News - Page 364

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Mike Mills revealed new details about R.E.M.’s upcoming album, Collapse Into Now. The bassist explains the new project sounds reminiscent of the group’s 1992 release, Automatic for the People. ”The songs go from one type into another really easily and it all seems to fit as a piece,” he says. “It makes sense...

Tango bass master Pablo Aslan has just released a new collaborative album with Paquito D’Rivera. Tango Jazz: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center features Aslan as both bassist and musical director during the March 2010 concerts in New York City from which the album is compiled. D’Rivera, who is one of the most esteemed Latin Jazz alto sax/clarinetists in the...

Producer/guitarist Daniel Lanois’ band Black Dub has released its debut self-titled album. The 11-track outing features the slick grooves of bassist Daryl Johnson, who seamlessly follows the band as they subtly mix rock, funk, soul, and reggae styles into their own unique sound. The group’s quartet setting allows Johnson to really stretch out with some tasty fills without losing their...

A new album featuring a bassist, producer, composer Marcus Miller is scheduled for release in early 2011. A Night In Monte-Carlo, recorded in 2008, is a unique-sounding record featuring songs composed and/or arranged by Miller, for a concert commissioned in Monaco. On the recording, Miller leads his quartet and is backed by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. Special guests include trumpeter...

A 1960 Fender Precision bass belonging to the late Bill Black is being sold at the Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills Signature Music & Entertainment Auction, to be held November 13th and 14th. Black, who passed away in 1965, is best known as Elvis Presley’s original bassist, playing with the icon through the 1950s. Black was also a pioneer of Rockabilly,...

Sometimes really great bass playing flies under the radar and doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Here is a round up of some indie albums that you may have missed. Artist: Dangered Ace Album: GoTenGo Genre: Hard Rock Bassist: Paul Ranieri The Scoop: Describing themselves as playing the “essence of big band through the power of heavy rock,” Dangered Ace...

Backbeat Books has released The Funky Bass Book, compiled and edited by former Bass Player magazine editor Bill Leigh. The 256 page book offers a huge collection of “funked-up wisdom and inspiration”, tracing back to the pioneers of R&B, soul and funk, to the latest hop-hop, neo-soul and Gospel. The book’s forward is by Bootsy Collins. The Funky Bass Book‘s...

A new documentary called The Redding Experience, featuring the late Noel Redding, is set for a December 6 release date, according to antimusic.com. The DVD will include a never before seen interview with the bassist, who was part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, filmed in 1988 in his home in Ireland. During the interview, Redding opens up about his time...

Hal Leonard has released Volume 18 of their Bass Play-Along series. Blues Rock is a 72 page, 8 song book featuring tab and CD tracks for each classic blues tune. The melody and lyrics for each tune are also included. The CD includes audio with and without bass, so you can hear the bassline first, and play along with the...

Toph-E and the Pussycats have released a new album, No Ordinary Day, featuring Will Lee on bass and vocals. The band’s sound has been described as “R n’ B-bop,” as they play a mix of originals and R&B classics while paying homage to jazz greats such as Art Blakey, Thelonius Monk and Herbie Hancock. The rest of the band includes...

Seattle filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlain is gearing up to make a movie based on a new album by Duff McKagan’s Loaded, which is soon to be completed. The album is yet to be titled, though a single from it is being played in rotation during the MLB World Series coverage. McKagan, who played bass for 12 years in Guns N’...

Charlie Haden has just released latest album with Quartet West, entitled Sophisticated Ladies. The title is a play on the Duke Ellington tune, as the 12 tracks feature jazz standards sung by the genre’s best female vocalists, including Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones, Renée Fleming, and Haden’s wife, Ruth Cameron. Haden, who had a long standing association...