News - Page 450

New York’s Iridium Jazz Club has announced Jacofest, a four-night concert event honoring the late, great Jaco Pastorius. Bassists Victor Bailey and T.M. Stevens will be performing with many of Jaco’s former bandmates and colleagues, including trumpeters Miles Evans and Lew Soloff, saxophonists Alex Foster and Butch Thomas, trombonist David Bargeron, keyboardists Gil Goldstein and Delmar Brown, guitarist Billy “Spaceman”...

Jazz bassist Dave Holland is currently performing with his Overtone Quartet featuring saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Jason Moran and drummer Eric Harland. Throughout Holland’s four-and-a-half decade career he’s also played with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Jack DeJonhette. Holland says he came to the bass by circumstance, “I was in my first band when...

Bassist Robin Duhe has a new album out, Life released on his own Blaise Two record label. Duhe was an original member in the band Maze, starting with them in 1974 and playing on almost all their albums. It’s his licks that open the tracks “Joy and Pain,” “Happy Feelin’s,” and “Golden Time of Day.” In 2004 Duhe stopped working...

We received this great video of bassist Tony Levin performing with King Crimson in Japan. Check out that thumb! The performers included Levin on bass and vocals, Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Robert Fripp on guitar and Bill Bruford on drums. Levin has a few different projects cooking this fall, he just finished a 3 day tour with L’Image...

Bassist Christian McBride is on the road for the next two months. Here’s the latest: October 3: Christian McBride & Inside Straight Kayenn Jazz Festival in Cayenne, French Guiana October 4: Christian McBride & Inside Straight Jefferson Center/Shaftman Performance Hall in Roanoke, VA October 9: KPFK-FM Peace Awards with Christian McBride, Ziggy Marley and many, many more Ford Amphitheater in...

Flea will be teaming up with Thom Yorke on October 4th and 5th at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. “In the past couple of weeks I’ve been getting a band together for fun to play the Eraser stuff live and the new songs etc… to see if it could work!” Yorke said, via Radiohead’s Dead-Air-Space blog. “We don’t really...

Guitarist Oz Noy has released Schizophrenic, his latest album to feature his unique approach to music and guitar. Oz is joined by Late Show with David Letterman bassist Will Lee and SNL bassist James Genus, as well as guitarist Steve Lukather, and drummers Dave Weckl, Keith Carlock and Anton Fig. I caught a live performance of Oz Noy at 55...

Jazz bassist Scott LaFaro is being honored with the first biography on his brief but influential life, Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro. The biography has been written by LaFaro’s sister Helene LaFaro-Fernandez and includes contributions by notable jazz writers highlighting LaFaro’s contributions to the bass community. LaFaro made his mark on the scene with the Bill...

Bassist and composer Ben Allison will be releasing his ninth album, Think Free, on October 13th 2009, with Palmetto Records. Think Free features Allison on bass with Steve Cardenas on guitar, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Rudy Royston on drums and Jenny Scheinman on violin. The album consists of eight originals by Allison, and continues his “train of thought” from previous...

President Barack Obama and First-Lady Michelle Obama will be serving as honorary chairs at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition and Gala Concert this October. The Gala co-chairs include Madeleine Albright, Herb and Lani Alpert, Quincy Jones, Debra Lee, Bill and Carolyn Powers, and Joseph E. Robert Jr. The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition features a different instrument and...

A fractured wrist is a nightmare scenario for any bassist. But when it happens right as a tour kicks off with your musical heroes, it is even worse. Bassist Jordan Smith

Well known London legends Chas and Dave are going their separate ways. The decision was made by bassist Dave Peacock, due to the tragic death of his wife Sue after battling lung cancer. She passed away this July. The duo had topped the charts in the eighties with hits like “Rabbit,” “Ain’t No Pleasing You” and “Snooker Loopy” and have...