bassace

Thumb for show, nut for dough.

On 31/12/2022 at 12:11, Jakester said:

Went to see Oscar Peterson play at Symphony Hall in Brum back in 2006.  He was quite old and frail by that point, but the first tune showed he still had it. Or so we thought.  
 

Then the second tune went well, but then he played the first tune again. Then the second again. Then back to the first again. His band were looking increasingly confused, leaning across to try to speak to him. It he waved them away. All in all, across two sets he played about four or five different  tunes, with lots of them repeated multiple times in each set. In reality it was a shame, he probably shouldn’t have been gigging by that point and rather than seeing an aging master we saw someone who was able to perform but was so unmoored he didn’t know what he was playing. It was quite sad. 

Must be the curse of Symphony Hall. I went to see Tony Bennett a couple of years ago and he sang the same song twice. Otherwise great though.

Could it be a dry joint in a valve base? It happened to me with a home built preamp - there weren’t too many bass specific in those days. I was working behind a very highly regarded female sax player - OK, it was Kathy Stobart - who turned round to me in frustration and asked ‘What do you think you’re playing, a Geiger counter?’

On 05/12/2022 at 11:24, knirirr said:

This is a good one, I think:

 

 

That’s a beautiful tune. I’ve been playing it with soloists, vocalists and within quartets for over fifty years. It’s a staple of jazzers and any group should be able to play it if called.

it was written by Jimmy Van Heusen. Born Chester Babcock he changed his name after seeing a shirt advert. He was a prolific composer of great standards and a keen flyer with his own plane. He did test pilot duties for Lockheed in WW2.

His tunes moved the American songbook repertoire along a bit from the output of George Gershwin, Cole Porter et al whose tunes sound a bit pedestrian in comparison. Check out JvH’s extensive output on Wiki. Also Harry Warren’s while you’re about it.

I suppose to win a competition you’ve got to have good chops on display. But unless he joins a supergroup like MMW he’ll be earning his money by playing in a somewhat more pedestrian role. As I’ve said before, ‘Thumb for show, nut for dough’.

1 hour ago, jazzmanb said:

i assumed the rig was for the Electric players later in the show who played for the pianist ,rather than him ?

It was. Considering the size of the rig the bass guitar sounded rather weedy. He probably got the gig because he was the drummer’s brother. 
 

Ewan a worthy winner and a fine young db soloist. I hope that he would be effective within a rhythm section as well. Liked the sax player too. Quite a mature talent at a young age.

The drummer’s Russian again. Typical.

Yup, I had a Meinel that came out of the Musima factory and later an unnamed East German ply with a mended neck which I always assumed was a  Musima. Both were excellent basses.

Ears. Ears. Ears.

Sadly I’m out of range now, and an octaver won’t bring me closer. I’ll miss this friendly well organised event.  Hope some DBs turn up, though.

On 14/09/2022 at 17:15, Happy Jack said:

Happy to be told I'm wrong but, based on previous experience, one DB is enough at a BassBash. It's a bit like taking a functions band to a punk gig. 😉

Oi!

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

 

My PJ Proby story. . . .

 

In Maria the trumpet was supposed to quietly play a D and Proby would sing most of the song accapella. This time (it was his last gig) David played a Db. Proby did his thing and was a semitone flat when he hit his big note and the band came blasting in for the big crescendo, in D!

The crescendo is the journey, not the destination.

I’ve always found notes easy to find. But not necessarily the right ones.

Haven’t you guys heard of Red Mitchell?

Thanks for the replies, guys. On balance I won’t bother to splash out on valves without someone’s positive experience. I have good memories of the warmth of the sound that I got from a pair of KT88s but that was over fifty years ago with rubbishy strings and a vastly inferior double bass.

BTW, I don’t consider there is necessarily a gold standard in the amp/cab combination. It very much depends on the signal from the strings and bass. The Clarus is OK but my amp of choice over the past four years has been a Puma500 coupled to a Genzler 2-10 array, or a Wizzy10 if the stage is carpeted.  But it’s all personal choice.

There’s a bit of discussion going on under Amps and Cabs concerning valve amps. Mainly among bass guitarists, but I wondered whether there’s any experience/enthusiasm coming from the DB community. I first started out with valves and remember the disappointment in sound quality when I moved over to the convenience and compactness of class D.

There are a few tasty valve jobs starting to appear and I’d be interested to know if there’s anyone with valve/db experience.

I started out on trombone although I wasn’t massively good. I did play with Acker once tho’.

We had another  trombone player who was a lot better so I was given an ultimatum- get a bass or else. And the rest is geography.

Alongside Butch Miles in the Count Basie band.

Needed to be said.

Very interesting. Where does Ray Pohlman come in all this. He’s credited alongside CK on a lot of stuff she did including Righteous Bros and Beach Boys to name but a few.

Anyone?

18 minutes ago, chaypup said:

The whole weekend is about her, what more could she want? Good of you not to assume her/their gender though 🙂

Hmm.

Queen could have been served better. Their sound should have been more forward. Penalty of being the opening act I suppose. Agree with the comment re too much ambient sound.

Thumb for show, nut for dough.

Are double basses out of favour recently. Only one this year - Ukraine - but I’ve seen as many as six in previous years. Only props, I know.

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were Billy Fury’s backing band.