Bilbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOm34SVz2K8 1986

Having been watching the world of bass for over thirty years, I feel qualified to state that there are always innovations and there are always new things happening. What is interesting is the direction of travel in terms of WHERE those innovations can be found. A lot of new ideas are difficult to access in the mainstream as 'innovation' is, more than ever, a niche market. The 'faster, harder, longer' brigade are always there; I call them 'the jugglers', making more and more noise with different techniques, slapping, tapping with increasingly complex patterns, different parts of the body etc etc. It sometimes feels like a bit of freak show (the guy who dresses as a schoolgirl etc) but there are a lot of people with interesting ideas that are grafting away in the corners of the internet or in genres that seldom cross anyone's path accidentally. I think every instrument has aperiod where the innovations are spectacular and fast paced but, as things move forward, the innovations become more nuanced and subtle. What interests me at the momemnt is where the bass is going to find itself in terms of it's use by composers. The whizzy playing is starting to eat itself (I can't watch bass soloists who are just being clever for the sake of impressing other bass players - it is so utterly futile and obvious to the listener. Clever but no artistic merit. What we need is beautiful and in context.

I learned the 1,000 years ago. It is a finger cruncher absolutely but it is fundamentally a waste of time to learn it. You will probably never play in a band where the pianist can do it Seriously, i have never played it with anyone and never heard it played by anyone other than that Marcus Miller 'I can do Jaco with my THUMB' version. Learn some Parker heads or something

I spotted that but it was a double bass so it didn't apply!!!

Here is mine. I struggled to come up with something this month but, today, it came to me. What would a tree sound like if it wanted to sing? I didn't want it to be a song because a tree would not sing a song. I wanted it to sound more organic than a song form so I improvised a theme with myself singing along to add that 'voice' to the sound. I think what I came up with reflects my idea so I am happy with the result. What I am thrilled about is the sound of the recording. It is totally dry. This is what it sounded like when I pressed record and then played it back. https://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/let-the-wood-speak-let-the-wood-sing.

Maria Schneider Orchestra at Cadogan Hall this evening. Magical. And Liam Noble is no slouch either.

I made up a playlist of recordings I have done with my 1986 Wal Custom Fretless over the last 15 years or so (older one's aren't on my computer), just for the sake of evidencing its versatility. I have loads more but it had reached 46 minutes and I thought I was beginning to waste MY time, never mind yours!! https://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/sets/wal-bass

Filed another mill. off the C and G strings last night. Gently does it!!

I have a Ben Bastin endpin. It has made me more popular in general and, unless I am mistaken, a little more attractive to women.

Don't know the maths and will check he measurements when I can get to it. My issues are the fluency of phrasing and stamina at tempo. I am working so hard all the time that I can feel myself flagging long before the end of a gig. Also thumb position playing is very difficult with a. 'high' action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs_gH_yL5h8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aYMhm5hfm0

Send those children home..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYK77lk1XY8 [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1brZyrGlTo0[/media]

I hosted a gig last night which included bass player Yuri Goloubev, a Russian guy with a background in classical music but who plays great Jazz. His Arco work is sublime. His left hand technique was flawless so, at the end of the gig, I felt the action on his bass to find it no higher than an electric. I want an action that low so I can have the kind of facility he has. My current action, recently lowered, is massive by comparison but I am anxious that I may lose something if I take it too far. What's the collective view?

Slam dunk! I love science!

I have a Gibson ES175 and a. Takamine CD132SC nylon acoustic. I also have an Antoria steel sting from way back. For most of my life, I have had more guitars than basses.

Wow!! Saw this guy play last night. Best bass player to appear at my Jazz East project by a country mile!! Beautiful arco sound. What a cv.

By all means try the Stagg but you'll GAS for the real thin,I guarantee it

If you can read a chord chart, you will meet the expectations of most jazz jam sessions.

Double bass. I did the electric bass playing Jazz thing for 28 years. Wasted time. Do the (up) right thing.

Yes. Last April in Oxford Not true. Pete Churchill, Mishka Adams and Ben Barritt.

Yes - The Revealing Science of God - intro drone lasts to 3.48!! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAgp3TdtrW4[/media]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1446389186' post='2898971'] Fiddler on the Roof: 'If I was a rich man'? [/quote] In a barn, not on a roof.

James Taylor - Whenever I see your grumpy face.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1446208170' post='2897708'] This is up there with never having watched Star Wars, but I have never heard anything Jaco has played on... Not out of any dislike for the man, just general disinterest has led to me not bothering to look him up on youtube etc. .. he's not alone, I've never heard anything by Geddy Lee either, which is a another name that keeps cropping up. One day I'll have to have a session going through all these names that get mentioned on BC [/quote] You should film that!! The first time I heard Jaco 2015!!! It would be fascinating to see your reaction this late in the day.

[quote name='NickD' timestamp='1446205423' post='2897674'] I don't think I can add anything to this thread, partly because I know nowt, and partly because all the expected posts are already in. I'd really like to know who your '3 others' are though? [/quote] Percy Jones, Jimmy Johnson and Bruford era Jeff Berlin.