Janek Gwizdala

[xilddx]

[quote name='XB26354' post='1026538' date='Nov 16 2010, 11:58 PM']You said it! [/quote]
Good work.

However, you have not justified your remark with any explanation, rebuttal or theory of your own, so I will pay it no mind.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Rich' post='1026600' date='Nov 17 2010, 08:03 AM']See what I did there?
Aww c'mon gimme a break, it's still early.[/quote]
Excellent! You are clearly with full complement of grey matter this morning, Rich

[XB26354]

[quote name='silddx' post='1026640' date='Nov 17 2010, 09:20 AM']Good work.

However, you have not justified your remark with any explanation, rebuttal or theory of your own, so I will pay it no mind.[/quote]

I was going to. In fact I wrote a long rebuttal based on a number of reasons, then realised it was in fact a waste of time because you can't change someone else's opinion. Even if they're wrong.

[xilddx]

[quote name='XB26354' post='1027442' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:22 PM']I was going to. In fact I wrote a long rebuttal based on a number of reasons, then realised it was in fact a waste of time because you can't change someone else's opinion. Even if they're wrong.[/quote]
Now that really is B0LL0CKS.

I change mine constantly, based on new information and others' considered opinions. Only an idiot wouldn't.

[jmanfunk]

Well this thread has taken a somewhat retroactive turn. Back on track, Janek has begun posting full length tracks from the album onto his Youtube channel. For anyone who fancies a proper taster, enjoy this excellent cover.




Jay.

[ElCapitan]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1026264' date='Nov 16 2010, 07:42 PM']We should be honoured that a player of his stature and experience be a part of this forum. Imagine the advice he would have given for nothing, just like Joe Hubbard has?[/quote]


Have you ever been honoured to meet anyone? Really? I've met a few of my heroes and always been underwhelmed. Stevie Wonder's sh*t stinks, and he doesn't even have the common courtesy to use the bog brush.

Sychophants like you should be shot like pigs.

[Faithless]

Jay, that Janek's interpretation of "Twice" is just ridiculous, too musical..

Probably my fave song in the album, not to mention Janek's opening solo, which is one of the most musical things I happened to come accross to in my life so far.. Crazy.

Faith

[xilddx]

[quote name='Faithless' post='1027674' date='Nov 18 2010, 10:08 AM'][b]Jay, that Janek's interpretation of "Twice" is just ridiculous, too musical..[/b]

Probably my fave song in the album, not to mention Janek's opening solo, which is one of the most musical things I happened to come accross to in my life so far.. Crazy.

Faith[/quote]
It's pleasant enough, he has a nice feel to the bass and he is very sympathetic with the drummer. However, it's decent tune played well and arranged very simply. There is nothing in there that marks it out as special. Certainly not [b]ridiculously[/b] musical by any means.

See what you think of this, wish I could find the original from Roxy and Elsewhere because the playing has so much energy, but this isn't bad, it just lacks some of the synergy that the original R&E band seems to have.

[Faithless]

[quote name='silddx' post='1027702' date='Nov 18 2010, 12:34 PM']It's pleasant enough, he has a nice feel to the bass and he is very sympathetic with the drummer. However, it's decent tune played well and arranged very simply. There is nothing in there that marks it out as special. Certainly not [b]ridiculously[/b] musical by any means.[/quote]


I actually don't care about bass or 'sympaticity' with drummer or other players as individuals - what I really dig is the athmosphere of the tune, which is really flowing and a bit 'out', for [b]me[/b]. And, yes arrangement may be very simple, but does it need to be complex to make sound a tune 'better'?


So, once again, it's all that (and maybe something more, which I can't put in words) that makes it ridiculously musical for me.

Why would have any problem with that?

Edited November 18, 2010 by Faithless

[xilddx]

[quote name='Faithless' post='1027722' date='Nov 18 2010, 10:56 AM']I actually don't care about bass or 'sympaticity' with drummer or other players as individuals - what I really dig is the athmosphere of the tune, which is really flowing and a bit 'out', for [b]me[/b]. And, yes arrangement may be very simple, but does it need to be complex to make sound a tune 'better'?


So, once again, it's all that (and maybe something more, which I can't put in words) that makes it ridiculously musical for me.

Why would have any problem with that?[/quote]
Fair enough. I don't have a problem with simplicity at all. It's all about the end product which may or may not chime with someone. I think you should, perhaps, pay more attention to how individual musicians empathise with eachother however, as that is an absolute fundemental property of an ensemble which works well.

