Who Would You Like To See In A Private Lesson Column?

[Mike Bear]

As a metal head, I nominate Steve DiGiorgio and his magical fretless. Otherwise. I thought Nathan East was a great suggestion. Sean Malone who did one of the newer Jaco books would be interesting as well. I wish I could see a Jack Bruce lesson. How's about Jonas Hellborg!!!!

[alexclaber]

Originally posted by The Sharster Of Crimbo Yet To Come:

I certainly think Phils technic is pretty much unique and adpatable in todays music from his roots in Funk Rock to the Jazz Funk genre he now leads in.

I don't doubt that he's a good player (or teacher) but much more derivative than unique. And YCB sound terribly dated to me (like 20 years too late) and the writing is rather lacking in soul. Of course, you may disagree, just my opinion!

 

Alex

[alexclaber]

Paul Jackson and Family Man, particularly with respect to how they work with their drummers (especially Mike Clark and the late great Carlton Barrett), how Paul pulls off that incredibly syncopated bass and drum interaction (including those mad odd time bits) and how Family Man makes his basslines fit so deeply into a such song-oriented context whilst remaining a complex and expressive rhythmic and melodic counterpoint.

 

Alex

[-Will-]

I vote for Pino Palladino.

[bassric]

Alain Caron.

He surely is one of the players out there with the most solid and versatile technique. And he is great both as a leader and a sideman.

There might be alot to be learned from him.

[Shars]

Originally posted by C. Alexander Claber:

Originally posted by The Sharster Of Crimbo Yet To Come:

I certainly think Phils technic is pretty much unique and adpatable in todays music from his roots in Funk Rock to the Jazz Funk genre he now leads in.

I don't doubt that he's a good player (or teacher) but much more derivative than unique. And YCB sound terribly dated to me (like 20 years too late) and the writing is rather lacking in soul. Of course, you may disagree, just my opinion!

 

Alex

I dont think its dated at all.

In actual fact the emergence of the Britfunk genre has bought the YCB tracks back into line.

Its like sayng Incognito or even the George Duke/Stanley Clarke project is dated but its not.

One thing you will see Phil do is not go into a studio and hum and har about what hes doing and just gets on with writing there on the spot rather than sitting around thinking what he can do in the studio next week.

He is listed as one of the most adaptable and forth right players in the UK only because he has a uniquness in his ability to go from a Flea-ess mode and straight into a Vic Wooton or Marcus Miller lick and even an old Coltrane type mood.

I do however understand some people may not like what YCB do and I respect that opinion but unless you have seen them in a live situation, you wouldn't know what the band really is like as a collective and one thing that is apparent, they have some really good ways of geting round what you call 'dated' and that in itself is about not staying stagnated and still for to long hense why you have several albums that they have done and with people like Gary Husband and Boon Gould in the sidelines wanting to work with the band, it shows somehow it cant all be bad.

I actually think the guys have moved on and certainly will carry on with whats lacking in music and that is decent muscians going out there and playing live and giving it their best...That I am sure you would agree with if your a musician.

Good opinion and well respected though so alls not bad.

 

Oh and let me add I would agree that I would like to see more Pino and maybe some Flea and even Vic Wooton in the shortlists and even Marcus Miller and Matt Garrison whos I saw earlier this year doing a impro set with Gary Husband,...one word for Matt is Awesome!

All time favorite has to be Mr. Clarke though on upright and Piccolo basses.

[tarkus]

JPJ!

 

Chris Squire

 

Geddy Lee

 

Jack Bruce

 

Kenny Gradney

 

Mike Watt

 

Duck Dunn

 

Jack Casady

 

Joe Bouchard

 

Scott Thunes

 

Greg Lake

 

Tony Levin

 

Alfonso Johnson

 

John Wetton

 

Tom Fowler

 

Ralph Armstrong

 

Phil Chen

 

Aurthur Barrow

 

Patrick O'Hearn (where's he been?)

 

Glen Cornick

 

Dave Pegg

 

Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond

 

Duke Bardwell

 

Bill Black

 

Jerry Scheff

[ClarkW]

John Myung, but don't put an emphasis on "how to play blazingly fast." Instead, I'd like to know how he endeavors to write bass parts that fit in among the thick and crowded sonic space of Portnoy's double bass, Rudess' keyboard, and Petrucci's guitar. Does he have to tell them to back out of the low end, or do they just know? When does he follow the kik note for note, and when does he stray?

