News - Page 262

Former Béla Fleck and the Flecktones sax player and current Dave Matthews Band member Jeff Coffin has yet again joined with a group of musicians called The Mu’tet, featuring electric bassist Felix Pastorius (son of Jaco and a Yellowjackets member) for a new album. , is the sixth album from Coffin and the Mu’tet. Gypsy, African, Brazillian and New Orleans...

A new documentary about Nathan East may catapult him from being known primarily in bass circles for his years of superstar work and into the orbit of more casual mainstream music fans. “He’s just the baddest bass players that ever was,” says Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds in the doc, Nathan East: For the Record, which debuts in December on Hulu. East’s...

So, with the Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo , a viewer not only gets to see the guitarist in action, but also electric bassist Rhonda Smith. Smith, who previously worked with Prince, has released solo albums, and played in a band of her own as well an all-female rock/funk band with percussionist Sheila E., is a musical force in her...

A performance by Bob Marley and the Wailers, filmed for German television the year before Marley’s death from cancer at age 36, is now available on the . The show, recorded in June 1980 in Dortmund, Germany features not only the charismatic, now-legendary Marley, but also Aston “Family Man” Barrett, bassist and bandleader for The Wailers. The restoration of the...

Fans getting an itch to hear new music from JJ Grey and Mofro don’t have long to wait. The band has announced that its upcoming album, Ol’ Glory, is due out Feb. 25, 2015, and a tour to support the record will begin earlier that same month. If the trailer’s anything to go by, the new album features the deep...

Marcus Miller’s prolific, musically diverse career and his influence are detailed in a documentary to be released digitally in January 2015. Zycopolis, a French firm, produced the documentary, called Marcus, about the electric bassist and multi-instrumentalist (he’s also a keyboardist and clarinetist/bass clarinetist), who has left an indelible mark and several music genres. Miller worked with the late jazz legend...

Fender lovers: It’s time to rejoice. Another book has arrived for you. by Tom Wheeler is filled with artifacts from Fender’s long history, including handwritten letters, production totals, and Leo Fender’s drawing-board sketches. Wheeler, who has written for Rolling Stone and Guitar Player Magazine, and was the founding editorial director of Bass Player, is now a professor at the University...

Janek Gwizdala has a new instructional book out. All the Good Stuff – How I Practice revolves around his practice regimen, and the book is full on getting the most out of your instrument, your hands and your ears. Gwizdala dives into more than practicing with tips on getting focused, inspiration, pacing, and finding solutions to musical problems. It’s filled...

The 10th annual Encuentro Latinoamericano de Contrabajos will take place Saturday, November 22nd through Thursday, November 27th at the Tijuana Cultural Center in Tijuana, Mexico. The week-long Latin American bass workshop is presented by the Contrabajos de Baja California and will include quartets, group classes, masterclasses, a bass orchestra, and much more. This year’s guest artists include world-renowned bassists Catalin...

The Art of McCartney may be the most spectacular tribute album ever assembled for a bassist. McCartney, a legendary singer/songwriter/bassist (The Beatles, Wings and solo), has one of the most enviable catalogs of songs in popular music and a host of his musical contemporaries and descendants signed to sing on the collection of his work. Compiled over more than a...

Gentle Giant might be the prog-rock band that casual fans of the genre overlook. However, the group had a decade-long career (1970-80), turning out creative pieces, often written by bassist/multi-instrumentalist Ray Shulman and keyboardist Kerry Minnear. Fans have long adored the band’s one previous official live album, Playing the Fool, released in the late 1970s. While other live recordings are...

The Rolling Stones have issued the second DVD in the band’s From The Vault vintage live performance series. This time out, the Stones take viewers back to a July 12, 1975 concert at the L.A. Forum. The show, which lasted more than 2.5 hours, featured what for many is the classic band lineup — then-new guitarist Ron Wood, guitarist Keith...