bassace

Always an opportunity to put up a photo of a very young Bassace, from 1962 modelling a three point metal bridge.

I had three successive cars with the double bass travelling on a roof rack. A Standard 10, Ford Anglia and a Sunbeam Rapier. Then I bought a new MGB and that didn’t work so I bought a Mini van just for the gigs. There were so many gigs that I was a bit flush in those days. Unthinkable to put a bass on the roof these days.

No, it wasn’t Strictly. There’s class over there.

The choir was excellent. The harmonies. And those claps on the back beat!

Back in the day, if you could offer OT you could get all the work, especially if you were a bass player. OT? It stood for own transport. These days everyone has a car, but not back then. Helped to be terribly good looking, of course. 😌

I’ve got my last 20 years worth of gigs covered by spreadsheets. Not as comprehensive as a diary of course but each line triggers quite detailed memories of each gig. Before that a bit hazy but still some good details. And I’ve got every musician I’ve ever played with on lists. For instance in excess of 100 different sax players. Phew.

Be Stirling Moss Drive a bulldozer. I suppose those twin ambitions would make a very passable Charles Leclerc. There were no musical role models when I was a youngster.

And it has phase reverse. It has everything.

Yes, that looks interesting. I wonder how it compares to the new Headway. I’m considering getting a QSC K10 active full range cab with a preamp like this. That is when gigs resume, if and when.

Is he dead?

The producers of Midsomer Murders wanted our band for filming some village fete scenes. I declined because I didn’t want to become yet another murder victim. Actually I couldn’t get away from my day job but the above is a better story.

Reading through the posts here it would appear that standards mean different things to different people. The jazzers have their standards compiled through constant usage and the rockers are starting to build up their own canon. Indeed, among the various efforts to come up with a definitive definition of jazz I’d sidestep the desperate attempts to nail the ‘improvisation’ thing but rather settle on ‘ a group of musicians playing a repertoire of tunes that are generally regarded as jazz tunes’ or something like that. Looking through the Great American Songbook there are plenty of tunes I’d hate to have to play on a jazz gig. As there are several jazz standards that aren’t on the list at all, eg the bebop, modal, etc stuff, most of which doesn’t have lyrics as does the GAS. Just my take.

Doughnut City, after all the roundabouts.

If you’re playing half notes make sure they’re the right ones. Because a minim is a long note to get wrong. Said to me by a drummer. Very erudite for a drummer, I thought.

Louis Armstrong said if you’re forming a band start with the bass player.

Writing about music is like tap dancing about architecture. I think Frank Zappa said something like that.

Wish I could remember. Was it on Tina Weymouth’s prog about the bass?

The drums make you tap your feet, the bass makes you swing your hips. Thumb for show, nut for dough. More relevant to double bass.

More from my era. When Humphrey Lyttelton recorded Bad Penny Blues Joe Meek was the recording engineer. By the time the record was released JM had worked his ‘magic’, with max compression etc, particularly on the piano, and the band hated the sound. The disc became one of a few jazzers to get into the top ten charts. Me? It opened a whole new palette of sounds and Joe’s sound went on put a lot of tunes into the charts. We played support to the Tornadoes at the Cheltenham Arts Ball 1965. Clem Cattini, what a nice bloke.

No, unfortunately not that one. Over the last few days there have been a couple of rock docs about Stevie Wonder and Elvis on TV. Steve’s music was particularly good. But, for me, both progs were spoiled by a procession of grotty, ugl - well, aesthetically challenged people talking to camera after each excerpt. And not really having any connection with the artist or anything helpful to say apart from remembering this and that from their own younger days. And not much else. As though they were the ultimate authority on the particular artist. When the Count Basie doc was on a few days ago, Quincy Jones did the chat. And that was very good.

And I’m sure he can afford a decent pair of trousers here and there.