Bilbo

Fun and high standards are not mutually exclusive. Sharing a stage with, say, Nicolas Meier and Asaf Sirkis and kind of nearly nailing it is a complete buzz. My point is that, given a two hour rehearsal, I KNOW I would have nailed the handful of details that I missed because, say, my reading was not up to it or I didn't know a break or ending as well as I should. It is rarely because I am 'not good enough'.

I think it is astonishingly naive to think that the world is divided into good guys and bad guys and that this line matches the Arts. I am also saddened when people are accused of something, not convicted but the mud nevertheless sticks. I am also a great believer in the concept of rehabilitation. Once a criminal always a criminal? I don't buy it. As a 25 year Probation Officer, I have learned that it's all shades of grey.

I wanted to raise something by way of insight that has come to me very late in life and which relates to the issue of technical ability. As players, we have probably all, at some point, dreamed of achieving something as a musician that, as we failed to achieve it, may have appeared increasingly unattainable. I have had periods when I had absolutely no doubt whatsoever that I was a total genius but also have had (much longer) periods when I have held the view that I am either a total wanker or, at best, am only ever going to be a B-Lister at best. In my mid-50s, through conscious decisions made over the last few years, I have long since stopped doing gigs that I found frustrating musically and just done gigs that I know are going to involve a good standard of music making. Whilst this has reduced the numbers of gigs I am doing considerably, every gig I now do is with people who are playing at a high standard and I am almost always the weakest player in the band (there are almost no ‘bands’ involved in this as most of the music I play is with ensembles are scratch bands that are made up of deps and guests with local rhythm sections etc). What I have noticed is that there are many occasions where I find myself playing fairly demanding material and generally nailing it. The bits where things fall apart tend to be the complex passages of written material that I am not familiar with before the gig. What is apparent is that the difference between my playing being good and it being great is NOT ability (unless you mean my ability to read complex passages ‘cold’) but simply a lack of rehearsal and of familiarity with the material being performed (no stinky poo, Sherlock). Looking back at my development over the years, I have to say that a lot of my early and mid-term lack of confidence has come from playing with people who, frankly, weren’t very good and my failing to recognise that, whatever levels of competence I had as a player, I could not make it swing or groove on my own no matter how hard I tried. However good I may or may not have been, a crap drummer/pianist/ guitarist etc was always going to compromise the performance and make it sound ropey. The issue is, how does a developing player learn to recognise when a weak performance is his/her fault and when it is the fault of a weak sideman? When I think back, a lot of the weaknesses in performances I was involved in in the past were not my fault (some undoubtedly were so don’t think this is a cop out). When I play with the ‘big guns’ now, I know my shortcomings (extended harmony mostly) but I have also come to realise that I am only two or three rehearsals away from nailing pretty much anything within reason. There have been a few occasions when there has been a rehearsal and things gel quite quickly. It feels good, particularly as a semi-pro, to think that the ability to play the music I love at a high standard is not necessarily as far away as I thought. It’s not about ability per se but about the amount of time I can commit to preparing for each specific performance. I guess most of us are better when we practice, rehearse and prepare.

It's a complex relationship between tension and release. Things you like have the correct mix of melody, Harmony and rhythm that is complex enough to be interesting but accessible enough to be not overly demanding. If it is too complex it will prove too intense but if it is not complex enough, it will sound boring. The really interesting thing, though, is the fact that it is changing for each of us all of the time so stuff you like today will bore you in a few years time and vice versa.

I seriously doubt it. It is not at all uncommon for people to 'discover' things independently of each other. Besides, Jaco's approach was very different to this.

Jaco fell apart later on and relied on those licks to get him through. It was a tragedy but, had it not been for the stunning playing in his breakout period, the bad stuff would never have been released.

Ps my wife can sing the bass line from Dry Cleaner and she is not a Jazz fan. It's pure pure melody.

