Category Archives: Jazz

Brandi Disterheft

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Brandi DisterheftWhile I’m looking forward to see bassist/singer Esperanza Spaldings (mentioned in my blog before several times …) on her concert tour in Germany next month, I just stumpled upon another young and promising female jazz bassist this morning: Brandi Disterheft from Canada. Oscar Peterson said about her: “She has the same lope or rhythmic pulse as my bass player, Ray Brown. She is what we call serious.” So I listened to some tracks of her first CD Debut (Superfran Records, 2007; samples availabale at Brandi’s website), and she really sounds great! On Debut, Brandi Disterheft not only plays bass, she also wrote the music, influenced by Charles Mingus and Bjørk. “They are not just original, but appear to have come from a voice so distinctive that one can safely say, ‘You’ve never heard anything like this before.’”, says Raul d’Gama Rose at AllAboutJazz about Brandi’s music.

Bass Professor for Berlin University of Arts

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In the Faculty of Music at the University of the Arts Berlin the following position for the Jazz Institute Berlin (JIB) is to be filled: Professor at an Academy of the Arts – Salary Group W2 –

Subject: ”Bass/Ensemble direction”

Teaching commitment: 18 hours per teaching week during the semester
Time of appointment: soon                Reference: 3/267/08

The JIB is an institution supported jointly by the University of the Arts Berlin and the Academy of Music ”Hanns Eisler” Berlin.

Description: We are seeking an outstanding artist with an international reputation who performs regularly in the jazz scene and is therefore able to guarantee the practical relevance of the students’ education.  The successful candidate should have experience of teaching at academic level and be willing to work autonomously in the academic administration of the JIB.
Qualifications: Outstanding artistic achievements and pedagogical talent.
Applications with supporting documents and quoting the reference number should be submitted by 31.03.08 to the Universität der Künste Berlin – ZSD 1 -, Postfach 12 05 44, 10595 Berlin.

Eliane Elias’ new CD featuring Scotty’s Prescott bass

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Pianist Eliane Elias has dedicated her latest CD “Something for you” to Bill Evans. Her husband Marc Johnson, who was the bassist of Bill Evans last trio, played bass on this CD, and on “My Foolish Heart,” Johnson even uses the Prescott bass that belonged to Scott LaFaro. This bass was destroyed when Scott LaFaro died in a car accident in 1962, and got restored by luthier Barrie Kolstein in the 1980ies. Kolstein still owns this Prescott bass and has provided the instrument for the recording only.

Read more about this CD at All About Jazz.
For listening, click this Amazon-Link or iTunes-Link.

Rufus Reid video clips on jazzdoublebass.com

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JazzDoubleBass.com, a new online resource for jazz double bassists with a discussion forum, articles on learning and practising and biographies of double bass giants, now has published a couple of video clips with Rufus Reid. Tom Hill talks to Rufus Reid about various topics including his bass setup, hints and tips for aspiring bass players, his new recordings and much more.

Scott LaFaro on TV

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Three very short video clips featuring  Scott LaFaro can be viewed at Charles A. Ralston’s website. The videos are excerpts from the April 1958 Bobby Troup ‘Stars of Jazz’ show featuring the Richie Kamuca Quintet. There’s also an interesting transkript of a rehearsal of LaFaro and Bill Evans …

” (…)
00:31 EVANS:  [starts to play] Good.
LAFARO:  [bows tuning his bass]
00:46   EVANS:  [begins playing ‘My Foolish Heart’ solo]
02:26    LAFARO:  Unbelievable, powerful, beautiful, [ then begins to accompany Evans]
03:32    EVANS:  We’re now talking about
03:42    LAFARO:  E-flat minor
04:00    EVANS:  Yeah, . . . I think I was playing ?  full type piano . . . I wish I could go a little lower on this one . . .  ‘A’ might be nice.
04:12    LAFARO:  I don’t know, I feel like I was playing . . .
[EVANS/LAFARO play a bit]
LAFARO:  E-flat
EVANS:  A-flat (…)”

Charlie Haden remembers Jimmy Blanton

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“He was amazing. Duke Ellington’s band came through St. Louis and played a dance—back then it was dances and not concerts. Afterward Duke went back to the hotel to sleep, and all the musicians went to an after-hours session. This young bass player was playing, and these guys flipped out. They went back and woke up Duke Ellington, and brought him to the session. Duke hired Jimmy on the spot, and the band left St. Louis with two bass players. Jimmy Blanton made all those records in 1940 and ’41, and then he got what they called “consumption” back then, tuberculosis. He got very sick in L.A. and they had to leave him in a sanitarium. He had no family there; he was by himself in a little isolated cabin. Milt Hinton told me he went there every day to see him. Milt was playing in Cab Calloway’s band at that time, and every night they’d dedicate a song to him. Milt said he was there when Jimmy took his last breath. He was 23 years old. But if you’ve ever heard him play … man!”

Being a Bassist and more

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Rufus ReidBassist Rufus Reid has written an article on “Being a Bassist” for the magazine All About Jazz – New York:

“The bassist of any group or ensemble is the core, the foundation, the ‘rock’, one who stabilizes the unit when it becomes shaky and the individual that everyone depends on dearly ‘to always be there!’ (…) All members in the group desire a positive, confident and consistent posture by the bassist. The desired musician has what everyone wants and needs to make the ensemble the best. Let’s explore the necessary aspects that will make you that desired bassist.”

You can download PDF of the current issue (that also feautures an interview with bassist Larry Ridley) at the magazine’s website for free.