Kill The Bass

Today, I am playing along with George Duvivier on Etta Jones' "Don't GoTo Strangers". Free Transcriptions! Ep 25 is the end of Season 1 of the Podcast. I'm going to take the next few weeks to finish a HUGE project for Kill the Bass. What that means for you is that I'll be sending you new transcriptions and a BIG Surprise. Always stayed tuned in to Kill the Bass for big surprises and Season 2 of the Kill the Bass Podcast.

I was honored to have the opportunity to connect with Ohio bassist Dave Morgan for this episode of Kill the Bass. Dave has played and recorded with many of the musicians I have looked up to years. His playing is refined and he has a great sound. One of Morgan's strongest attributes is his dedication to composition and orchestration. It affects his improvising, and I was lucky to talk about his entire process and concept as a bassist. The composer, improviser, and double bassist Dave Morgan has collaborated with a wide range of jazz, pop and classical artists. His most recent recording is Beyond Boundaries with the vocalist Amanda Powell. Morgan was a recipient of a “New Works: Creation and Presentation" grant from Chamber Music America, which resulted in his recording, The Way of the Sly Man, featuring Jack Schantz, Howie Smith, Jamey Haddad, and Dan Wall. Morgan also composed the music for The Surprise of Being—Live at Birdland by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra featuring Joe Lovano. A Tri-C Jazz Fest conc

I had a great conversation this week with James Suter, an Austin bassist who is winning. He is playing all the time in Austin right now. He sounds great! He shared with me some of his successes as well as tips to really get the most out of your bass. This was a very inspiring interview that I recommend listening to more than once. James uses D'Addario Strings. Hailing from Hollywood, Florida, James Suter is an in-demand jazz bassist, composer, and educator. A graduate of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, James was a member of the prestigious Stamps Jazz Quintet from 2009 to 2013. James received third prize in the jazz division of the 2014 BASSEUROPE Convention and competed as a finalist in the 2012 International Society of Bassists Jazz Solo Competition. James is a recent graduate of North Carolina Central University, where he received masters of music in jazz composition. His original compositions draw inspiration from jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Keith Jarrett.

Hi Ladies and Gents! This week I wanted to share 5 books I've been using to help me expand the horizons of proficiency. These books are must haves if you want to be a serious bassist!

In episode 21, I take the 6th note of Barry's scale, and use it to create a very special chord which is near and dear to my heart! Come with me as I explore diminished harmony! Listen in and hear the warts and all of my piano playing. I've included a PDF with this episode which you can download at www.killthebass.com!!

In episode 20, I dive into some of the basic applications from Barry Harris' "Sixth Diminished Scale" for upright bass. The 6th diminished sound is so beautiful and deep, that it needs to be explored by all practicing musicians. We're really only scratching the surface in this lesson. This will be part 1of hopefully many!

Jon Klekman moved from New York City to Austin in 2008 to experience a change of pace and scene. Without missing a beat, Jon found like minded musicians and artists in Austin who would lead him through a journey of discovery broadening his musical horizon from ska, punk, reggae roots to Jazz, Folk, Americana, Classical, Noise Rock and Hip Hop. Jon became a bandleader and helped to found: Dust Bowl Dreamers, Flemish Giant & also was a contributing member of The Clouds Are Ghosts. In 2015 Jon created the Jon Klekman Trio and Quartet as a vehicle to learn to play and explore the Jazz tradition with a hit the ground running approach. He placed himself side by side with Austin's most talented Jazz players to grow musically in the quickest way possible. In 2016 Jon began to play acoustic bass and started the journey to incorporate this demanding and beautiful instrument into live sets. Through the natural evolution of performing Jazz for local small businesses and cultural institutions the group is now in deman

I sat down with bassist Alex Browne to talk about how to grow my bass soloing chops. Our conversation honestly helped my solo playing right away! I love his concept about shifting gears from root based playing to thinking like a soloist. He's shared thumb position advise, pacing your self for the gig, chord/scale relationships and so much more!

I was very excited to cover seven sides of "Autumn Leaves". This song has become one of the most important, and most popular of the jazz standards. This is one of the first songs I learned when I started to learn jazz and since then I've played hundreds of times. Since starting the podcast, I realized that this is another song that I needed to take a deeper look into.

