Steven Swallow
Steven Swallow
Yes, seen several of her videos and she really shines.Originally Posted by Dana5140
I would als mention Yann Honoré who played on Halloween - Laz
There are many (at least some) incredible over the top musicians who can impress your pants of when playing alone, I have my doubts how the would function in a band.
This guy is fantastic.
A Bee Gees cover like you have never heard it before - Stayin Alive
I tend to watch his videos.
Here he is with a band
Jeff Berlin - one of the best! Bruford Band, Holdsworth and lots of other fusion bands - he also was live stand in for Chris Squire in YES - somewhere on YT you can hear him play Close to the Edge.
Amazing bass solo at 12:10
From what I heard (from a formar bandmate of him), he couldn't because of health reasons. Which really is sad.
One thing is for sure, the sheep is not a creature of the air.
https://sproingg.bandcamp.com/
I got to meet and spend time with Steve many many years ago, when he was playing with the Gary Burton Quintet. He let me play his electric bass at the time.Steven SwallowSteve remains the single nicest musician I have ever met. Class guy, and a superb musician.
And Charles Berthoud in insanely technically gifted, like Victor Wooten-level gifted. Young clean-cut English guy who just got married and makes his living from youtube. Glad to see him a band, even if it is all shredders.
Last edited by Dana5140; 4 Weeks Ago at 09:25 AM.
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
He was actually a stand-in not for Squire but for Tony Levin in ABWH. Those were the shows that were filmed.
When I worked in the HR Department at Berklee in the 1990s, my office was right below Rich Appleman's, the chair of the bass department. One day he was leaving 1140 Boylston at the same time I was, so I held the door for him. He smiled and asked me if I'd like to meet Jeff Berlin, knowing I also played bass. I tried to play it cool, even though my heart started racing. Berlin was a nice as he could be, and we all walked together toward the Berklee Performance Center, where he was giving a masterclass. I mentioned his work with Bruford that I really admired, and also said I owned the Laser Disc of his show with ABWH. He said rather matter-of-factly that he'd never been paid for those gigs and had never even seen the video footage.
Yikes!
Rather than dwell on that, he thanked me for listening, and talked briefly about his stint in Bruford, which he remembered with great fondness. He was very down-to-earth and easy to talk with. That remains one of my fondest memories of my days at Berklee.
Bill
Nice! The only time l saw Berlin he came out onstage and strutted around for 2 minutes like he was Peter Frampton. I'm happy to hear he was able to be just a guy, who was a great bassist.
I always remember working a Joe Satriani show in Atlanta and sitting worn out on a road case, and Stuart Hamm walking up to me with a beer.
Not sure what l am trying to say here.
I go, and come back, like memories and symptoms.
I go, and come back, forever, evermore.
Part of me remains abandoned in a circle.
Part of me moves on.
Thanks !
He is a very nice guy.
But have been seen as controversial and arrogant mostly because he has opinions about bass playing and teaching which wasn't shared by Berklee where he was employed. And he is no diplomat.
I saw ABWH when Berlin stood in for Levin at the Greek Theatre gig. That was a great show.
As far as I know, Berlin never worked at Berklee. He attended back in the 70s, but I don't believe he ever worked there as faculty, and I find no reference that he ever did. I also get no sense that Berlin is anything but respected at Berklee. Why would be there teaching a masterclass if Berklee had a major issue with him, or he with them?
You might be thinking of Players School of Music. I know he left there at one point, but I have no idea why.
No question, his opinions, especially about music education, and bass instruction in particular have raised a lot of hackles. He's definitely not a diplomat when it comes to delivering his points, which I think is a large part of the problem. That doesn't mean his points are without merit, but like anything written, the words and way you choose to express yourself will determine to some extent the reception you get. With Berlin, I think he struggles a bit in the area of mass communications, but one-on-one, I think he does far better. I certainly thought he was gracious to me, a fan who just wanted to express how much I loved his playing and contributions to the music I love, even when I accidentally stepped on a not-so-pleasant experience he had.
Bill
I have always enjoyed watching Tetsuo Sakurai play- in this clip, he is a shred master on bass, but his other work shows him funky and melodic:
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
Two words: Michael Manring
I was not aware of any controvesy related to Jeff Berlin, so I researched it, and of course, there is. And even he knows it, as this is direct from his own Facebook page:
"It looks like I will be interviewed on November 13th. This will be the interview where questions are going to be asked regarding my educational views, my references regarding the educational acumen of Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey's broad educational philosophy, Scott's Bass Lessons, Berklee bass students, Ed Friedland, metronomes, Carol Kaye's 2 and 4 and many other points where I see nearly the entirety of bass education as flawed.