 

Also, Pino Palladino. I've heard that a lot of his studio work is 1-take or 2-take magic. Any tips?

[Ed Friedland]

Thanks again. I've written down the names you've all suggested and will work on getting in touch with whoever I can. I did a lesson with Alain Caron not too far back, don't remember exactly when, but Al fans should look for that one. Jack Casady too.

 

Anyway, now the process of reaching these busy people starts, thanks for your suggestions.

 

Ed

[SteveC]

I know I toss his name out there a lot, but I have to put in a plug for Jimmy Haslip. He goes from playing whole notes to some wacked out scale - in one beat - and always appropriate for the music.

[kad]

Dominique DiPiazza.

 

First off because he is an insanely brilliant player. Secondly, because he uses a very unique and interesting right hand technique. Finally, because he is a very deeply spiritual man who can offer musical insight way beyond notes and technique.

 

Kirk

[wraub]

How about some potentially interesting specificity- say,

Les Claypool on left hand muting,

Geddy on live multi-instrumentalism and orchestration,

Chuck Rainey on groove,

Steve Lawson on looping and arrangements for same,

Amy from Clatter on arranging for fewer instruments,

numerous players on their respective takes on singing while playing, etc.

 

Or, on a different note, something like Tommy Tedesco's old GP column on session work and its expectations and requirements, featuring a player like Pino Palladino, Nathan East, Will Lee, etc., or a rotating roster of same.

 

Thanks for asking, Ed!

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[I I mjrn]

After my first post it ocurred to me that many names mentioned here (by me, too) are older, though of course great, players.

Mr. Friedland, how much consideration must be given to what appeals to younger readers who may have more contemporary interests & who may constitute the bulk of general copy sales?

[...]

Bryan Beller. Amazing player, great chops, and he plays seriously interesting and, at times, "out there" parts that are just so "right" for the song/music. He is as humble as they come and a generally really nice guy too (don't let him know I said that... )

 

A vast majority of the people already mentioned in this thread have been interviewed a million times by various bass and/or music magazines. It would be cool to see and hear from some people that haven't had all the exposure.

[dcr]

I really like wraub's post, not only for the people he recommends, but mostly because of his reasons for recommending them. It's too easy for a thing like this to devolve into a list of everyone's favorite bass player. Perhaps it would more helpful to start with a list of things it could be especially helpful to learn, & think of which bassists would be good choices to teach those things. For instance, if it would be valuable to learn about versatility of style, Tony Levin or Will Lee would be obvious choices. And so on. Maybe instead of picking teachers first, we should pick lessons, & then figure out who should teach them.

[BigKahuna855]

i think it would be cool to have Matt Freeman of Rancid, but anyone mentioned here would be a superb choice

[57pbass]

I would be very interested in hearing from Bill Wyman from The Stones about his playing and approach.

 

Joe Osborn, Bob Glaub and Willie Weeks

would also be very interesting.

[Basshappi]

Crap! Tarkus stole moost of my suggestions!

 

However, I would like to see something by:

 

Peter "Mars" Cowling, I always loved this guy's tone and style.

 

Doug Pinnick

 

Ed you mentioned that you've been listening to early C&W, what about some of those cats.

[Ed Friedland]

Originally posted by Michael Jackson's real nose:

After my first post it ocurred to me that many names mentioned here (by me, too) are older, though of course great, players.

Mr. Friedland, how much consideration must be given to what appeals to younger readers who may have more contemporary interests & who may constitute the bulk of general copy sales?

Personally, I'm interested in people that can actually share something valuable, and at least give it to me in a form that can be made explainable. One of the challenges is getting something concrete. Sure, every bass player is filled with great conceptual genius, you know... we're the philosophers of the band. But.... for my purposes, I want to get something direct and hands-on to share with the readers. As much as I love to wax philosophical, I find it always works best when accompanied by something concrete. Play THIS. Learning to play something new expands your musical horizons.

 

Whether someone appeals to a younger audience or not is not really my concern.

 

Ed

[Ed Friedland]

"God created open strings so that we might flourish in more than one octave" - Ed Friedland

 

Jeez, did I actually SAY that? I must have, I read it on the internet....

 

I'm smarter than I than I thought......

