News - Page 264

Fifty-eight never listed studio takes from legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker and his groups have been compiled on the set, Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes. The set features a veritable who’s who of bebop bassists, including Teddy Kotick, Ray Brown, Tommy Potter and Curley Russell. Jazz historian Phil Schaap, currently Curator at Jazz At Lincoln Center, co-produced the compilation...

Fates Warning has released its twelfth studio album, Theories of Flight, the band’s followup to 2013’s Darkness in a Different Light. The progressive metal band features Joey Vera, also of Armored Saint, on bass. In an interview with MetalHeadRadio.com, Vera said for the album, each band member recorded their parts separately, often near or at their homes, based on demos...

Blink-182 had around 30 songs written before heading into the studio to record its latest effort, California. But, when the pop-punk band, now featuring guitarist/vocalist Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, started working together on the group’s seventh studio album, all those songs went out the window. “We hit the ground running so hard that we just kept writing and writing,”...

You know Tony Levin for his extensive bass work with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel and innumerable sessions, but aside from being a music composer and lyricist, he’s also a writer who has kept an online “Road Diary” for two decades (its newest incarnation is here). He has now released a book of poetry, “Fragile as a Song.” Bill Bruford, who...

Joseph Patrick Moore’s Decade II 2006-2015, is a compilation of remasters of the bassist/composer/producer’s work, which melds contemporary jazz with funk, rock, pop, urban, spiritual and electronica music. Moore’s last previous compilation record, Decade 1996-2005, was released in 2006. Moore is known for his work with Stewart Copeland (The Police), Earl Klugh, Bob James, Chris Duarte and Michael Tolcher, as...

Renowned bassist/vocalist/composer Richard Bona, originally from Cameroon and known to some fans as “The African Sting,” has released an album with his Afro-Cuban project Mandekan Cubano. The album, Heritage, is his first studio release since 2013’s Bonafied. Heritage explores the music, dance, rituals, and oral history of Cuba, and the established themes in Bona’s art – using music to address...

Legendary bassist Ron Carter and saxophonist Houston Person have collaborated for more than 25 years, and their latest release aptly describes their musical relationship: Chemistry. Carter is known for his prolific recording — he’s appeared on more than 1,100 jazz sessions – his time in the Miles Davis Quintet, and his compositions, as well as for his extensive work with...

Welsh hard rockers Budgie were often thought of as something of a cross between Rush and Black Sabbath. However, the trio, led by bassist/vocalist Burke Shelley, never hit it as big. But, in later years, bands Metallica, Iron Maiden and Megadeth cited the group as an influence. For fans, or people who haven’t yet encountered the group, particularly in its...

Longtime No Treble readers will probably recognize the name of Aubrey Harris. When we first shared one of her videos, she was just 13 years old and went by the name BassGirl5809. She was inspired to pick up the instrument after watching Tal Wilkenfeld play. Now she’s studying at the Berklee College of Music and has released her debut self-titled...

The Avett Brothers have released their ninth studio album, True Sadness. The record is the first studio release in three years from the Americana stalwarts, and one that draws on a host of influences, according to the band led by brothers Seth and Scott Avett, including Queen, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimmie Rodgers, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Gillian Welch, Aretha...

Instrumental jazz/fusion/prog band MJ12, featuring Percy Jones (Brand X, Soft Machine, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, Steve Hackett) has released its self-titled debut album. The band draws its name from “Majestik 12, which was supposedly a group of 12 scientists and engineers assembled in the late 40s to investigate UFOs,” Jones said. There’s speculation as to whether the group actually existed....

Michael Franti & Spearhead has released its ninth studio album, Soulrocker. The band is most well known for the 2009 hit “Say Hey (I Love You),” co-written by bassist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Carl Young, who has been an integral member of the band since its beginning in 1994. This time out, Franti produced in collaboration with two Jamaican producers, and...