People can write in any question you have.
No other live interview will remotely come close to the answers that I hope to share should questions allow for them."
Must not be a fan of Charles Berthoud, since Charles is Berklee trained. Huh. Who knew?
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
Wait, a Jeff Berlin controversy? Certainly not with a tagline like that, right?
bass_bassplayer-jan88_jeffberlin.jpg
I bought Jeff's VHS tape back in the 80's....DCI instructional videos, maybe? Anyway, one segment of the video has Rowdy Roddy Piper, the WWF "Wrestler," doing some schtick with Jeff. Jeff is a pugilist by nature, I think......
As a player, he's amazing, and I think his technique was unmatched back then, even by Jaco. But he's got strong opinions and likes a good argument. He's been in counseling, per his pretty public FB postings.....and I frankly think his opinions have merit. I think he left Players school over pedagogical differences. He believe in being a musician, and not just a bassist, especially if one is going to be a pro. I do not disagree.
"And this is the chorus.....or perhaps it's a bridge...."
I just wonder why he feels the need to slag off some of the best bassists in existence. Vic Wooten? Victor is a really nice guy, and I know people who have taken classes with him who are not even bassists, but loved him. And c'mon, Carol Kaye? After 60 years in the business?
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
He commented, after Jaco's death, that many of Jaco's so-called "improvisations" were actually composed or at least partially thought-out. His comments about Wooten involve Wooten's "extramusical" comments and techniques...by which I mean things like "Being a groove player," etc. Jeff believes that learning theory at a deep level, learning to read, etc., are vital to being a musician. The focus on groove, and flashy technique, etc., are wrong directions. Or, that's what I've gathered by listening to and reading him. I think he has some valid points, but I don't think you can knock the sense of excitement a new player may have, watching Wooten double-thumb his way through the changes and melody of Cherokee, for instance....yeah, you should learn and understand the changes, and you can study Bebop theory--substitutions, enclosures, all those concepts and musical approaches. But I don't like faulting any player because they choose to satisfy the request of a youngster who just wants to understand the flashy trick.
Then again, copying others only takes you so far.....Jaco was an original voice. Every one after him, maybe less so, frankly....including Berlin and Wooten.
"And this is the chorus.....or perhaps it's a bridge...."
I'm a Jaco fanboy, and by extension, a Manring fanboy, and Manring has definitely taken the instrument further. His 2005 album Soliloquy consists of realtime solo bass recordings with his custom Zon bass: no overdubs and no accompaniments. It's a five-star album if you enjoy that sort of thing.
Jeff Berlin is Jeff Berlin. He proffers no shortage of provocative viewpoints, sure, but he's one of the few who can at least back up his claims. He won't flex for the sake of a flex. That being said, we don't have to agree with everything.
As for Vic Wooten, I think he's awesome, and I always have. I don't think Jaco would've recorded a piece like Woot's "Classical Thump" — which Charles Berthoud does an impressive cover of (and it's now eight years old).
I saw Jeff Berlin with Scott He season on the HBC tour. Got to sit right up front and really enjoyed all 3 of them tremendously. Also saw him on the ABWH tour.
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Hardly en expert, but...
it sounds and looks a modified/customized Rickenbacker, but is it one?
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
That is a LeFay D-Tuner: https://equipboard.com/items/lefay-d...-4-string-bass. I think that's a discontinued model. The closest they have in their current line is the Singer: https://www.lefay.de/index.php/EN/bass_models/singer.
The upper horn of these basses pays a bit of homage to the Ric 4001/4003 bass, but there's nothing else Ric about it, including the sound, imo.
Bill
Yeah, there are tons of players now with spectacular chops- and many of htem leave me cold. I think Mohini Dey is hugely accomplished but I find her repetitive high-speed tapping exhausting rather than musical. One of the reasons I like Federico Malaman is that his playing is usually in yoke to something- there is logic to it and he does not slap and pop just to do so. My fave bassists all play bass more like it should be- whether it is any Magma bassist, Jack Cassady, Jack Bruce, Pino, or others, they are playing the tune- which is why Tal Wilkenfeld's solo on "Lovers" was so well done- no flash, just music.The focus on groove, and flashy technique, etc.
This is why I love someone like Rocco Prestia in TOP. Listening to him supporting the band and the singer, just great!
I appreciate someone like the late Rocco Prestia.
Last edited by Dana5140; 3 Weeks Ago at 12:47 PM.
I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.
You're right, thx
Indeed the "upper horn" and the head silhouette are reminiscent of the 4003, but indeed, the bottom half of the body is nothing like it.
Last edited by Trane; 3 Weeks Ago at 11:10 AM.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
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