Bilbo

[quote name='Faithless' post='835886' date='May 13 2010, 08:49 AM']Is it just me, or Laurence's big band stuff sounds too much like Jaco's big band stuff?[/quote] It has always been an issue for me that Laurence sounds like a composite of a couple of other players (Jaco and Jeff Berlin, primarily) rather than having a unique voice of his own. I always think that players like, say, Steve Swallow and Kermit Drsicoll, have none of the chops of people like Cottle but, because they have 'their' thing, they are more interesting to listen to. Cottle's writing is the same. Intelligent, cerebral etc but not really meaningful. He is one of those guys with a huge basket of skills that still never moves on. I think he just needs to find himself amongst all of the 'stuff' he has learned. He's still a great player, though.

I have seen these and they look visually interesting but it seems we are all caught up in this mythology around new and 'cheap' basses (i.e. anything under £2K - when did that sum start meaning cheap? ). 'Buy an old bass and get a luthier to work on it', says everyone. Oh and that'll be another £600. But then someone else tells us that they bought their bass for £350, changed the strings and now its got a massive sound Add all the 'ebay horror stories' to the list and we are all left incapable of making a decision!! Can anyone she any light on these Gedo basses and put us 'newbies' out of our misery?

[quote name='Moos3h' post='835148' date='May 12 2010, 11:03 AM']Can't say I'm much of a fan (or don't know) a lot on your list, but I think Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear are both from the UK and they make music I adore![/quote] A bit funky/groove orientated for my tastes but cool...

There has always been a general consensus that all of the best jazz comes from the US. I think that this has been challanged over the last couple of decades and that, in addition to jazz from Europe and the Far East, there has been a great deal of quality music coming out of the UK for the last 20 years or more. Following on from the talented but exceptional Tubby Hayes/Ronnie Scott/Jazz Couriers group (‘57 – ’59), we have seen major progress in the form of bands like Loose Tubes and the Delightful Precipice Orchestra and players like Courtney Pine, Iain Ballamy, John Taylor and Tommy Smith in the 80s and 90s. More recently, small groups like Neil Cowley’s Trio, Empirical, the FIRE Collective, etc have started to appear. So the question is, what British led jazz LPs have turned your head now or in the past? Ex-pats are welcome if they are long term residents of the UK. Defectors are excluded – Dave Holland, George Shearing etc – the choices must have been conceived and recorded within these shores. My favourites? For starters….. Kenny Wheeler – Flutter By, Butterfly (Canadian but here since 1950s) Kenny Wheeler – Music for Large and Small Ensembles Iain Ballamy – Balloon Man Loose Tubes – Delightful Precipice Django Bates – Winter Truce (and Homes Blaze) Bill Bruford’s Earthworks – 1st (1990) John Taylor Trio – Whirlpool Andy Sheppard’s Co-Motion – Rhythm Method Courtney Pine – Journey Ot The Urge WIthin Steve Berry Trio – 1st What British Jazz has done it for you.

Rub it all over with gravy granules*. It might harm the varnish but the dog will LOVE it *NB this post was added for comedic effect. Rubbing your bass with gravy granules is NOT a method of ageing that is recommended by the International Society of Bassists.

THat's a fair price, Pkomor. MAy get one myself (I have two already )

I have these two for sale. One is all Duke Ellington tunes (with piano/bass/drums) and the other is a handful of other jazz standards (Guitar/Bass Drums). You can isolate the piano/drums from the bass by turning the balance on your stereo to one side. The Aebersold series are a tried and tested learning tool. Most of us jazzers have used them. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=73964&hl=aebersold"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=aebersold[/url]

I seem to have a much more casual relationship with gear than most. I operate on the basis that, if you have a good professional quality instrument and a good professional quality amp/speaker/combo, if you have nay sort of ability, it will sound fine. You can tweak and fiddle and tweak some more but, IME, the room you are in is the biggest factor in determining the effectiveness of your sound, followed by the number of bodies. Good bass, good amp, good room, good crowd - nirvana. Good bass, good amp, bad room, no people - you will struggle. I have a good bass (Wal) and a good amp (Eden) but, if they were replaced by another good bass and another good amp, I envisage no reall problems in making it work for me. I think there is too much fussing about things that matter very little and too little attention paid to the things that matter a lot. Bit like life really......

