Agent Cooper, Stuck Mojo, ex-Fozzy) on one track. Check...

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers is a rightly storied band, producing stars like the late bass legend Jack Bruce and guitar great Eric Clapton. It also, through a lineup that was together for a mere three months, the genesis of the first version of Fleetwood Mac. Live music from that short-lived lineup, featuring John McVie on bass (along with Peter Green on...

After wrapping up her successful Radio Music Society tour cycle, Esperanza Spalding has announced she’ll be hitting the road this Spring and Summer in support of a new project. Emily’s D+Evolution is described as rekindling the bassist’s childhood interest in theater, poetry and movement to expand her performances. “Emily is my middle name, and I’m using this fresh persona as...

Jazz bassist/composer Petros Klampanis has released his second album on Inner Circle Music: Minor Dispute. The Greek musician, who burst into view via the New York City jazz scene, has created a work that pulls from a variety of influences, including jazz, of course, and world and chamber music. The core of Minor Dispute is more than the sum of...

Stuart Clayton’s bass transcriptions are staples here at No Treble, and he has turned his talents to transcribing the whole of Level 42’s first live album, A Physical Presence. In the book, Level 42 — A Physical Presence Bass Transcriptions, Clayton transcribes the work of vocalist/bassist Mark King, known for his electric bass slap style, including songs like the instrumental...

Feel like getting your hands on every album The Replacements made, plus an EP, all at once? It’s possible with Rhino Records’ release of an eight-CD set from the cult rockers, who feature Tommy Stinson on bass. The box set includes the 2008 remastered versions of the band’s seven studio albums, alongside the EP. The albums featured include: Sorry Ma,...

Finnish author Mikko Nurmi explores the recorded work of jazz bassist Ron Carter in his new book, The Art of Ron Carter. The 152-page book features not only 130 musical examples and six full-length transcriptions, but also a general overview of the career of Carter, who is believed to be the most recorded bassist in jazz. Carter has worked with...

Almost a year to the day after Jack Bruce’s death, musicians will gather at London’s Roundhouse to celebrate the music of the late, great bassist best known for his work with Cream. Bruce’s influence as a rock bassist and songwriter can’t be overestimated. He wrote Cream songs like “White Room,” and former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters once stated in...