News - Page 334

Few musicians can change the way others play their instrument, but Scott LaFaro was one of those special few. LaFaro’s free and floating style was more reminiscent of a saxophonist. His playing, especially with pianist Bill Evans, made people see the bass in a different light. Like too many of our favorite musicians, LaFaro’s life was cut short in 1961,...

Music lovers all over were heartbroken last year at the dissolution of Mars Volta. The group, which in the end was anchored by bassist Juan Alderete, split after a dispute between founders Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Now, the duo has apparently made amends to form a new band called Antemasque. The quartet is rounded out by drummer Dave Elitch...

The Mac is back — and that’s the full, classic version of Fleetwood Mac — and it’s going to tour North America this fall. The “On With the Show” tour begins Sept. 30 in Minneapolis at the Target Center. Keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter Christine McVie will tour with the band for the first time in 16 years, and her ex-husband, bassist John McVie,...

George Mraz, the Czech native and master of jazz acoustic bass, has joined up with pianist David Hazeltine and drummer Jason Brown to create the George Mraz/David Hazeltine Trio album, . The record features the players’ interpretations of classics like Rogers & Hart’s “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” and Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” alongside Mraz’s...

Guitarist Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society is back with its first studio album in five years, . With John “JD” DeServio on bass (Cycle of Pain) the record is as heavy as you’d expect from Wylde, who was Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist for more than 20 years. “Catacombs” is the band’s follow-up to 2009’s The Order of the Black, which debuted...

Vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Black Country Communion) has joined up with former Black Country Communion bandmate Jason Bonham (drums) and newcomer Andrew Watt (guitar/vocals) to form the new band California Breed. The trio shares co-writing credits on its debut self-titled album, which will be released on May 20. The group came together after Julian Lennon introduced Hughes...

Megadeth is hitting the road for a 25-country, four-continent “Killing Road” world tour that will begin following guitarist/bandleader Dave Mustaine’s sold-out April 12 “Symphony Interrupted” performance with the San Diego Symphony. After he collaborates with the symphony on the “Summer” and “Winter” movements of Vivaldi’s “The Four Season” and Bach’s “Air” (on the G string) the band will bring a...

It’s a huge year for KISS fans. The band is not only celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first album release, it’s also being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To mark this year, the band is releasing remastered versions of 28 albums on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl in a move that’s a nod to the band’s first...

Guitarist Robert Cray is back with his blues/soul sound on his 17th studio album, . This time out, The Robert Cray Band includes Cray’s childhood friend Richard Cousins on bass, along with Dover Weinberg on keyboards and Les Falconer on drums. Cousins first played with the band from 1979-1991 and rejoined in 2007. Weinberg is also an early member who...

Tim Wolfe Jr., who we featured in our Reader Spotlight in 2013, has released his first album as a band leader and composer, . As jazz bassist working and teaching in central/southeast Pennsylvania (as well as the grandson of two jazz musicians, including one bassist), Wolfe’s album nods to the East Coast hard-bop tradition. His band on the record hails...

Brazilian bassist and composer Isaias Elpes has released a self-titled album that reflects both his Latin heritage (one track is even titled “Born in Brazil”) and his continuing education as a jazz/jazz fusion player. Elpes finished his master’s degree in music from Shepherd University in Los Angeles last year, where he studied under legendary session bassist Abraham Laboriel, who was...

You wanna get funky? Then it might be time to check out the latest album from Freekbass, Everybody’s Feelin’ Real. The album’s being billed as offering retro-modern funktronica grooves, and Freekbass cites everyone from David Bowie to Sly & the Family Stone to Dr. Dre as inspiration for the record’s sonic qualities. Horns on the record are handled by Les...