News - Page 281

It may seem hard to believe, but 2016 will mark 48 years since the formation of Tower of Power. The influential group has released 18 studio albums, seven live albums, six compilations, three DVDs, and have toured the world with thousands of shows. To celebrate the band’s longevity, they’ll be bringing their unique blend of soul, funk, jazz and rock...

Alternative band Cage the Elephant has released its fourth album, Tell Me I’m Pretty. Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys – known for his production work with a wide variety of artist – produced the record, which features the work of founding band member Daniel Tichenor on bass. The hope, the band states, was to create a rock album where...

The 1990s sound of metal band Pantera is available in full force on The Complete Studio Albums, 1990-2000. The set covers the band’s last five albums, all of which feature Rex Brown (Down, Kill Devil Hill) on bass. The set includes four platinum albums, one of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. The five albums are:...

Romanian bassist Laszlo Demeter, has released a drop of Calm under the moniker “absurdcus”. The record features Demeter, also known for his work with the Romanian group Byron, on acoustic, electric and fretless basses. The album’s dedication is, simply, “to friends gone too soon.” You can check out the entire album on YouTube: And then you can download a copy...

If you’ve been aching to play some tracks from Marcus Miller’s 2012 album Renaissance, Stuart Clayton’s Bassline Publishing has just released the book Marcus Miller – Highlights from Renaissance. The 106-page book collects five pieces from the album, including “Detroit,” “Jekyll & Hyde” and “Cee-Tee-Eye,” with transcriptions written in standard notation and tablature. Extensive performance notes are featured as well,...

Coldplay has released its seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams. The album was recorded in California and London and features guests like Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher (Oasis) and Merry Clayton (best known for her spine-tingling vocal on The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”). Also, Norwegian pop production duo Stargate handled production duties with Coldplay’s regular producer Rik Simpson. As always,...

The sound of early live Rush is available on The Lady Gone Electric, which documents a 1974 live radio broadcast of the group, playing songs from its debut album and the then soon-to-be released Fly By Night from Electric Lady Studios in New York. The event also marked the first recording featuring Neil Peart on drums for the Canadian trio...

If you’re looking to explore some new contemporary Balkan, gypsy, jazz/funk/electronica, you’re in luck. The New York Gypsy All-Stars have released its second album, Dromomania. The band, co-founded by versatile, Athens-born, Berklee-educated bassist Panagiotis Andreou, has a thoroughly unique sound. All of the band members pull from varied musical traditions. Andreou, for example, crosses genre boundaries, using funk and rhythmic...

Lovers of the Warner Bros. era of jazz trumpeter/composer Miles Davis’ career, which began in the mid-1980s, can delight in a definitive 8-CD box set called The Last Word – The Warner Bros. Years. The of remastered music covers the Tutu, Amandla and Doo-Bop albums, and the Dingo and Siesta soundtracks. The set also includes a 1986 Miles Davis Octet...

French jazz bass virtuoso Hadrien Feraud (Chick Corea, John McLaughlin) has released his second album, Born in the 80s. The album mixes jazz fusion, R&B, hip-hop, and soul and the 1984-born Feraud acknowledges the record’s not all about the bass — “It’s more about music,” says Feraud, who was inspired to commit himself to bass after hearing a Jaco Pastorius...

Want to learn how to use the Nashville Number System and easily play some of country’s greatest songs? The Nashville Number System Fake Book promises to teach you how to use the notation system, which reveals a song’s harmony, key, meter, rhythm, phrase structure, instrumentation, arrangement, and form on one piece of paper. The book is written for use by...

Reggae legends Sly & Robbie’s latest album pairs the duo with Japanese reggae group Spicy Chocolate. The album, The Reggae Power 2, also features late reggae great Bob Marley’s grandson, Skip. “Once we heard Skip’s record ‘Cry to Me’ we knew that we wanted to try and involve him in the album,” said bassist Robbie Shakespeare, who is one half...