Jeff Berlin's new CD

[glassonyonpr]

Bass legend Jeff Berlin has a new live CD out called High Standards - here's his press release:


4/29/2010 - Clearwater, FL - Jeff Berlin is a legend of the electric bass, considered by many to be the finest electric bass player in the world. A true master of the bass, Jeff Berlin has played with the likes of Bill Bruford, George Benson, Allan Holdsworth, and even toured with original members of Yes (Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford, Howe) on only three days' notice. Much to the anticipation of his fans, Jeff is releasing a new jazz trio CD on his own MAJ Records label titled 'High Standards'. Along with Berlin on electric bass, the CD also features Woody Herman alumni Richard Drexler on piano and upright bass, and famed drummer Danny Gottlieb (best known for his work with Pat Metheny). "It is a standard jazz piano trio led by a former rock bass player playing jazz tunes, and soloing nothing like bass players usually solo," says Jeff. "Keith Jarrett is huge influence on me. I transcribed his solos and practiced them on bass. I wanted to try my hand at recording tunes that I have played for many years, which inspired me to record three guys in a room and let the session remain as they eventually turned out."

Jeff Berlin's resume reads like the who's who of the higher echelon of music artists. Jeff Berlin was even asked to join Van Halen, an invitation that he actually turned down. "Eddie Van Halen was a fan of the band that I played in with Bill Bruford," Berlin recalls. "We met and started to hang out and jam together. He was a sweet terrific guy. One day he saw me play a gig with my group and then asked me if I would like to join Van Halen. After this, we rehearsed at David Lee Roth's house a couple of times. Ultimately, I said no to his gracious offer because when you join a band, you join the entirety of it, the life philosophy of its members and also the habits that they may be involved with. I felt that, in terms of activities and attitudes, I didn't mesh with their vision of things. I didn't wish to be mercenary and just take the job for money because it wouldn’t be fair to the band members. So, I just said no to the offer."

Not only is Jeff Berlin a bass phenomenon in the jazz field, but rock players are constantly referring to him as one of their major influences. Jeff was voted Number 1 Jazz Bassist by the readers of Guitar Player Magazine. Carlos Santana called Jeff the "best bassist in the world", while Rush's Geddy Lee used the phrase "best bassist on the planet!" Members of Metallica call Jeff the number one bassist on Earth, and Slash considers him a "bass god". Actor/bass player Gary Sinise, of "Forrest Gump" and "CSI NY" fame called Jeff’s playing "unreal!" Even the late George Carlin was knocked out with Jeff's playing calling him a "great musician." Jeff is known as a major innovator through his incisive playing through recordings and performances for the last thirty years. The late legend of bass, Jaco Pastorius regarded Jeff as a better soloist than he was, and Miles Davis' bassist/producer Marcus Miller told people that he wanted to be the "Black Jeff Berlin".

The founder of The Players School of Music in Clearwater, Florida Jeff started the school when his son got cancer at 5 years old. Jeff retired from playing to stay home with his son, and started The Players School of Music to make a living. (P.S. His son, now 17, was totally cured of the disease.) Jeff has also been at the front of music education for almost 30 years. His column in Guitar Player and Bass Player magazines were the most read columns due to their controversial content of music education. Jeff single handedly has re-vamped music education by dismissing popular methods of learning such as using electronic tuners, metronomes, handgrips, tablature, or any study method that does not include musical content

Jeff has released six highly acclaimed solo records, Champion, Pump It!, Taking Notes, In Harmony's Way, Lumpy Jazz and Aneurythms. The Dean Guitar company builds a Jeff Berlin signature model electric bass, and Markbass amplifers built an amp that so impressed Jeff (who regularly turned down endorsement offers for years) that Jeff only plays through their amps in concert.

In support of his new CD release, Jeff will be touring with his band that has featured Danny Gottlieb, Othello Molineaux (the greatest steel drummer in the world), Randy Brecker and Richard Drexler. He also tours with BX3, a bass conglomeration that includes the great bass players Stuart Hamm and Billy Sheehan. "Because instrumental music isn't popular anymore, not like it used to be, the amount of people interested in hearing players play simply to enjoy the music is less than it was in the past," Jeff explains. "This is an era where you will never hear another Jimi Hendrix, because, in a great part, the music industry won't allow it. This contempory music era is not interested in allowing a great player be hear or promoted. For this reason I jokingly refer about my shows that when I play, 'The Audient will always be on his foot!' and also regarding my CD, if Michael Jackson's CD's always went "Platinum", my CD will surely go "Wood!"

