No Treble Archive for August 30th

Nathan Enders shared the latest creation from 96 Art Custom Instruments, which is a neck-through design four-string bass with a killer Buckeye burl top complete with matching pickup covers and knobs.

Mike Matthews sent us a video simply (and correctly) entitled “Scott Ambush Amazing Bass Solo.” After a little digging, we found the full video, which is taken from a Spyro Gyra performance at Jazz In Marciac back in 2014.

The Lyle Mays Estate has released the final work of the keyboardist, who passed in 2020. “Eberhard” is a thirteen-minute “mini symphony”, dedicated to Eberhard Weber. Mays paid tribute with two great bassists: Jimmy Johnson and Steve Rodby.

Scott Devine from Scott’s Bass Lessons has released episode #2 of his “Bass Tales” series, and this one is a killer. From his house in Nashville, Billy Sheehan showcases his amazing bass collection, including the legendary P-bass, “The Wife”.

After spending the last several years paying tribute to the great Nat King Cole, jazz vocalist Gregory Porter is back to focusing on his original music. His new album, “All Rise”, features Jahmal Nichols plays both double bass and bass guitar.

Havok, featuring monster bassist Nick Schendzielos, has announced a fall tour. The outing will kick off in their home state of Colorado on October 15th before heading south and into Mexico.

Last year, Darryl Anders and his band AgapéSoul released their second album, “Conversations.” The album kicks off with this track, “Kite,” which includes perfect bass tone from Anders and a vocal performance from Zoe Ellis that feels like ear candy.

Robert Randolph & the Family Band are back with a new album called “Brighter Days.” Randolph’s band is aptly named: each member is a relative of his. That includes bassist Danyel Morgan, who helps to deepen the groove with blues, gospel, and R&B lines.

Seymour Duncan has unveiled a new analog fuzz synthesizer pedal for all instruments called the Fooz. The highly tweak-able circuit dishes out fuzz and filter effects. “Inspired by iconic guitar tones and synth flexibility, Fooz delivers the spirit of synth creativity to guitar and bass players, as well as electronic musicians. It brings everything to the show – Fuzz, Wah,...

Back in June, Alina Engibaryan performed at the Jazz Standard in New York. The pianist/vocalist had quite a backing band too, including Michael League, who played bass and Moog and offered up some background vocals. This is their performance of “The New You” from Alina’s album .

Latin jazz bassist John Benítez has expanded his line of bass method instructional books with a second book. The John Benitez Bass Method, Vol. 2: El Sonero del Barrio – A Creative Approach to Salsa expands on book one’s rhythmic aspects by focusing on specific playing contexts from his recording career. “Vol. 2 concentrates on Benítez’s incredibly innovative approach to...

Electro-Harmonix has upgraded their Cock Fight to introduce the Cock Fight Plus. The tradition rack and pinion style filter features two distinct wah sounds with a switchable and adjustable fuzz. Its Wah toggle selects between the Crying Tone and the dual formant filter of the Talking Pedal. Bassists will appreciate the Bottom control, which blends in clean bass frequencies to...

I often get the question about how to play “outside” the changes. There’s no easy answer to this, but I do have several tips to keep in mind. This week I made a video to dig into how to create tension and release by playing outside of the harmony.

In 2016, King Crimson performed at the Admiralspalast in Berlin. They included a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” in the set. Robert Fripp had this to say about the performance: “King Crimson performed Heroes at the Admiralspalast in Berlin as a celebration, a remembrancing and an homage. The concert was thirty nine years and one month after the original sessions...

Meet Benjamin Race, a musician and producer living in the UK and doing some pretty stellar work in his music career. Sounds like Benjamin got a good start in life, with a father who served as inspiration – and one with impeccable musical tastes (if you ask us). Benjamin in this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his...

Rex Brown has teamed up with Warwick for a new signature bass that will be available in the company’s top shelf custom shop line as well as the more affordable Rockbass Artist line. Both versions are based off the Reverso neck-through model, which features a distinct offset body with an extended upper horn. The Rockbass Artist Line Rex Brown 4...

