Doddy

Probably a Fodera Tom Kennedy model.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='895675' date='Jul 15 2010, 03:20 PM']Having acquired an Eden Nemesis cab, it just struck me that "Eden Nemesis" as a brand sounds stronger/cooler than plain "Eden", or even "David Eden". Not sure if that works anywhere else. Lakland Skyline? G&L Tribute?[/quote] 'David Eden' isn't a brand name,'Eden Electronics'. There cabs are the 'David' series. Sorry to be pedantic,but it always bugs me when I see 'David Eden' amps.

Wouldn't you better with a plain manuscript book? That way you would be able to write the actual notes down which would be a much better way to 'practice some theory',rather than just memorising chord shapes. If you write down the actual notes,you will get so much more out of it.

Pure awesomeness. Love Marcus's line on the title track and Will Lee's playing on '......Raindrops' in particular.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='890837' date='Jul 9 2010, 09:44 PM']Why do you dig this kind of music, what does it make you feel?[/quote] Exactly the same way that other people feel when they hear The Beatles or Tom Waits or whoever it is that they really like.Just because it is possibly more technical and predominantly instrumental doesn't make any difference,it still has the same effect. 'Riffing over B major and F' does sound good,but then again so does playing over a more complex set of changes. There was a reference to all these guys making the same kind of music over and over again. Maybe that is kind of true to a point,but then again that's the same with any genre. The Blues has stayed mostly the same for ever.Hip Hop has a large number of artists that sound exactly the same,as does pop. There are a million bands that sound like Oasis or Arctic Monkeys or whoever. The modern Jazz scene is no different. As with any style,if you go back you can hear the roots and how it has evolved,but the 'groovy chops' thing is kind of where things are at right now.

[quote name='RhysP' post='889533' date='Jul 8 2010, 02:16 PM']I'm obviously missing something here, but why can't a player just "Think" it, rather than having to do it out loud? It seems to me like the musical equivalent of moving your lips whilst reading.[/quote] Because when you sing it,you have to breath so you will phrase it better,the way a horn player might. If you are just thinking it,it is easy to just play long continuous lines because you don't need to take a breath.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='889059' date='Jul 7 2010, 10:38 PM']I've not listened to a lot of Janek's work (mainly Youtube stuff) so correct me if I'm wrong, but is his scatting (is that a word? It is now) not part of his soloing process, and not really meant as part of the performance per se? Can you hear it on record when there's not a camera mic pointed at him? I've tried it once or twice and it does genuinely make me sound a bit more melodic (not that that's difficult ) because your brain dictates the notes not your fingers. I'm too self conscious to do it in public though, as well as too rubbish at jazz.[/quote] The way players like Janek scat is indeed part of he process and not the performance. It's more about the phrasing on the instrument rather than the actual scatting itself. It's just a way to get melodic ideas that your hands may not naturally play. I've seen Janek play scale exercises and sing along with those.It's just something he does when he plays,and it's different from the way someone like George Benson or Oteil Burbridge does,where the scat is as prominent as the instrument. Generally I don't like scat singing (Benson excluded)-especially when singers(usually female) think that by going "Boo-Bop-ee-Do" badly means that they can sing Jazz-but it really is a useful tool to help with your phrasing.

[quote name='urb' post='889002' date='Jul 7 2010, 09:54 PM']I know he can get seriously cheesy sometimes but I'll forgive him as he is 'Victa'... [/quote] But you can't forgive him for 'I saw God'.

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='888925' date='Jul 7 2010, 08:53 PM']just out of interest, are rickenbackers not too bassy then???? I aspire to own one. However I think i mainly want one because I like the idea of owning one though! So what would I expect if i got a rickenbacker??[/quote] You can get a very bassy sound out of a Ric if you mainly use the neck pickup. I've only ever played one once for a recording,and it was really deep sounding,very unlike the 'classic' Ric tone. Having said that it was all neck pickup soloed,tone rolled off,flatwound strung,tuned BEAD with the bridge mutes on,and played with a pick!!! It wasn't a pleasurable experience,but it was certainly bassy.

