Bilbo

I have been nursing a frustrating hum for years now and thought I had tried everything (different leads, moving hardware, earth loops etc) and had given up on the thing, deciding to live with it rather than fret about it because in most cases you can't hear it on the finsihed track and because I am only sketching, not recording things for release. Anyway, for no reason other than grabbing what was at hand, I used a new (expensive) lead on the weekend (one of the ones I gig with)and its a silent as a grave. It wasn't that I was using one bad lead. It was ALL of my leads that were cheap and probably bordeline microphonic (hence chaning the original set of leads had not cured the problem). SO now I have to replace all of my leads with decent ones. More expense!

Arguably nothing. Arguably everything. The difference is that a standard is a tune that folk use as a vehicle to start their improvisations and it can be massively rearranged to sound nothing like 'the original' (changes of harmony, changes of rhythm, time signatures, grooves, feel etc) although calling the original 'the original' is a slight misnomer because, in 99% of cases, noone knows what the original sounded like. Having said that, most versions of Canteloupe Island are the same, as are most versions of DOn't Get Aroudn Much Any More and Take The A Train. A cover can be all of the above and more but is generally much more similar to the original in most senses but can be radically different e.g. Yes' version of Paul Simon's 'America'. But, in absolute terms, there is no difference other than in jazz, they tend to be called standards and in pop/rock etc, its covers. .

Me too, H. Although doing it in public occasionally would be nice. I had 5 gigs in January but I have one (my own trio) between 30th Jan and 15th April.... That's one gig in 76 days. Total sh*te.

Reading improving your playing? Careful, Sonny! They'll be calling you elitist next

In case you miss it (which you would if you only ever get your news of TV).... 54th Grammy Awards - Jazz categories (winners followed by nominees Best Improvised Jazz Solo "500 Miles High" – Chick Corea "All or Nothing at All" – Randy Brecker "You Are My Sunshine" – Ron Carter "Work" – Fred Hersch "Sonnymoon for Two" – Sonny Rollins Best Jazz Vocal Album The Mosaic Project – Terri Lyne Carrington & Various Artists 'Round Midnight – Karrin Allyson The Gate – Kurt Elling American Road – Tierney Sutton (Band) The Music of Randy Newman – Roseanna Vitro Best Jazz Instrumental Album Forever – Corea, Clarke & White Bond: The Paris Sessions – Gerald Clayton Alone at the Vanguard – Fred Hersch Bird Songs – Joe Lovano & Us Five Road Shows Vol. 2 – Sonny Rollins Timeline – Yellowjackets Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album The Good Feeling – Christian McBride Big Band The Jazz Ballad Song Book – Randy Brecker with DR Big Band 40 Acres and a Burro – Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Legacy – Gerald Wilson Orchestra Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook – Miguel Zenón

I have been late for Sunday lunchtime gigs twice in my life because the clocks went forward and I didn't know.

Jazz players do natural fades all the time, actually playing quieter and quieter (without walking backwards ). Its all another texture that can offer an interesting alternative approach. When you are improvising, the idea is to create something interesting or to find a new perspective on a oiece and this kind of thing is just another option taht is available to explore.

I have used Rotosound Solo Bass strings (groundwound) for nearly 26 years and have no discernable fretboard wear on my Wal. I put a new set on about two weeks ago and they sound great to my cloth ears.

+1 for the Paul Stump book. I also have a Hatfield and The North DVD I put up for sale on Amazon (mine is the £12 one) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000062XI1/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller= Anyone who wants it here can have a Basschat discount!! (PM me)

Wal To Wal is on Product, Dave, and, yes, Phil Collins was on those albums (he was also playing percussion on those Nova tracks, incidently). I know PJ stuff is hard - I was being mischievious

Another old favourite from way back... its in 5:4 but pretty as fcuk and sees Jeff pretending he has a fretless (he doesn't) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGRx5Ja2stc&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGRx5Ja2stc&feature=related[/url]

This one has Neil Peart on it! It is Cannonbal Adderley's solo on Marabi transcribed for electric bass (I used to be able to play this 100 years ago) - notice that the bass is lower in the mix than Scott Henderson's guitar - a producer's decision not a bass player's. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lXfIVeDFEQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lXfIVeDFEQ[/url]

Joe Frazier Round II [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_6Q3F1a8V8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_6Q3F1a8V8[/url] Manos De Piedra [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZs77J4yiK8&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZs77J4yiK8&feature=related[/url]

A ballad with Bruford [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDCeel-Zti0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDCeel-Zti0[/url] This one is even pre-moustache.... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF19xpZPJgg&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF19xpZPJgg&feature=related[/url]

JB get's on my tits nowadays but I was just listening to a load of old stuff I used to like and thought I would post some of here so people could hear the stuff he used to do when he had a producer and some great players around him (Allan Holdsworth and Chad Whackerman). The solo on this is stunning [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znQ30s01YA&feature=related[/media] More of a groove piece with some nice fills [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW5wcU3ohDs[/media]

More great Percy Jones on a fretless Precision but a rarer recording called Vimana by an Italian band called Nova. It all kicks off at 1.23 (yum yum, pig's bum) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoFsg_79nA0&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoFsg_79nA0&feature=related[/url] Grooving in 15:8 [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vai5T4bLO6Q&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vai5T4bLO6Q&feature=related[/url]

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1328811135' post='1533104'] "Noddy" Goes to Sweden - sorry to correct you there Bilbo but you had me racking my brains thinking i had got it wrong all those yrs. Brilliant Percy Jones stuff with his famous WAL bass sound. Great album. Dave [/quote] Good call, Dave. I have always called it Nobody but you are correct. What a kernnob. Interestingly, whoever posted this on youtube made the same mistake...(it wasn't me). [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6TmqLY_bGY&feature=related[/media] This one's a bit easier [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClCvm4eAT38&feature=related[/media]

Nobody Goes To Sweden - Brand X. What?