First bass players that caught my ears were Steve Harris and Jack Bruce (his sound on Cozy Powell’s Over The Top was my default for years, although I never really liked Cream). After that it was Chris Squire and Geddy Lee, then Percy Jones (Brand X ‘Product’ was the one that hooked me) , Jeff Berlin (the 4 Bruford LPs), Jaco and Jimmy Johnson (with Wayne Johnson’s Trio). Anthony Jackson was always inspirational for his focus as much as his playing. When I got into jazz it was Marc Johnson, Dave Holland, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers…. Steve Swallow came later. What I have found, as I have matured as a musician, is that bass players and bass playing has become less important as the fascination has moved to the arts of composition, arranging and improvisation. So the artist I then moved towards become people like Mingus (the composer and the bass player), Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland (as composer), Gil Evans, Maria Schneider, Django Bates, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Duke Ellington, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Joe Lovano… Interestingly, there are many mentioned here who have never inspired me in the least, despite their formidable (and usually deserved) reputaitons. Marcus Miller – I have never likes his music so never bothered with his bass playing. Wooten – acrobatics not music? Gwizdala – intelligent and developing player but, as yet, I am not engaged. Feraud – not heard anything that moves me at all. All the groove players: Flea, Mark King, Pino, Edwards, Johnson, Jamerson, Collins – I acknowledge that they are very good at what they do I just never really found what they do to be that interesting (I own no material by any of those players – great playing but uninteresting music). I guess that is what makes me a different player to others who love this stuff.

I did a 3 sets double bass gig yesterday with Colin Watling, an East Anglia based tenor saxophonist of some considerable merit. He is a fiery player and enjoys playing at rapid tempos (we did a version of 'Donna Lee' where I could barely sustain the walking lines on electric, never mind play the head.... to be fair, he did apologise afterwards as he 'didn't mean it to be that quick' ). In short, I have now got my [b]first double bass [/b]blister (index finger, right hand) . It was inevitable, really, but I feel like I have been through some sort of inititation. What was nice was that the pianist was heard to say 'we have another double bass player in the Area'. Just not tonight, ay?

I am in Felixstowe and will teach if noone else is available (former students have gone on to the Royal College and one now teaches at Cardiff University). PM me and we can have a chat about what your needs are.

Rotosound Solo Bass. Been on my Wal for 23 years and no damage to the ebony fretboard. They are groundwounds

He is an astonishingly accomplished player. HIs ideas are a little derivative but, given the right context, I have no doubt he could make some incredible music. I am not impressed by mindless displays of technique but this guy is an intelligent player who just needs a bit of discipline and maturitty (and probably a producer). Like everything on YouTube nobody has edited this so its a stream on conciousness. When he gets past that, he has some extremely useful tools his can use in his music.

Decent bass, decent amp. The rest is trainspotting.

Interesting fred. I like my sound (as do the people I play with ) but I will try this on the gig I am doing tonight with my Neil Sedaka Tribute Band, 'Sweet Sixteen'. It will be interesting to see whether it helps or hinders!

Steve bought some of my cds. Quick and efficient transaction, good communication and an interesting and enlightening exchange of pms about double basses! Would do business with him again anytime.

Compression is often used in music production to make performances more consistent in dynamic range so that they "sit" in the mix of other instruments better and maintain consistent attention from the listener. In short, it is a way of tightening the signal so the highs and lows in the resulting volume are less extreme. I see it best when slapping and popping as the 'pop' bit can peak your signal whilst the slap bit sounds a lot quieter. Its subtle but makes a massive difference in balancing recordings. Live I don't bother as the effect is often lost in the live mix in the small venues I play but I know others are more inclined to use it.