Bilbo

I am on a nostalgia trip today - I got this album in the 1980s after hearing 'Tickets To Waterfalls' performed by the Cozy Powell band that featured Jack Bruce and thought it sounded really dated so it didn't get the listening it deserved. It was dated, of course, but going back to it, there are a lot of great tunes on there. This is the opening tune, the wonderfully titled 'Never Tell Your Mother She Is Out Of Tune' from the 1969 Jack Bruce solo album 'Songs For A Tailor'. Thanks to Jeff Berlin reminding us of these great tunes. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/never-tell-your-mother-shes-out-of-tune-jack-bruce/

Is that how you spell wah? I don't think it is?

I have been working on three really heavy charts recently and the progress is slow (I have had to slow things do to 30% to hear the details on one of them). I had a break this evening and had a look at the first solo I ever learned (I think so, anyway). I have just posted Geezer Butler's opening solo for the tune 'N.I.B.' from the first Black Sabbath album (1970 - I was 7 years old). I think I even bought a Cry Baby wha-pedal to get the proper effect! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/n-i-b-black-sabbath/

I have to be honest and say that one of the reasons that my transcriptions are 'free' is that I don't think that many of them are of a sufficiently high standard to be considered professional. No-one complains if you share your amateurish efforts for nothing but, if you charged for them, people would have the right to winge....

That kind of formatting is one of the frustrations I have with Sibelius although I did figure out how to put beams over rests yesterday which definitely does make things more readable. I can revisit a few of my old charts now and tidy them up.

I am on a big Miguel Zenon binge cat the moment!

Of course, but I can read that part fine. That is why I cannot see why this is 'wrong'. I do think that 'working' the software can be a problem, though (it's no different with WORD or EXCEL, really - we are all limited by our understanding of the software and what it can actually do. Everyone knows how to write something in WORD but how many of us can manage formatting etc).

Great little album, this is the complete Brain Bromberg bass part for the track 'Things Ain't What They Used To Be' from the same 1993 Dave Grusin album, 'Homage To Duke'. Just a twelve bar blues but, if you don't enjoy playing a twelve bar swing groove, you probably shouldn't really be a bass player. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/things-aint-what-they-used-to-be-dave-grusin/

Can you explain what is wrong with this, my friend? Like you, I am self taught and, when I look at old charts I have written out, some of which are very long and complicated, a little piece of me dies inside! Some of my problems relate to learning how to make Sibelius work but I cannot see what is wrong with the above which obviously you can!

You wouldn't even know there was a bass player present most of the time. As a counter argument, though, all double basses pretty much look the same and there aren't many you can identify by looking at them in a video. It takes the pressure off. Also, for some reason, Jazz performances often feature the bass player intermittently as everyone knows that the bass player is the coolest one in the band.

Another simple chart - Brain Bromberg's bass part to 'East St. Louis Toodle-Oo' from the 1993 Dave Grusin album, 'Homage To Duke'. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/east-st-louis-toodle-oo-dave-grusin/

Duplicate

I just got one of the 4-strings and I love it. It just sings and plays like a dream. I may get the five one day but, yes, these are lovely basses. I think I prefer passive basses now, too.

Reading. Always reading. It takes me to places I not would otherwise go. Other techniques are developed in order to meet the challenges presented by the dots e.g. time, scales, arpeggios, position playing etc.

A couple of Dave LaRue transcriptions. The first is an easy one called '4 Minutes To Live' from the 1996 Steve Morse album, 'Stressfest'. The second is from the same album but this tune, called 'Glad To Be' is a bit harder with some big jumps and some odd 3:4 bars. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/4-minutes-to-live-steve-morse/ https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/glad-to-be-steve-morse/

I did a one-off reading gig playing fretless bass with an orchestra and a 60-piece choir performing Karl Jenkins's The Peacemakers. Full tuxedo and everything . It was at The Arc in Bury St. Edmunds. After the performance ended, I did the classic Spinal Tap lost backstage thing and got lost wandering around between the curtains trying to find the dressing room. What made it more surreal was the fact that I bumped into Terry Waite who was also lost...

I stuck Rudolphe Kreutzer - Etude No. 2 up there too. I had to transpose it up from C to E major so it would fit on a four string but it's fun to play and makes a change from the Bach Cello Suites.

I actually went to look for this chart and found it wasn't on the website - further investigation revealed that I had never actually transcribed it. I think the slapping put me of but the I thought, f*** it, and had a go. I am actually quite proud of this one as I never thought I would get it down but here it is. This is the Zev Katz performance of the Bob Mintzer chart 'One Man Band' from his 1986 album, 'Camouflage'. It is actually easier to play when you have the chart than if you try and learn it. That said, it isn't easy. Just for the sake of insight, this sucker took me two and a half hours to get done (as a comparison, 'Dallas 1 p.m.' by Saxon took me seven minutes). https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/one-man-band-bob-mintzer-big-band/

I love this guy's writing. If you want to fall in love with Jazz all over again, you could do a lot worse than checking out everything that Puerto Rican alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon has ever done; as a leader and as a sideman. I have so many of his recording and every second is astonishing. His writing for rhythm sections is unparalleled. This is the written part for the tune 'De Donde Vienes? (Overture)' from Zenon's 2-14 CD 'identities Are Interchangeable'. It is not as hard as it looks but is great fun to play. For those who are wondering, the title means 'Where Are You'? in Spanish. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/de-donde-vienes-miguel-zenon/

Another great tune that i s ridiculously easy to play. This is a modified bass part for the tune 'At The End Of The Day' from the 1980 Mike Rutherford album 'Smallcreeps Day'. I say modified because a lot of the chart is not a bass but a synth bass and I had to tweak it to make it work on a 4-string. It is just a simple chart for developing readers to have a crack out straight out of the box. A couple of 7:8 bars to watch for but, otherwise, like falling off a log. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/at-the-end-of-the-day-mike-rutherford/

I remember attending a couple of clinics at the Bass Centre. Both Jeff Berlin. I bought a Bass Rockman there but that was it. No basses or amps. Didn't know the staff. I wasn't cool enough. Still aren't.

Dood's right. I did a bit of teaching about 30 years ago but I quickly learned that I wasn't very good at it. Teaching is not playing and playing is not teaching. I recall a conversation I had with Jim Mullen once where he was discussing something and mentioned his teacher. This guy had won the UK Jazz Guitarist of the year a million times and still had lessons. That's wisdom. I won't be teaching anyone again. I am happy to discuss things and share thoughts and ideas but I won't take money off people to do it. A good teacher is precious thing.

My favourite album of all time. The whole thing is exquisite.

The Eric Revis bass part to the tune 'Treat It Gentle' from the 2012 Branford Marsalis Quartet album, 'Four MFs Playing Tunes'. A lovely simply New Orleans two feel - an easy read and something for new readers to feel good about. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/treat-it-gentle-branford-marsalis-quartet/