This is the prototype of my new double bass wall mount. It is made of solid maple wood and varnished with traditional violin varnish. It not only holds the bass securely, but also serves as a bow holder and storage for rosin, metronome, pencil and eraser, or whatever else you need to practice. The bass is fixed by means of elastic band. The endpin can remain extended in the playing position. Available at www.kontrabass-atelier.de
In 1947 Oscar Peterson formed his first trio. On bass at that time was not yet Ray Brown, but Bert Brown, and Frank Gariepy played drums. The trio performed regularly at the Alberta Lounge in Montreal, which was also broadcast by a local radio station. In 1949, Norman Granz discovered him there, and introduced him as a surprise guest at New York’s Carnegie Hall as part of his Jazz-at-the-Philharmonic tour. After that, they toured together for two years through in American concert halls. Finally, in 1952, Peterson formed a new trio with bassist Ray Brown. Initially, Barney Kessel joined on guitar, who was replaced a year later by Herb Ellis – in this line-up the trio became world famous.
In 1949, Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren created a remarkable animated film for which the Oscar Peterson Trio (called old-fashioned “Terzett” in the German translation) with Bert Brown and Frank Gariepy contributed the music. Technically interesting, Lambart and McLaren painted and drew directly onto the film stock for this color film, rather than photographing it. The film was produced by the National Film Board of Canada; at the first Berlinale in 1951 it was awarded a silver medal in the Culture Films and Documentaries category.
Hervé Jeanne is not only a diligent string tester and critic, he has also subjected six common clip-on microphones to a comparative test on his YouTube channel.
In a second video, he also tests the BassBall in detail, which I came up with a few years ago.
Marc Myers has published an interesting interview with Chuck Isreals, best know for his collaboration with Bill Evans, at his website JazzWax.
https://www.jazzwax.com/2019/02/interview-chuck-israels.html
Drilling and reaming an endpin hole isn’t as easy as sharpening a pencil. An old CD may help.
The NewYork Bass Viola Choir was an interesting band led in the late 1960ies by bassist and composer Bill Lee, who by the way is the father of film maker Spike Lee.
Here’s a TV show footage of this band: “Like It Is” (1972) from “One Mile East” folk opera; featuring N.Y. Bass Violin Choir. Bill Lee, director, composer; Ron Carter, Richard Davis, Milt Hinton, Percy Heath, Michael Fleming, Lisle Atkinson – bass; Consuela Lee Moorehead, piano; A. Grace Lee Mims, vocalist, Al Harewood, drums
Rick Jones, founder of Acoustic Image, has introduced a new speaker cabinet: the upshot. Acoustic Image is best known for their concept of downfiring speakers. This speaker cabinet is the same idea, but reversed: the speaker is upward firing!
I’ve tried this little beast, and what I like best is that it is so small and light. You can even put it in a back pack. But even at this small footprint, the sound is pretty big. And the up firing speaker really helps to hear yourself better.