I suppose I have a slight problem with you saying he is one of the most melodic bass players and musicians, and getting all upset when someone disputes that, and appearing to venerate Janek above so many other creative forces. But it's clearly a personal thing with you. I freely admit to have WANTED to like a musician's music because of their attitude, or their appearance, how they move on stage or something they said in an interview. And the opposite is also true. After all it is unnatural to isolate the music from the person creating or playing it. For example, if I discovered that one of my musical heroes was a convicted child abuser I would probably find it extremely difficult to enjoy their music anymore, coming as it did, from a brain that had a propensity for such horror.

As I have said, I am more interested in the harmonic and rhythmic role of the bass and prefer melody to be demonstrated on a more suitable instrument.

If you are really fascinated by melody and wish to make a serious study of it for bass application, may I point you in the direction of North Indian Classical music? Particularly the sarod as it has a lower range of notes than a sitar and so can translate to the higher notes of the fretless bass more appropriately. You say you like melody which may sound "out", and there is an indian influenced arrangement in TWICE. You may enjoy Indian classical music due to the use of "quarter" tones which can sound "out" to the unaccustomed western ear. The trick when using quarter tones is to flatten then ever so slightly when decsending and sharpening when ascending. However only your ears will tell you when it feels right and your ears will need a lot of exposure to quarter tones to get a feel for it.

Here is the best of the best .. This video starts where the tabla comes in, normally a raga will commence with the "Alap" which establishes the melody of the raga on the main instrument played solo. Then the tabla will start and the tempo slowly increases through the sections of the raga until it reaches a fierce crescendo towards the end. Ragas have a single note or chordal backing so harmony is not really evident other than what is created over the pedal tone. They often evoke a time of day. The best of their musicians can often make you feel that time of day just by playing, a quite extraordinary level of empathy between the musician, the raga and the environment.

I know very little about Indian classical music but what I know and what I have heard has stayed with me all these years and in terms of melodic musical expression it has little or no equal.

I hope this might give you some melodic inspiration and I share it with a warm heart.

Peace,
Nigel

[JTUK]

Can't see the problem..they are nice tracks.

It's all music and you pays your money..........

[Earbrass]

[quote name='ElCapitan' post='1027554' date='Nov 18 2010, 06:06 AM']I've met a few of my heroes and always been underwhelmed. Stevie Wonder's sh*t stinks, and he doesn't even have the common courtesy to use the bog brush.[/quote]

Is it possible that you're not choosing the optimum times and locations for these meetings?

[xilddx]

[quote name='Earbrass' post='1027818' date='Nov 18 2010, 12:07 PM']Is it possible that you're not choosing the optimum times and locations for these meetings? [/quote]

[Doddy]

[quote name='ElCapitan' post='1027554' date='Nov 18 2010, 06:06 AM']Sychophants like you should be shot like pigs.[/quote]

Harsh......and pointless.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1027850' date='Nov 18 2010, 12:47 PM']Harsh......and pointless.[/quote]
He certainly is.

Just ignore him mate like the rest of us do.

Back on topic ..

[ElCapitan]

[quote name='silddx' post='1027887' date='Nov 18 2010, 01:18 PM']He certainly is.

Just ignore him mate like the rest of us do.

Back on topic ..[/quote]

And there's me hanging on your every word.

[funkypenguin]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1025650' date='Nov 16 2010, 11:23 AM']We all know my opinion of Janek as a player-I take lessons off him whenever he is over and I have jammed with him on stage,so obviously I've got a more biased opinion,but I really do dig his music. That's what made me want to take lessons with him initially.
I get what Silddx is saying,but I do think that Janek is a lot more melodic and compositionally sound than similar players like Hadrien Feraud or Tony Gray-they are great players but their albums are harder to listen to,I think. I think that Janek has a couple of tunes that have the potential to become modern 'standards'. Maybe,he isn't fully formed as a composed just yet,but he's definitely on the way.Live,him and his band have great energy and are just killing-I think,way better than on record.
I'm a big Zappa fan (30+ albums),but do think that,although there is a lot of great music there,there is also quite a bit of fluff.I think that's the same for a lot of artists though,especially those as prolific as Zappa.[/quote]

I agree with you on the Hadrien Feraud subject but i would say Tony Grey's compositions and sense of melody are both better than Janeks (IMHO ) Chasing shadows is one of my favourite albums by any musician, bassist or otherwise. as has already been said, i feel that alot of Janeks tunes are vehicles for soloing rather than tunes in their own right...having said that i do have a soft spot for circles

[steve-soar]

[quote name='silddx' post='1027702' date='Nov 18 2010, 10:34 AM']It's pleasant enough, he has a nice feel to the bass and he is very sympathetic with the drummer. However, it's decent tune played well and arranged very simply. There is nothing in there that marks it out as special. Certainly not [b]ridiculously[/b] musical by any means.