That Dry Cleaner From Des Moines clip is a 12 bar blues taken far out but there is nothing random about it. It isn't a Motown pop song. It is a Jazz blues and goes where it goes. It was clearly a showcase for Brecker and Jaco and Don Alias let go a bit. The rest of the gig was incredibly tasteful. In France The Kiss On Main Street is pure Jameson.

There is no nonsensical noodling in most of Jaco's work. If it sounds like nonsense, it is because you aren't hearing it. As a fan of some of the more extreme Jazz forms, my interest in Jaco wained a long time ago but, to continue your analogies, Jaco was pretty much Jameson plus. There isn't much that he does that isn't intensely melodic or riff orientated. Sometimes he went up his own arse a bit but that is the nature of improvisation; sometimes you fuck up. Jaco pushed the envelope. A lot of what he did had precedents but he just took it all further. Except the harmonics. That was all him.

I got my PC in 2001 and have used it for recording since day one. Today, with the help of my kid brother (aged 50), I have finally worked out how to play and record VSTs in real time with a midi keyboard. I now fully expect to spend the rest of my days trying to find sounds.

I have almost never played the music I gravitate towards as a listener. I believe that this is because I have always lived away from larger metropolitan areas where better players congregate. On the two occasions when I have run my own band, the lead players, guitar and saxophone respectively, have resolutely refused to learn the material and the whole thing has ended up being something of a 'nearly but not quite'. Never gigged in a Prog band either although I did rehearse with one once in the 1980s. Interestingly, I am currently practicing guitar solo pieces so that I am NOT reliant on other players. I have had to accept that I am nobody's first call player

I agree with Hector. Nothing can kill your sound better than digging in too deep. I have a vivid memory of playing a tune at a ridiculous tempo and reaching a moment of profound peace when I relaxed and found all the muscles in my arms working efficiently so the tempo became effortless. I now play regularly with people like Simon Spillett and Gilad Atzmon at crazy tempos with no real difficulties. Also, use your amp to do its job and to add volume so you are not fighting yourself.

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1509621421' post='3400329'] "nobody cares about the bassist apart from their immediate family" John Peel. [/quote] My in laws and one of my brothers have never seen me play. In 37 years.

I have done a few gigs recently where the PA engineers have mixed the band through an ipad. I am interested in the technology but don't even know what to put into a search engine to look it up. Can anyone give me a steer? I am thinking about small group Jazz events rather than massive Rock extravaganzas but would like to know what opportunities this new (to me) technology presents.

Massive fan of MW and Kim Mitchell. There is a transcription of the bass part to 'lemon wedge' off his Itch cd on here somewhere.

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1509272988' post='3397672'] Don't just leave us all hanging. Do you? [/quote] No. Ironically, huh?

This story needs a context. Many moons ago, I was talking to the keyboard player in a Funk band I was playing with. He told me that, when the band leader had asked him to join, he said there was always plenty of women around after the gigs. He then added that he had never seen any. I snorted and said that, in 30+ years of gigging, I had never even spoken to a woman after a gig and that, come to think about it, I had rarely even been approached by a bloke or even another bass player. Last night I did a gig with Aussie saxophonist Brandon Allen in front of about 120 people. At the end of the gig, a bloke came up to me and asked ' are you the bass player'? (a strange question bearing in mind that I had just spent two hours on stage in front of him). 'Yes, I am', I replied. He then asked 'is it true that you collect fountain pens'?

Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group) underplays his hand most of the time also. No solos etc but, away from the PMG, he is actually pretty tasty.

Voted. Some nice ideas in there, folks.

I couldn't be arsed this month..... Seriously, I am struggling with composition it the moment. Everything I try sound weak and predictable. I just can't play a musical instrument :-D

1986 Custom Fretless

Felixstowe's third best bassist. Oh, my Christ. He's got a music stand on a blues gig!!

Or a solo artist.... http://youtu.be/evHVh4bqaOQ

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1508612656' post='3393377'] Mutually exclusive of course... [/quote] Quite.

Concentrate on the notes in the beat and the rest will sort themselves out. I got that advice from a top session trumpet player.