News - Page 413

Bassists looking to jazz up Christmas this year will want to check out Hal Leonard’s bass edition of the The Real Christmas Book. The 216 page “fake” book includes 150 custom arrangements of carols and contemporary holiday tunes with sophisticated jazz chord changes. The book is presented in standard notation (no TAB). Other editions are available, covering all instruments. Here...

Solo bassist Grant Stinnett has released his first solo CD, Aspiration. Stinnett has captured the attention of several of the bassists he credits as inspiration, including Michael Manring, Matt Garrison, Steve Bailey and Rob Gourlay. “Grant draws many colors out of the bass to make pleasing and engaging music,” Manring shares. “I think he has a bright future!” After taking...

Slipknot will be making their return to the stage in 2011 as they headline UK’s Sonisphere Festival. The band announced that the show, which is scheduled for July 8th through July 10th, 2011 at Knebworth, will pay homage to the late Paul Gray, who died in May. A statement on the official band site stated, “Expect the band to bring...

Alfred Music Publishing, who owns the exclusive rights to the print publishing for Led Zeppelin, has pulled together over 30 years of documentation, interviews, and recorded footage to produce a 2-book series of songbooks exclusively for bassists looking to play in the style of John Paul Jones. The books are designed to allow bassists to play along to many Led...

Legendary session bassist Willie Weeks will be hitting the road with Eric Clapton on a string of tour dates in support of guitarist’s latest CD, appropriately titled Clapton. The touring band will also feature Steve Gadd on drums, Chris Stainton on keys and Michelle John and Sharon White singing background vocals. The group will be kicking things off in Vancouver,...

Last week, we reported that Rush was expanding their Time Machine Tour to Europe, with rumors of more North American dates. Thankfully the rumors were true, and trio will be gracing the U.S. and Canada through March and April, 2011. Starting in Florida, the tour works its way up the East coast, including a stop at New York City’s Madison...

Spanish Flamenco bassist Antonio Ramos ‘Maca’ has released a new solo album, Mira Que Te Diga, which translates to “Let Me Tell You.” The 10-track LP is his first solo release, though he has worked with the top Spanish names in Flamenco, from Vicente Amigo to Raimundo Amador. Antonio is also adept at funk and jazz, as evidenced by his...

System of a Down has announced new tour dates, which will be the group’s first performances since August 2006. The shows will be scattered through Europe in June with more dates in the works. An official statement from the band’s website explains “We have no master plan of sorts — we are playing these shows simply because we want to...

Bela Fleck and the Fleckones are hitting the road for a special holiday tour of western USA and Canada, with Jeff Coffin and special guest Alash Ensemble. The “original Flecktones” have been hard at work on their next album, due out in late Spring 2011. The original Flecktones include Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, Futureman and Howard Levy. Bela Fleck &...

In a recent interview with Artisan News Service, bassist Duff McKagan announced that Velvet Revolver is renewing their search for a new vocalist. The band, which also features ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, had to let singer Scott Weiland go in 2008 after “erratic onstage behavior and personal problems,” claiming he was not 100% committed to the group. The hunt...

Edo Castro has just released his third solo album, entitled Sacred Graffiti. The CD showcases Castro’s innovative bass looping and use of the Ebow to create introspective and artful songs. For the album, Castro called upon his Expandable Trio, consisting of guitarist Erik Lindquist and drummer Alex Aspinall, as well as bass virtuosos Michael Manring, David Friesen and Percy Jones....

Bassist Steve Uccello has been working with Australian percussionist/composer Nat Grant throughout the past year, and the duo has just released an album entitled Melbourne, Monterey. The 8-track collection features an array of string and percussion instruments with a healthy dose of electronics and sound effects to create a cool ambient vibe. The album name comes from the places it...