Jeff Berlin's playing continues to influence a new generation of bass players. His teaching continues to inspire and advance players wishing to know about the language of their art. Jeff Berlin is a Master. 'High Standards' is available on CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, www.audiophileimports.com and other online retailers.

[Mykesbass]

Welcome to the forum Billy (we worked on Curved Air together for a while)!

Mike Howell

[Faithless]

I just found a few interesting quotes from Jeff Berlin in his new interview:


<Talks about recording "High Standards"> [i]When I was getting ready to record again, less than a year ago, I realized that I
couldn’t recall ever hearing of an electric bass-led jazz standards trio record before![/i]


Hmm.. Feel free to correct me, but.. Steve Swallow?


<talks about touring with his trio>
[i]
For several
years, we toured everywhere and played all the time, mostly in Europe and Asia, but
not much here in America. [b]Americans aren’t that interested in jazz.[/b] But the
Europeans and the Asians are crazy for it, which is fortunate since most American
jazz musicians have to leave the country to play their art. They go to these places to
make a living. I always found this ironic, that, the only art form that America ever
invented, which is musical in nature, the American artists who continue its legacy
can’t find the support to play this music at home.[/i]

Now what the heck is that????



Full interview is here;

[url="http://www.bassfrontiersmag.com/jeff-berlin-interviewed-by-roy-vogt"]http://www.bassfrontiersmag.com/jeff-berli...wed-by-roy-vogt[/url]

Edited September 22, 2010 by Faithless

[purpleblob]

How strange, I could have sworn I left a comment on this one previously. Maybe I'm getting old or have I been censored ?

[blamelouis]

[quote name='purpleblob' post='964870' date='Sep 22 2010, 07:15 PM']How strange, I could have sworn I left a comment on this one previously. Maybe I'm getting old or have I been censored ? [/quote]
Same here ,obviously we werent in a rush to part with our hard earned in a recession for mediocre muzak so it was pulled

[purpleblob]

[quote name='blamelouis' post='964918' date='Sep 22 2010, 08:43 PM']Same here ,obviously we werent in a rush to part with our hard earned in a recession for mediocre muzak so it was pulled [/quote]

Phew, thanks for confirming my sanity and memory are still (just about) working

[Chris2112]

I love Jeff, but he's been doing jazz for way to long now and he needs to get back to fusion! Jazz standards bore me and as great as Jeff is, I won't be tuning in!

[Faithless]

There was a similar thread to this, advertising the CD, and there were a lot more comments there, but I couldn't find it through search..

[xilddx]

[quote name='purpleblob' post='964870' date='Sep 22 2010, 08:15 PM']How strange, I could have sworn I left a comment on this one previously. Maybe I'm getting old or have I been censored ? [/quote]
Me too =/

[Chris2112]

Yeah, what did happen to the last thread? I went looking for it a few days ago but couldn't find it!

[Faithless]

Maybe it was deleted? looks like it's the bots that are advertising it..

[Chris2112]

Even still, it had some good discussion in it, particularly from Urb.

If there is one thing I like about Jeff's music it is his tone. Always nicely chorused and played with such a delicate touch. I recall someone on TB talking about playing Jeff's bass and how they couldn't get a note out of it. They said it choked constantly because the action was so low and that Jeff plays with the most delicate touch. Watch his left and right hands next time you watch a Jeff Berlin video, he has the most superb control of what he's doing. I guess this set up and low action is what allows him to pull of those amazing legato phrases he has. I should also state that Jeff is a master of phrasing IMO, he comes at his lines like a horn player. Much like Jaco did, but to me Jaco was more like a stacatto trumpet and Jeff is a jazz saxophone!

[Stuart Clayton]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='964945' date='Sep 22 2010, 08:58 PM']I love Jeff, but he's been doing jazz for way to long now and he needs to get back to fusion! Jazz standards bore me and as great as Jeff is, I won't be tuning in![/quote]

I agree - I love Jeff's playing and his knowledge of bebop is second to none. But I need to hear more stuff like 'Joe Frazier' and 'Motherlode'.

Still love his solo on 'Manos de Piedra'.

Stu

[Bilbo]

I listened to a bit of that cd on emusic and it was exactly what I expected. An over processed and insipid sound playing tired old standards in a tired old way. What I heard of it is horrible (in the same way as the 4 cds I bought (ond subsequently sold on) of his were).

I grew up listening to Jeff Berlin and loved his stuff with Bruford and Holdsworth. I liked his first two LPs (yes, I got them on vinyl) but I just find his more recent stuff just yucky. This standards cd is superficial and unengaging. The rock kids like his playing because it is fast and involves lots of notes. His presence on the jazz scene is limite because his playing is insensitive and, in many ways, unmusical.