See what you think of this, wish I could find the original from Roxy and Elsewhere because the playing has so much energy, but this isn't bad, it just lacks some of the synergy that the original R&E band seems to have.

[/quote]Nige, you beauty.

[thisnameistaken]

TBH I think any musician's output is what it is, and you either like it or you don't. This stuff does nothing for me, and some lesser (in terms of technique and commitment to the instrument) bass players have produced stuff that I've thought was more clever and more interesting. But that's just how it goes.

I don't get upset when people don't like my band or don't like what I've played on a given song. It's just me doing what I do and I don't really have any influence on whether other people enjoy it or not. I imagine it's the same for everybody else, even (especially?) people who do "bass clinics".

[risingson]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1028775' date='Nov 19 2010, 01:28 AM']TBH I think any musician's output is what it is, and you either like it or you don't. This stuff does nothing for me, and some lesser (in terms of technique and commitment to the instrument) bass players have produced stuff that I've thought was more clever and more interesting. But that's just how it goes.

I don't get upset when people don't like my band or don't like what I've played on a given song. It's just me doing what I do and I don't really have any influence on whether other people enjoy it or not. I imagine it's the same for everybody else, even (especially?) people who do "bass clinics".[/quote]

I've never once been to a bass clinic, partly because most of them cater rather heavily for solo bass players or simply bass players I have no interest in. I'd want to sit down and talk about music more than I would about technique or gear, both of which interest me to a degree but neither are as important as what gets played on the record. Gear and technique are much of a muchness, it's nice to have both but never critical in my view to making good music. I always wonder if underneath his calm and friendly exterior, Victor Wooten gets hacked off by people draining the life out of him with the same questions. It's a testament to his personality really.

[thisnameistaken]

Yeah I don't envy any professional bass player to be honest. I wouldn't want most of the bread-and-butter gigs they do, and for the guys at the top of the pile they have to do "solo bass" material to promote themselves and even most other bass players don't like "solo bass guitar". It just doesn't sound very good.

I only want to play music I like, and I'm very picky, so I would never be able to play bass full time even if I had the skills.

[Jase]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1026264' date='Nov 16 2010, 07:42 PM']We should be honoured that a player of his stature and experience be a part of this forum. Imagine the advice he would have given for nothing, just like Joe Hubbard has?[/quote]


[quote name='ElCapitan' post='1027554' date='Nov 18 2010, 06:06 AM']Have you ever been honoured to meet anyone? Really? I've met a few of my heroes and always been underwhelmed. Stevie Wonder's sh*t stinks, and he doesn't even have the common courtesy to use the bog brush.

Sychophants like you should be shot like pigs.[/quote]

Well, Captain Fireblanket......Pete has made a good point.....arseholes like you piss off the guys that have something to share in the bass world!
2 definite arseholes: BBC and Captain Fireblanket, sorry Elcapitan

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='ElCapitan' post='1027554' date='Nov 18 2010, 06:06 AM']Have you ever been honoured to meet anyone? Really? I've met a few of my heroes and always been underwhelmed. Stevie Wonder's sh*t stinks, and he doesn't even have the common courtesy to use the bog brush.

Sychophants like you should be shot like pigs.[/quote]

What the f*** are you on about?

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1027850' date='Nov 18 2010, 12:47 PM']Harsh......and pointless.[/quote]

Certainly is.

[Doddy]

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='1028726' date='Nov 19 2010, 12:10 AM']I agree with you on the Hadrien Feraud subject but i would say Tony Grey's compositions and sense of melody are both better than Janeks (IMHO ) Chasing shadows is one of my favourite albums by any musician, bassist or otherwise. as has already been said, i feel that alot of Janeks tunes are vehicles for soloing rather than tunes in their own right...having said that i do have a soft spot for circles[/quote]

I think 'Chasing Shadows' is a really good album,and I'm not knocking Tony Gray,he's a great player. I can just sing more of Janeks tunes.
Hadrien however,is a frighteningly good player,but I find his album so hard to listen to. It's just a flurry of chops,with no real melodic content.