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Ray Brown about playing without amplification
In talking about Blanton before you were mentioning the difficulties bassists had in big bands because of the lack of amplification. Now, you had to play very fast with Dizzy Gillespie. Did you have amplification by that time? How did you deal with…
Ray Brown: Well, I didn’t play fast solos. We were just playing fast tempos.
Christian McBride: Things To Come! [LAUGHS]
Ray Brown: When I was talking about playing fast I was talking about the way Christian McBride plays now. 20-30-40 years ago you wouldn’t have heard all those notes he’s playing. Now you can hear every one of them.
But then, from what I gather, people heard you pretty clearly, and those are some tempos that havent been caught up with yet!
Ray Brown: Were not discussing tempos, now. Were discussing solo lines. That’s a big difference. Nobody dared play anything that fast because you couldn’t hear it. Oscar Pettiford played some magnificent solos, and you didn’t really get to hear him until he joined Duke Ellington.
from: http://www.jazz.com/jazz-blog/2009/12/16/remembering-ray-brown
Fast bow to pizzicato
Patrick Neher shows on YouTube how to speed up the transition from bow to pizzicato. Makes me think of practising some French bow …
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=afTruloiJx4]
Violin Society of America/Oberlin Bass Workshop
At the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, June 10–16
This year’s faculty includes David Gage, Arnold Schnitzer, and Jay VandeKopple. Some experience is preferred, and a passion for the string bass is a must. Learn from luthiers with years of experience making, repairing, and thinking about basses. Bring tools and get ready to work! For more information and faculty bios, click here
Frankfurt Musikmesse 2012
Next Wednesday (March, 21.), the Frankfurt Musikmesse – still one of the largest and most important music trade shows in the world – takes place for four days. I will be there – and hope to meet you at hall 1.2 booth B40 (Christopher Bass / Concord Intl.)
interactive exhibitor plan: http://musik.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/de/besucher/ausstellersuche.html
Bass2012: Newsletter
The team of Bass2012 (the BASSEUROPE foundation / European Society of Bassists ESB) has recently sent a newsletter with informations about the event, taking place in August at Copenhagen/DK.
COMPETITIONS
It is our pleasure and honour to announce the three classical competitions.With the support from some of the best bass players and generous sponsors the competitions have a top-class international jury and prizes for an amount of more than 20.000 Euro.
The three divisions are:
- Solo Competition, Prof. Michal Stadnicki, jury chair
- Audition Competition, Prof. Stephan Petzold, jury chair
- Children and Youth Competition – Prof.Lasse Lagercrantz, jury chair
UPCOMING AND MORE
The Danish and Nordic hosting team is working on the program of recitals/concerts, master classes, music philosophical symposium, seminars, Young Bassists Camp, Young Jazz Stage, Nordic Day, exhibition with workshops, makers competition, bass highlights and the establishment of a broad democratic embedding of BASSEUROPE.We are constantly moving – and will keep you informed by this Newsletter.
Help us spreading the news to your colleagues and students – this is an outstanding chance to develope bass playing and make people play the bass!
Sincerely,
TEAM of leadershipBASS2012 COPENHAGEN
14-19th of August
The Octobass
Ron Carter Trio at YouTube
Today, it’s bass legend Ron Carter’s 75th birthday. (sorry, I’ve got a wrong information … his 75th birthday is on May, 4. … however, the concert video is worth watching:)
YouTube: Ron Carter Trio at festival Jazz sous Les Pommiers – Jun, 2011
Fly with your bass: the US aviation bill
“Musicians in the US have cause for celebration” writes The Strad. After Congress approved provisions for a uniform national policy on carrying instruments on planes, it’s easier to get onboard with your beloved instrument. Up to now, each airline has been allowed to set their own musical instruments policy, and size limits for both carry-on and checked baggage have varied widely. The bill sets standard weight and size requirements for checked instruments, and allows musicians to buy a seat for oversized instruments (like double basses) that are too fragile to be checked.
New Double Bass Poster
My new Double Bass poster is a great resource for every bassist: it’s a fingerboard chart and timeline, and shows the notes on the fingerboard, the notation and positions – in original 1:1 scale. It also features an illustrated timeline of the double bass’ history, important bassists and makers from the 16th to 20th century.
Price: 9,50 € (+ shipping) – order link