Chris DeAngelis is the super talented bassist for Kung Fu and The Breakfast, but he also makes time to create insanely good solo covers (which he calls the HoodRat Sessions) in his spare time. Case in point: this clip of his take on Radiohead’s “Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes and Ladders)”. “HoodRat Sessions continues with a tribute to the best...

A new compilation album from English band Level 42, fronted by Mark King, known for his slap-and-pop bass playing style, is available. Collected features all the band’s singles, including 1980s hits like “Lessons in Love” and “Something About You,” as well as 11 12-inch remixes. Collected is available in the U.S. as an set. Collected Track List: Disc 1: Sandstorm...

Looking over our newest 10 list, I’d say this was quite the week. Don’t you agree? Thanks as always for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. BassTheWorld: 29 Bassists in 1 Video The internet is a wonderful thing. Gregor Fris from BasstheWorld.com put together this epic bass jam with 29 bassists from all over the world for a stunning display...

After getting into the multi-scale bass market earlier this year, Ibanez is expanding their SR Fanned Fret bass line with a new finish. Available in five- and six-string versions, the bass will come in a Walnut Flat finish as well as its original black stain. The SRFF805 five-string and 806 six-string models are built with an ash body, a five-piece...

Bassist/vocalist Maddie Jay and her band the pH Collective has released their first original. “Throw Away Your Hate” was written by Jay, and offers up a nice groove and some great bass tone. We’re going to be watching for more music from Maddie and the Collective.

On July 4, 1970, the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed in front of 300,000 people at the Second Atlanta International Pop Festival, which was viewed as a kind of “Southern Woodstock.” Hendrix’s bassist for the performance was Billy Cox (who also played with Hendrix at Woodstock), who is interviewed (as is Paul McCartney) in the documentary about the show, called “Jimi...

French luthier Paul Lairat has unveiled his latest creation called the Travel Bass. The bass features a headless design with a trimmed back body shape. Combined with its reduced 32-inch scale, the bass is ideal for taking on the road. Lairat handcrafts the model in 4-, 5-, or 6-string builds with two versions: a mahogany body with a maple top...

Back in 2009, the group known as DB III took the stage at Tokyo’s Cotton Club. The trio, consisting of guitarist Dean Brown, bassist Will Lee and drummer Dennis Chambers, performed one funky version of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”. The tune, arranged by Brown, appeared on the trio’s album, , also released in 2009. Dig it.

The July 2010 High Voltage Festival in London marked the first time Asia performed its multiplatinum 1982 debut album in full in Europe. Four years later, that show is now available in a . The performance featured the original band lineup (including singer, songwriter and bassist John Wetton), hits like “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell” and...

Believe it or not, I’m a huge fan of the blues. This particular genre caught my attention at a young age and it has taken years (and, I expect, will require many more) to appreciate some of its subtleties. If you’ve had an opportunity to check out my series on blues bass playing, then this column acts as a quintessential...

Yes, you read that right: Country/Fusion slap bass. Brazilian bassist Fernando Molinari posted this play-along of the song “Taffontry 20mg” from his album Identidade, which is kind of like a honky tonk song on speed. More of the fusion part of the equation comes out at 1:55 when Molinari plays some blazing tapping lines in unison with the guitar. I’m...

Here’s another reason why the bass community is the best: bassists in the United Kingdom are donating to a good cause as part of the BC Bass Relay. Started in mid-January by James Ryan, a member of the online forum BassChat, the relay includes a single Stagg BC300 Fusion bass being used as a “baton” for gigs to raise money...

There are lots of interpretations of the old J-bass, but one that strikes me most is the BeBop made by Dutch boutique shop De Gier. It offers a little more in the curves department with subtle tweaks to set itself apart from the classic design. Available in 4- or 5-string versions, the De Gier BeBop comes standard with an alder...