The reason I use my Electric Upright a lot is mainly because I can get volume without having to worry about feedback. It's also great if you are in a pit,doubling on electric and upright,because it can sit on its stand and take up very little room compared to the upright. Plus,it's easy to carry. I got mine after I'd been playing Upright for a few years,and I saw a friend of mine playing a Clifton. It looked cool and sounded great,so naturally I wanted one. As it happened,he had to sell his bass a couple of years later and I bought it. I've done recordings with it where you would think that it is an actual acoustic upright with a pickup fitted. If you have a good one like a Clifton,Clevinger,Eminence, Yamaha etc. they sound a lot more realistic than a bass like the Stagg or the NS.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='887957' date='Jul 7 2010, 12:01 AM']sh*te.[/quote] Harsh. I've got one of the older style Heir models that I got super cheap,because the guy in the shop had never heard of them. It's a really good bass.I've done a lot of gigs with it and it holds it's own very nicely.

[quote name='mcgraham' post='888180' date='Jul 7 2010, 10:33 AM']Speaking of singing, does anyone else think that some of the abovementioned guys might do well to write some lyrics and get a singer in? I know Janek does some songwriting performances with Oli Rockberger (his keys player), Marcus has collaborated with a few singers, and Matt G has utilised a jazz singer singing just notes rather than singing words... I was just wondering if any of you felt the music might benefit from some lyrics tying it together a bit more.[/quote] I don't know about this. I don't think that lyrics would necessarily improve anything. One of the reasons that I dig these guys albums is because I really like to listen to instrumental music. If the melodies are good,which I think a lot of them are,then the material will stand up on its own. Marcus' first two solo albums were pretty much all vocal based,and while they aren't bad,they are nowhere near as memorable as his later,mostly-instrumental albums.

Everyone knows my opinion of Marcus Miller by now so I don't need to say anything. His discography speaks for itself. Tony Grey is a really good player with major chops. I like his last solo album,but I much prefer his work with Hiromi. Interestingly,the Keyboard player and producer (and writer of some tracks)on his album 'Chasing Shadows',is Oli Rockberger.

I'm not having a go at Sheehan,I'm a huge fan of his playing and own loads of albums with him on,as well as his videos-I've even got a Yamaha Attitude.I think that he is probably the greatest rock bass player ever,but I still see him as a 'stylist'. Niacin doesn't really do it for me-they are all great players but it doesn't blow me away. As busy as he is,Sheehan is hired to be 'Billy Sheehan' and do what he does. That's cool,but it does place him as a very stylistic player. Claypool is the same-I'm a massive fan,but he is 'stylistic'. I've got no problem if a player want's to be a 'one trick pony' and develop one style,it's cool if that is what you want to do,but I couldn't do that. I like being able to play a rock gig on electric one day,a jazz gig on upright the next,and then sit in a theatre pit and read through a show. That's why I have a preference for guys like Nathan East,Will Lee,Steve Pearce etc.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='887689' date='Jul 6 2010, 07:25 PM']I was discussing this Janek clip with Doddy yesterday. If anyone can locate it (I can't seem to), you'll see what I mean. It's a small workshop affair. Truly amazing groove.[/quote] It looks like Bassplayer.tv doesn't exist anymore,which is a shame because that was a really cool clinic from around '06. There is a more recent one on the Bass Player website though.