[Basshappi]

[BigKahuna855]

i cast a vote for Paul McCartney. he would be pretty cool

[jeremy c]

A lot of the people named have had feature articles in the magazine already.

 

Someone named Matt Freeman, who is a great player. He's in this month's issue, read the article.

 

I think what Ed is getting at is that he is looking for someone who can clearly explain some of the things that he is known for. I don't know if the interviewers for the feature article ask deep musical questions but there are rarely any answers which go past generalities. The music questions are often answered by the person who writes the little musical examples and sort of explains what is going on.

 

And some of the players mentioned could probably give a lesson-type interview if the questions got really, really specific. I think that the interviewer and the subject should have basses in their hands. That's one of the best features of the Jaco instructional video: he's got Gerald Jemmott sitting there in front of him and he couldn't get away with any vague and general answers to the questions.

 

Ed, if you need any help, maybe I could corner someone at NAMM and see what I could get out of them. One year I had a great one-on-one with Gary Willis who graciously showed me his three finger technique up close and personal. (And of course he had already given that lesson in the pages of the magazine.)

[Dave Brown]

Thanks for the mention, Dr. Sweets. I 'preciate that.

 

I think, though, that my work-a-day teaching isn't flashy and exciting enough for BP mag. It's kinda like "we want an article from Vic Wooten, and you give us Bob Glaub." Not that I'm cutting Bob Glaub anymore that I'd cut myself...but it's just solid teaching rather than flash. (I'm not cutting BP either, BTW)

 

And, in keeping with Jeremy's analysis, there are some people I'd like to hear from. Here are 2 from the URB community.

 

Kristen Korb, on how she developed her "Play a killer walking line while singing scat and looking cute"

 

Glen Moore, on his unique tuning system and how he uses it both with Oregon and in traditional playing.

And

[_Sweet Willie_]

I still think there's merit in having one or two lessons from experienced players who focus a lot of their time to teaching, and have taught a lot.

 

It may not be as flashy as BP might want, but if you're able to say that "Dave Brown has taught over XX students in his career, directs an award-winning high school orchestra, and has seen X number of his upright players win awards. He also gigs on electric and upright in a variety of styles, including classical, jazz, and rock," you're starting to make a good case for a less famous individual.

 

So, whether it's Jeremy Cohen or Dave Brown or any of the other teachers on this forum or elsewhere is of less importance. I do think, Ed, that there might be some value to presenting a lesson or two from some players who are really focused on the education aspect (in some ways, as you are). It might even be valuable to hear from some of the teachers of some of the famous players. Who would Marcus Miller recommend as a teacher? What about Alain Caron? These guys got some lessons, informal or formal, from other players as they developed.

 

And, as is clear from some other posts, I continue to hear that Chuck Rainey is one heckuva a teacher.

 

Hopefully, I've not turned into a broken record, Ed, but I think there's something to this idea. (Maybe even a combined lesson or paired lessons from a famous player and one of his/her teachers!)

 

Peace.

--SW

[dcr]

Originally posted by Dr. Sweet Willie:

Who would Marcus Miller recommend as a teacher? What about Alain Caron? These guys got some lessons, informal or formal, from other players as they developed.

Now THAT is an interesting idea. Maybe not every great player is a great teacher, but they should at least be able to know a great teacher when they see one. I like this idea.

[getz out]

I don't know, I agree with Willie. My favorite part of BP is the "in-the-trenches" "average" non-famous player.

 

Taking a person who has made a living out of music without being famous is very appealing. I think Jeremy and Dave are both perfect examples of that, as are thousands of other people (who might or might not be on the forum).

 

Seriously, I get better advice from someone who has to do their own cartage than someone who has a 10-person road crew.

[wraub]

I will agree that the lessons of the right working day-to-day player, both those they might teach and those they have learned from, would be interesting to read, and an asset to the magazine.

 

I also agree that the teachers of the greats are often far less known than their famous students, and likely deserving of attention.

 

I will also agree with dcr that I had a good idea with the "certain players teach a specific concept" suggestion.

 

I'm just agreeable as all-get-out today.

(What an odd expression...)

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[Nicklab]

I know it's a longshot, but how about Paul McCartney? He's always been very melodic and has a great touch with the pick as well as using muting techniques.

[RalphM]

I don't have a specific name in mind, but I'd want someone who has something to teach. In other words, not a 'name' player just because they're a 'name' player. The biggest names are not necessarily the best teachers.