With unbelievable technique and a unique musical voice, Evan Brewer is quickly becoming the face of the new wave of bass heroes. The former Animosity bassist joined the ranks of technical death metal band The Faceless last year in time to help write and record their new album Autotheism, which hit shelves August 14th. The band has just wrapped up...

Bassist Johan Hansén-Larson sent us this video, which has a neat story behind it, not to mention one of the most unique camera views we’ve seen. Johan shared, “this is my solo from the Roy Hargrove song Strasbourgh – St Denis, from a gig I did last spring here in Stockholm. In the beginning of the video you can see...

Meet Jon Willis, a bassist from Savannah, Georgia who got his start studying with Beaver Felton, and has more than 20 years experience as a bassist. Jon is our player in the spotlight for August 30, 2011. Bio: Began playing bass in early 90’s. I bought a Hot Licks VHS featuring Beaver Felton and soon found out that he lived...

August marks the 35th anniversary of the debut of Jaco Pastorius‘ first album, the self-titled Jaco Pastorius. Do a quick search on Youtube, and you’ll find Jaco’s influence is as strong as ever. In celebration, we’ve taken a look back at all of the Jaco covers and playalongs we’ve posted here on No Treble. Here are the top 10, based...

What’s the next concert you’re attending? (band/date/location) Answer below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

Violinist Chris Murphy enlisted the help of bassist Mike Watt and drummer Steven Hodges for this tune, “Blues for Bukowski” for his 2007 album, Luminous. Here’s the official video, complete with bass solo.

The wait is over. After a period of downtime and personnel change, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have released I’m With You, their first album in five years, and tenth overall. I’m With You is also the first to feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who replaces longtime guitarist John Frusciante. “It’s not like we just got another musician,” bassist Flea said....

In case you missed it in March, the Experience Hendrix Tour, anchored by Hendrix bassist Billy Cox, will be making it’s comeback this Fall for another twenty dates across the East Coast, Midwest, and Canada. Cox is the sole-surviving member of Hendrix’s Experience and Band of Gypsy’s groups. “It’s a thrill for me to play Jimi’s music for audiences now...

This is your friendly neighborhood bass columnist bringing you the second half of a look at Mr. Paul Chambers (or for short, “Mr. P.C.”) I hope you got a chance to play through “Mopp Shoe Blues” from last time, and try a bit of Chambers’ solo. As I said last time, this is one of Chambers’ tunes he played pizzicato...

This is a clip from the Joe Satriani: Live in San Francisco DVD, in which Stu Hamm proves why he is among the bass greats. Starting with a bass arrangement of Satriani’s “Love Thing,” the solo soon morphs into Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, and then “Country Music”. And don’t worry, the crowd isn’t booing him, they are “STU-ing” him!

Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of August 22 – 28, 2010. Slap Bass 101: Part 4 – Right Hand Pluck/Pop Video: Time Warp: Robert Trujillo Breaks Down His Technique Gear: A Closer Look at the Ibanez Ashula Fretted/Fretless Hybrid Contest: Win a Signed Copy of Esperanza Spalding’s “Chamber Music...

Victor Wooten is holding two upcoming camps, as part of his music and nature series held at the new Wooten Woods Retreat. “Spirit of Music” will take place from September 3-6, 2009. Victor and his staff plan to explore these questions with campers: Is there a spiritual side to Music? Do you want to find out? Can Music “speak” to...

Swedish progressive metal group THERION has released The Miskolc Experience, a 3-disc set including the live performance on DVD. THERION is Christofer Johnsson on guitar, newcomers Kristian Niemann on guitar and Johan Niemann on bass, and drummer Petter Karlsson. Filmed at the International Opera Festival in Miskolc, Hungary in June 2007, the CD/DVD set includes THERION’s performance with the Miskolc...

We have no idea who these guys are, but they’re rocking out to “Summertime” on top of a mountain, so we had to show them! That must have been a serious hike.