Bilbo

It is a really interesting point to consider. The fact is that to become a solid, credible act in any genre is bloody hard work but, to my mind, to become a top notch Jazz player it is even harder and you can easily see why a lot of people question whether it is worth it. I put on some of Europe's best players on at an event in Felixstowe and the audiences are generally pretty poor. I think we have to collectively accept that, sometimes, the music itself is the only reward.

Steve Berry is a great teacher and player.

I think his work is the most sophisticated Prog out there. Olias, Animation and Song of Seven are genius and his contribution to Yes was, for me, THE defining element. Anderson IS prog rock.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1472846551' post='3124821'] I still havn't managed to work out what band you were in - and chance of a hint or two [/quote] http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OO3XfZ2TTOg

I was a Harris fan back in my NWOBHM days. Loved the first three lps then moved on. Saw them in 1981 w. D'iannio (if that's how to spell it) and again with the air raid siren.

A musician is someone who makes music. The rest is adjectives, one of these being 'a bad musician'. The tools are irrelevant, the skill set irrelevant, the methods irrelevant. The only defining characteristic is the presence of a person and the creation of music. I struggle with some elements of this, DJs being my main blindspot, but, in the end, I am not in charge so it's not my call. Human being who makes music, end of.

Yes - at 16, I ha not yet got my first bass but I remember a friend's older brother playing me 'Close To The Edge' and Greenslade's 'Time and Tide' and me borrowing them and playing them again and again and again like you do at that age. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBmUX74aME0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJdSAbigy4w

Didn't rate that Richard Bona thing at all.

A walking bass line normally covers it.

Hobbyist with a professional attitude For the record, 35 years have taught me that there is no irrefutable link between a musician's ability and their status as professional or otherwise. I know a lot of people who are great musicians who have other jobs and I know a lot of pros who are making a living from music because they are great hustlers not great players.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1470938106' post='3109515'] Celebrity was their Korean made model, nice for the money. I loved their acoustic basses. Assuming that's what you're looking at? [/quote] No. Gassing for a steel strung acoustic. I swapped an Adamas for my Acoustic Image set up but I miss it.

Massive difference in price but has anyone got an opinion?

You use what you need to make music. You use what you can to make music. You use what is available to you to make music. Either way, it is the music that matters.

Thanks, CB. I feel affirmed ;-)

I am bingeing (is that how to spell it?) on Al Di Meola's acoustic guitar work at the moment and gassing for an Ovation Custom Legend :-D

I lie awake worrying about it. Your dismissal of my pain amounts to insensitivity beyond measure. You'll be playing Heavy Metal on the wrong bass next.

I just wanted to clarify something about Moondance and why I make mischief when it is mentioned. The truth is, it is not a particularly bad tune, although it is not a great one either. The original is a badly produced performance by any standards but it is 'good enough' for millions who love the song so why should that matter? My reason for having a dig is because of the apparent desire to link it to Jazz. To most Jazz aficionados, this is like calling Europe's 'the Final Countdown' a Heavy Metal classic or 'Rockin' All Over the World' a Rock anthem. It shows a lack of idiomatic awareness. That's all. It's like those old K-tel records 'James Galway plays The Beatles'. It doesn't quite come off. I am perfectly aware that lay audiences don't know what is wrong with it. Why should they? But, as aspiring performers, shouldn't we be duty bound to recognise what is wrong so that we can move the art form forward? Isn't that the difference between a player and a listener? My digs at the offending tune are simply a challenge to fans of this mediocre artefact to look beyond the immediate and to THINK. Is this REALLY Jazz? Is this a good performance? The answer is No, on both counts. Is it a successful record? Of course it is. In real, it is, for me, an irrelevance. I play it for money. People clap. Whoopee doo. People enjoy Macdonalds. Doesn't make it nutritious. As for the 'we are entertainers' argument; some of us are. Some of us are also other things as well. That's OK too.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1470319271' post='3105079'] Motion, that's poo. It's Paul Motian. But you know that, Bilbo. Sorry to be so pedantic, it's a slow Thursday afternoon. [/quote] Spellchecker failure, bro. I know.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1470319271' post='3105079'] Motion, that's poo. It's Paul Motian. But you know that, Bilbo. Sorry to be so pedantic, it's a slow Thursday afternoon. [/quote] Spellchecker failure, bro. I know.

Jaco was not actually that technical; he was funky as fcuk. Of course there were great technical tracks that stretched the envelope but, in the main, he grooved. I know technical players. Jaco was much more than that.

Seriously dodgy vocals, seriously dodgy lyrics.... A diamond all 'round really.

Paul Motion Trio.

It's all very simple. The way you manipulate your instrument determines the sound generated. It is then up to the artist in you to determine whether you can use that sound and what you should use that sound for. There are all sorts of creative artists using any number of unconventional techniques to make beautiful music. If all a player is doing is recreating the more conventional sounds within a narrow field of operation, then they will only need conventional techniques and will see no reason to move beyond that. Picking is entirely credible as a means of generating a particular sound. It is no less legitimate than any other method.

Brooklyn was where Paul Chambers lived when he was in New York. Not that I am going in that direction

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1469950783' post='3102149'] Nothing. A few blokes on a forum don't like it, 'tis all. /shrug/ [/quote] Yeah. But they are REALLY important ones :-D