New Bass Instruction Video

I've just posted the latest in my series of instructional videos on YouTube. This one demonstrates upright bass fingerings for minor triads. I hope you find it useful.

I Love My Laklands, but...

This Sadowsky bass is something else. I've written elsewhere about the string length issues, but this bass is more than just a 34" inch 5 with a great B string. This MV5 has it all as far as I'm concerned: a maple neck (which I seem to be favoring these days), the famous Sadowsky pre-amp, and excellent mojo. As a well-known professional bassist pal of mine says: "Lakland makes very good instruments. And then there's Sadowsky..."

There's a reason Roger Sadowsky has made a huge name for himself in the bass world. These instruments are in a class by themselves. I can't believe I haven't owned one until now, but I guess now's the time.

I really do like used instruments. All of my basses, electric and upright, are older. I don't know what the age of this Sadowsky MV5 is, but it feels old to me. It has that wonderful played-in feel and warm tone that seem to be present more or less exclusively in basses that have have some mileage on them. My Amelot upright was built in 1820 and that bass could tell some stories, no doubt. Reminds me of Stanley Clarke's album If This Bass Could Talk. My other doublebass is of somewhat uncertain heritage but is easily a century old. My Lakland fretless 4 has one of their earliest serial numbers and it, too, has great soul.

I'm going to resist the temptation to wax poetic about the alleged joys of human middle age. Sure, a certain amount of wisdom and maturity may be a perk of being a little older. On balance I think I'd prefer to maintain a youthful attitude (especially about music) and simply play on older instruments.

More Jazz Resources

In addition to the almighty All About Jazz, there seem to be more and more resources devoted to our music on the web. I've already mentioned the brand new and excellent Jazz.com and I recently came across a site with a good selection of jazz books.

If you have any site that you'd like listed here just drop me a note or leave a comment.