I want to like his stuff but I don't.

[Chris2112]

I think there is also something to be said for Jeff's unique identity as a player. We've all seen the bad Jaco clones etc etc. Even those dedicated enough can become a sloppy Wooten Wannabe! But Michael Manring and Jeff Berlin are about the only two players I've seen who just seem impossible to copy. Michael is an easy case because of the technology he employs, we just couldn't copy him if we wanted to!

But Jeff just sits there with a 4 string tuned EADG and a touch of chorus and does things that just seem untouchable! Even if you can get inside the phrases and patterns he creates with his hand, how do you even go about looking at his brain and the way he gets those crazy phrases working!

[Faithless]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='965355' date='Sep 23 2010, 12:28 PM']But Jeff just sits there with a 4 string tuned EADG and a touch of chorus and does things that just seem untouchable! Even if you can get inside the phrases and patterns he creates with his hand, how do you even go about looking at his brain and the way he gets those crazy phrases working![/quote]


I think that there are a lot[i] much-harder-to-get [/i]players than Jeff, actually..

What he basically does himself (and teaches) is using chord tones and tensions.

[Bilbo]

My problem is that the results just aren't worth the effort. Just because its hard, doesn't mean its good.

[Jase]

Some Jeff Interviews:

[url="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/simon-barrett/2010/05/12/jeff-berlin--bass-at-its-best"]Radio Interview[/url]

[url="http://www.bassfrontiersmag.com/jeff-berlin-interviewed-by-roy-vogt"]Bass Frontiers Mag[/url]

Both about High Standards. There's quite a few out there for the Jeff fans

Jeff rocks!!

[Chris2112]

[quote name='Faithless' post='965386' date='Sep 23 2010, 10:54 AM']I think that there are a lot[i] much-harder-to-get [/i]players than Jeff, actually..[/quote]

Harder to "get" maybe, but not harder to copy!

[derrenleepoole]

I admire Jeff Berlin because of his uncompromising stance towards music. Whether you agree with it or not, I admire him for it. I also love the fact that he can command such mastery over a four stringed instrument, seemingly capable of producing music of vast complexity, dexterity and wizardry all in one go. It's because of reading an interview with Jeff that I realised that I don't need more than four strings as a bassist/musician, and made me focus on just the job at hand without this nagging doubt "but I might need a 5 string some day!" I don't like all of his stuff mind, a lot of it does get boring quickly, but that doesn't mean I can't admire what he does or how it does it.

[xilddx]

I want to know what I'm talking about here because this album sounds like a load of w*** from start to finish from what I've heard, and he has a horrible bass tone too. So I'm downloading this right now from Amazon for £6.99. I will report back with my findings later

To paraphrase big beef chief .. glassonyonpr, if this is a waste of my time I'm flying over to Clearwater FL to bum you.

[mildmanofrock]

There's no doubt he's technically and musically incredible, but listening to that just made my ears itchy and irritable.

[Jase]

[quote name='silddx' post='965562' date='Sep 23 2010, 01:28 PM']To paraphrase big beef chief .. glassonyonpr, if this is a waste of my time I'm flying over to Clearwater FL to bum you.[/quote]

I can't believe that idiot BBC has got a following, hahaha!

[xilddx]

[quote name='Jase' post='965627' date='Sep 23 2010, 02:24 PM']I can't believe that idiot BBC has got a following, hahaha![/quote]
Yes you can But BBC has never been an idiot so maybe it's mistaken identity.

Anyway, I'm not a follower, it's not in my nature. I was just paraphrasing one of his funnier moments.

BTW, I quite like the Godsticks album, but it's not as interesting as the ep you played on. Dunno why though

[mcgraham]

From the little I've heard and seen, I am in awe of his technical mastery and how 'un-boxed-in' he is to the fretboard - even Hadrien Feraud (who is a mental technician in his own right) doesn't appear quite as fluid about the fretboard as JB. On a more musical front, I am inspired by his more legato-like approach to soloing and runs. Chorus heavy tone aside, I find that the tonality he imparts from the smooth and extended legato approach really appeals to me. Very connected from bottom to top, and very even throughout all of it - no excessive fret noise, the notes don't die out or sound like they've been hammered or clanged into existence....

Speaking of this more legato approach, I'd say Richard Bona is of a similar calibre in that aspect... but from what I've seen is not anywhere near as advanced as JB.

I may need to look up some more JB when I get home, particularly the videos and see if I can work on some of his ideas.