Bilbo staggers away from the still warm bodies of a Surrey Bass bash where the assembled throng all played Moondance in unison thinking he wouldn't.

Never liked them myself. Tried a few in the late 80s/early 90s and found them a bit 'clanky'. But what do I know? I can't tell the difference between a Jazz and a Precision.

PS I forgot to say, I love Jazz.

Self talk....’sh*t. All these guys wanting to play Jazz? I’m going to lose gigs. Oh, they are all in Surrey and London. OK, then, here goes.’ The ‘Jazz Scene’ is not a single entity and there are several things going on at once. You have your local big bands where the local MU or similar enthusiasts organise a weekly blow though some charts. These bands can range from great or terrible but they do offer regular playing opportunities if you can get a foot in the door. The requisite competences are rudimentary reading skills and good time (local big bands to you are Pat Kelly’s Penduluum (Reading) and Bill Castle’s The Chosen Few (Bracknell). Then you have your local jam sessions where you can just turn up and sit in. Great places to cut your teeth when you are starting out and need a place to play but the standards can vary greatly from great to appalling and you have to go along and see what is happening. In don’t know what’s in Surrey now but there should be jams around and about, particularly as you go into London (there was one in Staines, IIRC, and at Jagz in Ascot) The next stage is the commercial ‘function band’ type of jazz which sees players working the same circuits as other wedding/function bands and it is a case of getting your name out there as a competent player and waiting for a gig to come along. Theses kinds of gigs range in quality from great to appalling (same a pop, rock and funk bands) and it s a question of trial and error and of seeing what is out there and taking work where you can. These bands sometimes find themselves playing local venues who are trying to ‘get some jazz evenings going’ but the money is generally poor so it tends to be duos and trios. It is as much a case of who you know as it is what you can play. There are then the local rhythm section with visiting artists scene which sees a regular rhythm section (usually piano/bass/dr or guitar/bas/dr) backing a visiting artist. These are great gigs if you can get onto one because you get to play with major UK jazz players like Art Themen, Don Weller, Stan Sultzman etc. Trouble with these is the gigs are often ‘dead men’s shoes’ and whoever holds the gig keeps it until some traumatic life event intervenes and the gig becomes free. I have depped loads of these but have never been the first call guy who gets the regular work. I have resisted the temptation to assassinate Bernie Hodgkins so far but it is early days in Suffolk so watch this space Right up until this level, the repertoire is standards (The Great American Songbook) and so-called jazz standards (the ones everyone plays – Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk etc etc) And, at the top of tree, there are the originals bands who are playing their own material; creative, on the cutting edge etc. You can go straight into this ‘strata’ if you are lucky but the standard is monstrously high and, if there is a gig to be had, everyone wants it! This is as much about who you know and who you spend your time playing with so, if Django Bates lives next door and needs a player regularly, you are in with a chance. Regarding the electric bass prejudice. Its out there and its real. Many will book a good electric player if they can’t get anything else but there are still some (many?) who would rather book a bad double bass player than a good electric player (I tend to think there are gigs I wouldn’t want anyway as those kinds of decisions are perverse and must reflect on the musical values of the leader). If a jazz band is leaning towards funk/fusion etc, an electric bass is fine but such bands are not that common in the provinces so think about a double bass as it will bring you more work. Core advice: Learn to read charts. A must if you are going to work with people who never rehearse. Learn what extensions and slash chords mean. They are less common in popular music and you may see stuff you are not ready for. Learn to read dots; even if you can’t read fly sh*t on toilet paper, being able to read eighth notes is going to save your arse on a daily basis so put some time in on it. Soloing is less important than you think; you can, if you wish, tell and MD not to give you solos if you want and many respect that (maybe one or two a gig – I do gigs where I get asked to solo on every tune and it bores me never mind anyone who is listening ). Pick the tunes you want to solo over based on what you are prepared for. I can’t solo over Giant Steps without looking like a tit so, if it is called, I don’t solo. Never play Fever, Canteloupe Island, Watermelon Man and especially never, ever, EVER play Moondance (or I will have to kill you).

I have just got hold of my 'entry level' IEM gizmo (Art Headtap) and now need to sort out headphones. My first thought is, where do I situate the Headtap and how long a headphoen lead will I need. I would prefer buds as closed back headphones may work on a drummer in the studio but, on a live double bass player are going to look a bit silly. What do others do to make the process discreet but convenient?

If we are talking jazz partnerships that have stood the test of time there are many: Tony Bennett - Ralph Sharon Carla Bley - Steve Swallow John Scofield - Steve Swallow Pat Metheny - Lyle Mays Branford MArsalis - Jeff Watts Sonny Rollins - Bob Cranshaw Oscar Peterson - Ray Brown Cleo Laine - John Dankworth the list is endless. If we are talking business relationships in Jazz, its Ronnie Scott and Pete King or Lorraine and Max Gordon

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