I think that one of the most important things for bass players who are soloists,is having a band that can comp behind them and fill out the sound. That's one area that Marcus has got sorted-when he's soloing his Keys player is often holding down the low end so that there is still a full sound. I was listening to some of Janek's live stuff in the car earlier,and when he's soloing there is some serious bass being supplied by the Keys. In these cases the function of the bass is still there-it's just that the instrument that is supplying it has changed. Marcus still grooves when he solos because of two reasons-one,he has a solid drummer behind,and two (most importantly) he spent so many years in the studio making hundreds of records as a sideman where it was all about the groove and feel,that when it came time for him to do his own thing,all that experience became part of his solo voice. This is where someone like Feraud falls down-I've never heard him just lay down a simple groove as a sideman.He needs to do pop gig like Garrison and Gwizdala have done lately,where the emphasis isn't on his chops.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='887480' date='Jul 6 2010, 04:25 PM']Oh yeah, I've seen the term "blowing section", as if it's part of the structure of a piece. What's that about then? Is it where the players... sorry, the cats ( )... take turns soloing? Head - Blowing section - Head - Coda?[/quote] Yeah pretty much. Normally it's a case of playing the head before 'blowing' over the changes so that the 'cats' can show off their 'chops' that they spent many hours 'shedding',then back to the head.

I don't really mind the term 'cats'.I occasionally use it when refering to a load of great players-not often,but it does sometimes slip out. I do say 'chops' and 'shed' quite a lot though,I quite like those terms. I've also noticed a trend amongst players to refer to soloing as 'blowing',even if the instrument doesn't require it.

I don't think it's anything to do with the instrument-it's about the person. If someone like Hadrien Feraud was a sax player,he would probably be just as busy in his approach. These guys are basically at a level where they are expressing themselves via music,it just so happens that the bass is their instrument of choice. Janek would probably write the same tunes if he played something else.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='885834' date='Jul 4 2010, 09:26 PM']I disagree with this way of thinking. I do think it's important to learn something about what you're doing, but clearly some very successful people never learned much about what they were doing. And let's be honest, every bass player who was ever an icon or a role model was a one-trick pony. Or maybe it's not fair to call them that, because all we're really saying is that they sounded unique. I would much rather sound recognisable and be the go-to man for my sound, than be able to half-arsedly fake a lot of different styles. Whenever I see ads like "Bass player available, can play x different styles" I just think "Well he probably doesn't care too much about most of what he plays and he probably doesn't sound all that authentic." If I wanted an elevator version of several different musical genres (say if I was soundtracking JobFinder) I'd hire someone like that, but if I wanted to do one genre properly I'd look harder and find a specialist.[/quote] That's fine,I get what you mean,but if you want to be a working player,you will have a longer career having more versatility. While I can appreciate 'stylists',unless their band gets lucky they are unlikely to sustain a career. There are many versatile players out there who do not sound like an 'elevator version' of several genres. That is why they keep working.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='885841' date='Jul 4 2010, 09:34 PM']I've known this guy for years, and he's always been a prat.[/quote] The simple answer is to give his pupils my number

The thing with players like Claypool,Harris and Sheehan,is that they are very much 'stylists'- they do what they do very well,but that's it(although Claypool did have some basic 'formal' training).So for me,that argument doesn't work because the players I prefer have all studied music to some degree,and are more versatile. It really all depends what you want from music. Every player listens to others and initially copies what they like to hear,but few go beyond it. I don't get why a player wouldn't want to get as much information about what they do as possible,but there are a lot of people who don't. The best and busiest players that I know have all studied music both formally and informally.

If you are after the melodies, try 'The Latin Real Book' by Sher Music. If you want bass lines,they do a Latin bass book too.

Thinking about it,I usually play quavers and semi quavers with my middle finger on the beat,but it really makes no difference either way-If I'm playing an octave thing,my index finger usually plays on the beat. If I'm just chugging root notes,I'll often use just my index finger with no alternation for the sake of consistency. Edit- I just picked my bass up and was leading with my index finger for some things and my middle for others

Janek used a Wal 5 string on 'Mystery to Me' and his Fodera Imperial on 'Live at the 55 Bar'. I think amp-wise,he switched from Eden to Fender-although he now uses TC.