Bilbo

Ginger Baker was a poor man's Elvin Jones. Like a lot of Rock God's, he believes his own press and forgets where he came from. Baker was great Rock drummer but a poor Jazz drummer. Like a lot of young men who use drugs heavily during their early years, their emotional development is often compromised and they don't learn how to cope with the emotional demands of ordinary human relationships. Add the artificiality of the world he operated in and the people who induleged him and you get a perfect storm to arseholedom. Arseholes is arseholes, whoever they are. And, to finish with a[b] mahoosive[/b] name drop, I played with Simon Kirke once (I had forgotten that!!).

I never got this one band thing. I was in nine once and never had a double booking!!

Most common is BEADGC.

New player to me, Yuri Goloubev appears on Maciek Pysz's recordings. I have booked Maciek's trio for my little Jazz thing in Felxistowe later this year and will be excited to see them perform. In the meantime, check out his website. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD0lrQPpwHo"]http://www.youtube....h?v=pD0lrQPpwHo[/url] [url="http://www.yurigoloubev.com/"]http://www.yurigoloubev.com/[/url]

I have just got hold of one of those Harley Benton seven strings which I play with a pick. I actually find it easier to play than a guitar. Guess I am used to the wider spacing and bigger strings.

We could all pick several; no-one said it would be easy.

People just aren't getting the three vote thing, are they?

I have to say, this is an astonishing piece of kit for the money.

It's the bit where everyone stops and you keep going (generally thinking 'oh, fcuk!! Is this right? Shoudl I have shut the fcuk up by now or what'? 'Why is everyone staring at me'? It is usually a bass cliche but best check before you play it .

Paul Chambers had lessons off Ray Brown. It shows.

Milt Hinton and Ray Brown.

Tough call this month. Every one a winner. A hell of an achievement for all involved. I think there is growth across the board (except Garry who is a feckin' genius already).

She HATES Jazz and thinks it's all pretentious b*ll*cks.

Decent crop again. Bodes well.

It ain't a Fodera Anthony Jackson Presentation bass that's for sure but, interestingly, I think it's shortcomings may end up being it's strengths for me. I want to play it as a 'bass guitar' not as a bass, if you get what I mean, so I don't want it to be an 'awesome' sound but a clean one. Anyway, here is a sample I recorded this evening. Direct in with no EQ and only a little reverb. For the record, my wife ordered it from Thomann. It arrived on Monday but, due to a scheduling error, it was left over night at our local Post Office and collected on Tuesday to be left at my in-laws place. I received it Thursday morning. It was still in tune. https://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/alice-in-wonderland

No real problems. I am playing it with a pick and it sounds incredible!! I can play tunes and chords etc although it's difficult to cover four note chords over five strings but it is early days. This is so much fun!!!

I wanted to try one of these Harley Benton seven strings tuned BEADGBE (not BEADGCF) and did mention it in passing. It was my birthday yesterday and look what Mrs. Baggins had it store!!! I knew she was a keeper!!! [url="http://s283.photobucket.com/user/bilbo230763/media/DSCF0395_zpsdgbe0ld2.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s283.photobucket.com/user/bilbo230763/media/DSCF0396_zps4y3gkqip.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s283.photobucket.com/user/bilbo230763/media/DSCF0400_zpsfjaqmjbj.jpg.html"][/url]

Pictures to follow!!!

'explaining chops'. I gotta get me some of those.

OMFG!!!! It's my birthday today and you'll never guess what my fabulous wife bought me?!!!

You can't argue with that.

Brilliant post, Hector. Sums it up perfectly. As for fast solos; I always think in terms of short phrases, strong rhythms and leaving plenty of space to allow ideas to breath, to sink in and to be digestable. You can fly on something like a soprano sax but, on a double bass, this can end up sounding muddy because the note's timbre has no room to speak.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1437556339' post='2826942'] At the end of the sixties it seemed you couldn't give a double bass away, such was the ubiquity of the bass guitar. I remember some article hailing the BG as the most significant new instrument in jazz for the past three decades. At that time my DB fell apart and I went over to BG and it would be fifteen years before I had a DB again. Thing was, I'd started on DB and due to my early influences - notably the blessed Sam Jones - I played in front of the beat. As the BG spoke a lot quicker I found myself playing very much in front of the beat. When I went back to double bass I remember a muso saying to me, words to the effect, ' I didn't realise you were a good player because on BG we didn't think you were too hot'. [/quote] An interesting story. I think there is a lot of this that comes out of the Marsalis neo-classicist era. Marsalis LPs always carried the tag 'this LP was recorded without the dreaded bass direct'. The purist message was all but universal during that time and, since that was the ethos that added impetus to the Jazz scene that existed immediately followed that era, it has never really gone away. Having said that, there is the simple fact that the doulbe bass and electric bass sit in radically different places in the sonic mix and, for most Jazz fans (and Jazz musicians are all Jazz fans), the double bass sounds better in terms of it sitting at the bottom of the ensemble sound and holdin it together. The electric sits higher up and further forward and creates what is essentially a completely different effect and which also leaves a gap at the bottom.

I only saw the Acoustic and Jazz editions and have to say that the musicians on show all deserved to be there. I had my preferences but they were all tasty musicians and great adverts for their instruments.

It's all got a bit surreal.