Bilbo

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

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1469904705' post='3101945'] Next you'll be telling me that van Morrison isn't as important to jazz as Thelonius Monk or Dizzy Gillespie! [/quote] Van Morrison Isn't as important to Jazz as Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggie Winkle

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1469882239' post='3101738'] MoonDance is the absolute pinnacle of Jazz! Nothing better has been written in that genre. It captures all the musical elements of Jazz but has the quality of that it is listenable and catchy! [/quote] Careful, Viscount Snorker. Your ignorance is showing. B-)

Moondance has one great quality. It proves that you CAN fool some of the people all of the time.

I have a cassette tape of me doing Portrait of Tracy on a gig about 20 years ago. Any good?

It's horses for courses. For me, a covers band is a band that does covers. There are variations within that but, like all genres, there are sub genres. Covers bands who are accurate reproductions, bands who expand their covers, tribute bands etc. The definitions are very broad in the way that Louis Armstrong and Ornette Coleman are both Jazz, Status Quo and Trivium are both Rock and Level 42 and Parliament are both funk. The terms are only broad definitions not scientific classifications.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1469091784' post='3095602'] All very admirable but I think they're somewhat missing the point. [/quote] Great post but the last sentence also misses a point. Music has many purposes and the one you describe is undoubtedly the most popular but, for some, the process of creativity is the driver and not the roar of the crowd. This is no less legitimate because it is less popular. What is interesting is they way in which 'muso' innovation creeps into the mainstream

http://youtu.be/P7lPev_V-e0

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1345032029' post='1772553'] Something a bit special from Ibanez. [/quote] I LOVE this.... would you sell?

My intonation on arco double bass is only marginally more accurate than my intonation on soprano saxophone.

I lived in the same town as Heyes when I took up the double bass the first time. Called him up for lessons. He only taught during office hours so that was the end of that.

Another ' adjust it to the room and then leave it' guy here.

Look up Mark Egan, Mo Foster, Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia and a band called Montreux. That's a couple of hours sorted.

Kermit Driscol, Bill Frissel.