Bilbo

I don't warm up, really. Tend to play so much I am close to match fit at all times. If not, I just make sure the first few tunes aren't hardcore. I guess its more important to warm up if you are on the edge of your physical potential at all times. As a jazzer, I tend to not get into that zone very often so can 'warm up' with the first half of the first set. At home, I suppose its depends on what you are practising?

Yes. But I urge caution because the F and F sharp contradict each other so hanging on one would clash big time if someone else was hanging on the other. Not a deal breaker but a major change in texture. With reference to the term 'does it work', the answer is always yes as every note has an effect on every other but what you have to decide is what are your intentions. If you want it to clash and to create dischord, it will sound great. If you want it to sound smooth, it won't.

Flamin' norah.... they'll be bringing in soft furnishings any day now... Seriously, though. Welcome. Did you know the head of the Welsh College of Music and Drama's Jazz COurse is a female bass player? Looks like all the blokes over that way must be drummers. Tidy! I'm from Cwmbran myself but have been away from there 25 years now so its probably changed a bit. Family are still there; got 'lectric and everything.

Tragic news, my friend. I hope it turns up.

POst a picture on Ken Smith's site. They know everything!

Mark Levine's Jazz Theory is the book louis refers to. Best place to start is Spotify. Listen to as much Jazz as you can and then get a couple of Jamey Aebersold's play-a-longs and have a go. Or get a teacher who knows Jazz. Any walking bass line book with get you stared (they all contain the same information just laid out differently). Once you get the basic principles, you just do it as much as you can and learn as you go.

Coutn Basie used to talk about 'total hearing', listening to the whole band rather than just yourself. Its a real skill and takes a LOT of practice and discipline. On the rare occasions where I achieve it, it really shows you how much you do on automatic pilot and how much better you can be if you focus.

I think Fons is a monster musician but I think his material is quite weak (I have 5 of his cds and have reached the point where I can't listen to them any more - they grate). I would love to hear him performing compositions that are a little less two-dimensional. His tricks and licks get a bit samey after a while. And yes it is a high C, like mine

[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1337589797' post='1662241'] As an author yourself, I'm sure you would also appreciate Edward Gorey's wonderful first book: [i][url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Unstrung-Harp-Earbrass-Writes/dp/0747550344/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337589667&sr=1-1"]The Unstrung Harp: or Mr Earbrass writes a novel[/url]. [/i]Not yet set to music. [/quote] On order!!

I don't find her attractive (particularly) and the dress/heels thing is not the point. Its the marketing. The fact that she is not a heavyweight but is being presented as something more than she is is the point. She is marketed the way she is because of the way she looks, no because of the way she plays. Her stuff is ok and the band is good but she ain't no Messiah! It happens every time a woman picks up a bass or any other horn; she is seen before she is heard. This kind of approach to image aggravates that tendency to the detriment of other female musicians. One wonders if she would have had this coverage had she been a better player but looked like Norah Batty. Where's the features on Melissa Slocum, Joanne Brackeen, Marian McPartland, Toshiko Akiyoshi..... oops, no cute dimples and no mini-skirts = no cover story, no videos and no record deal. And the fact that she sings makes everything rrrrrrrrrright (irony, in case you thought I was being serious) Anyway, all of this a distraction. I'm probably being more hostile because of the 'trappings' than is fair to the kid. I hope she grows into a great musician and PUTS SOME TROUSERS ON Jazz rools!

I often think moving a double bass from one place to another is like running a three-legged egg and spoon race down stairs in the dark with Parkinson's. It's only a matter of time......

Got that IEM thing sorted. Did two gigs last weekend on the beast and only a wee bit sore this morning. The gig I did ;ast night was a particular pleasure as it was my own trio (great players on sax and drums) and the bass sounded great. I plugged in and there it was. Didn't even have to touch the eq. It just sounded like the bass but louder which is, I believe, the point.

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1337548994' post='1661925'] ...... it's harder and more satisfying to play a one note groove locking in with the drummer , than a whole lot of fancy pies.... [/quote] No its not

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1337521509' post='1661259'] I think Esperanza treads a delicate line - She doesn't pander to this in a particularly specific way, [/quote] So her choice of skirt and heels was purely pragmatic I'll try it on the next gig to see if it helps my intonation.

Christ, no.......

[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1322749310' post='1455325'] Ah yes, Carla Bley. If you haven't already heard it, you should check out the Hapless Child album, in which Robert Wyatt sings some of the stories of Edward Gorey. Fab band, including Bley and some of her regular companions. [/quote] Just got hold of this as a download (itunes, £4.49). Great stuff. Perversely feel good!

Great fun. Nice composition. My only real comment on the bass element is 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should'. If you are arranging tunes, you need to think about what is the best way of presenting the material and bass tapping is a a very raw/raucous sound that kind of overpowers everything else; like a loud drummer I guess. But it is nice to hear folk messing around with stuff other than the normal rock and pop staples. Good work.

Who is the tenor player who play the last solo? I like his ideas.

Just got hold of Ornette Coleman's 'Beauty Is A Rare Thing'. 57 track retrospective of his early stuff. Some interesting material on there. The Uri Caine works but its more funk than jazz to my ears. Not that matters.

I think its a case of deciding what it is you want to achieve by transcribing the pieces you choose. Personally, I think that, if you are transcribing for publication (even informally such as on here), you need to be as thorough as possible and complete tracks start to finish are preferred. If, however, it is all for your own study, then you can legitimately transcribe one bar and have achieved your aim. I have posted a large number of transcriptions here ranging from a bass clef version of John Coltrane's entire saxophone work on 'A Love Superme' to individual riffs/licks etc. What I find is that transcribing a whole album can sometime be a bit pointless as a lot of music is based on repetition and transcriptions of endless bars of the same riff really doesn't achieve very much. At home, I tend to transcribe things I want to examine and understand which can be a little part of a solo or riff rather than massive chunks of material. In short, the purpose determines the content.

Mark Levine's Jazz Theory book.

Weather Report 'A Remark You Made' is the great fretelss 'entry level' tune. Pat Metheny Group 'Jaco' (in fact, look for the first two Pat Metheny Group albums 'PMG' and 'American Garage' and Pat Metheny's first solo LP 'Bright Size Life' - they are all chock full of great fretless lines that are generally pretty easy to play). Weather Report's 'Black MArket' album is also get some great fretless stuff on it; Jaco and Alphonso Johnson. Johnson is also the bass player on Phil Collins's 'This Must Be Love' off his Face Value cd.

To be blunt, it is so rare to have two bands playing at a jazz gig..... I did lend my Trace Eliot stack to both Miroslav Vitous and Arild Anderson once. Trouble is, it was before I knew who they were Talk about a missed opportunity.