News - Page 405

Marcus Miller is holding a special concert to benefit Japanese Tsunami relief efforts. The event, to be held at New York City’s Highline Ballroom on May 15 at 7:30pm, features a host of talent, including performances by Raheem DeVaughn, Robert Glasper, Sean Jones, Angélique Kidjo, Gregoire Maret, Raul Midon, Q-Tip, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Kaoru Watanabe, Louis Cato, Alex Han, Federico...

Nikki Sixx and his band Sixx: A.M. have just released This Is Gonna Hurt, the album that accompanies his latest book of the same title. The release is a follow-up to 2007’s Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, which peaked at 62 on the Billboard 100. Joined by the Motley Crue bassist, Sixx: A.M. is rounded out by James Michael and DJ Ashba....

Esperanza Spalding is scheduled to open Prince’s tour on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7, as part of Prince’s residency-style “Welcome 2 America” tour. The tour is a 21-date event in Los Angeles that began on April 14th at the Forum. Spalding has recruited keyboardist Raymond Angry, saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist Jef Lee Johnson and drummer Terri Lynne Carrington...

Level 42, led by bassist/vocalist Mark King, has released a new DVD from their 30th Anniversary Tour last year. The performance is taken from their October 22, 2010 gig at the Indigo2 in London and features the full 2010 set with songs ranging their history. The band officially formed in 1980 but had a 7-year split starting in 1994. King,...

Human Element, the quartet formed by bassist Matthew Garrison, keyboardist Scott Kinsey, percussionist/vocalist Arto Tuncboyacian and drummer Gary Novak, have released their debut CD, Human Element. The pan-global group, hailing from the traditions of a couple of their inspirations – Weather Report and the Zawinul Syndicate – is looking to expand their sound into new territory. Each member has been...

Bassist Phil Palombi has just released RE: Person I Knew, a tribute to bass legend Scott LaFaro who tragically died in a car crash in 1961. Palombi recruited former Bill Evans drummer Eliot Zigmund and pianist Don Friedman, who was LaFaro’s roommate, to fill out the trio. The ties don’t end there, as Palombi got the unique opportunity to use...

Drummer Bastian Weinhold has released, River Styx, his debut as a band leader and featuring Linda Oh on bass. The self-funded album was recorded during a one day session in March 2010, in Brooklyn, NY, with Adam Larson on tenor sax, Pascal Le Boeuf on piano/Rhodes and Nils Weinhold on guitar, in addition to Weinhold and Oh. “River Styx reflects...

Marcus Miller will be joining keyboardist George Duke and saxophonist David Sanborn for an extensive U.S. tour starting in Orlando, Florida and winding through the country to end in Hollywood, California. The trio, who will be performing as DMS, promise to bring a mix of funk, jazz and blues to the masses. Each member had crossed paths with each other,...

Bassist and educator David Overthrow has released Electric Bass Method Complete, a comprehensive method book published by Alfred Music Publishing in conjunction with the National Guitar Workshop. The method offers basic to advanced techniques, starting with the basics of the instrument, reading music and building bass lines to intermediate concepts such as using scales, slap and pop techniques, string muting,...

The final performance by mambo legend Israel “Cachao” Lopez has been released as a two disc set, entitled The Last Mambo. The concert, which celebrated the bassist’s 80 years in music, was held at the Ziff Opera House a the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami Florida in 2007. The album has Cachao leading a 24-piece orchestra. The Cuban born Cachao...

Bootsy Collins has a released a new studio album, one he calls a “musical biography”, with strong ties to the bassist’s four decades in the music business. Tha Funk Capital Of The World features many cameo appearances including fellow P-Funkers George Clinton and Bernie Worrell, rappers Snoop Dogg, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, guitarists Buckethead and Catfish Collins (Bootsy’s late...

Hal Leonard has released Jazz Bass on Top: A Guide to Left-Hand Technique by Andy McKee, an instructional book for double bass aimed at improving fingerboard facility through 50 jazz songs. Presented in order of difficulty, the tunes range from “The Girl From Ipanema” to “Teen Town,” and teach walking bass lines as well as soloing techniques. McKee, who teaches...