Sam Pankey is an upright and electric bass player living in Austin, TX. He has performed extensively throughout the US and Europe, and has performed and recorded with artists such as Rotem Sivan, Jon Irabagon, Luis Perdomo, Kevin Lovejoy, Balmorhea, Mother Falcon, and White Denim. He graduated from the University of Texas jazz program under the tutelage of John Fremgen. Sam performs with a wide variety of bands and trios in Austin, including a trio with drummer Daniel Dufour and pianist Damian Garcia, which will release its debut album later 2019.

From birth, Alexander Claffy was raised in a musical household (his father is a pianist, his mother, a vocalist), and had many of his earliest lessons on bandstands in the heart of Philadelphia. As a teenager, Claffy was fortunate enough to find a mentor in many Philly natives, and has continued his study of the double bass with some of the world's finest musicians, including Ron Carter, Dwayne Burno and Orin O'Brien. Since moving to New York City in 2011, he has had the honor of working with many of his living heroes, including Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes, Harold Mabern, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Christian Scott, Joey Alexander, Wallace Roney and many more.  In the past 3 years he has recorded for the Verve, HighNote, Positone, RopeADope and LaReserve record labels.

Born and raised in Waterbury, Connecticut Jonathan Michel is a bassist, composer and arranger of Haitian descent.  Based in New York City, Michel is an eclectic artist known for his work as a producer and arranger, as well as performances all over the world. Some associated acts include Billy Paul, Laurin Talese, Soul Science Lab, Melanie Charles, Godwin Louis and Orrin Evans.

Years ago in a bass lesson, my teacher told me that if I was going to learn a song, I should be familiar with at least 7 versions of that song before I attempt to perform it. That is a good standard to hold to when learning songs. Being familiar with 7 versions gives you solid ground and freedom to take the song in many possible directions. This week I highlight a standard that is one of the most quintessential pieces in the jazz repertoire: “All The Things You Are”.

Spending 20 years as a busy hired gun bass player, Aaron has been through all sorts of adventures; traveling the world and learning from the masters.Growing up in Massachusetts, he cut his teeth playing upright and electric bass in bands ranging from jazz, blues, funk, reggae, Senegalese mbalax; all while driving to New York and Boston, and all over New England. From the beginning he learned to be picky about quality, but not genre.Moving to the San Francisco bay area in 2000, his adventures continued, and he quickly found himself working over time, sometimes playing two or three gigs a day. He entered the world of salsa and Afro-Cuban music, Brazilian forro music, Caribbean steel pan music; he found himself accompanying Indian kathak dancers, veteran calypso singers from Trinidad, or navigating through dense, odd-meter jazz compositions.

Born in Philadelphia, Pa, Nimrod Speaks is a well-trained bassist, composer and educator both on electric and double bass. He began playing at the age of 16 on an electric fender bass while in high school under the tutorship of Ricardo Jackson. He later was introduced to the double bass during his first semester in college. He brings his individual soulful tone to many styles of music. Much of his musical studies in classical and jazz concentration include training with Ben Blazer, Ralph Bowen, Douglas Mapp, Conrad Hewig, Maria Cadieux, Scott Lee, Kevin Kjos, Mike Richmond, Victor Lewis, Vic Juris, and Stanley Cowell. While obtaining a B.A in Music Education from Kutztown University and a Masters in Jazz Studies from Rutgers University, these schools landed him opportunities to play with renowned artist of today. Some include Boostie Barnes, Ronnie Burrage, Doc Gibbs, Hannible Lokumbe including performance at premier jazz venues such as the Blue Note in NYC and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

There are 3 exercises I’ve learned from my guests so far that has improved my playing greatly. In this episode I explain them, and give audio examples of my demonstrating them! Give it a listen!

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, Philadelphia bassist Mike Taylor, has played with some of the people that have played with some of the people that are the epitome of musical royalty. He has performed or recorded with such musicians as Glen McClelland (Ween), Pete Kuzma (Lady Gaga), Freddy Berman (Amos Lee) and Justin Falkner (Branford Marsalis). These relationships have resulted in performances such as headlining the 2005 Antigua Jazz festival with the Joe Ashlar Trio, multiple appearances in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, countless gigs of varying styles with jazz, Brazilian, Cuban, American folk groups, and dozens of studio recordings. This culminated with the 2006 recording with the legendary saxophonist Odean Pope (To the Roach). However, this is truly a two part story as Mike took a 6 year hiatus from playing music.  In 2009, Mike decided to quit playing music professionally after a year-long existential battle with being a working professional bassist. After years of work and study for an alterna

In 2019, Zak Moses Ostroff has been leading development of the world’s first 3D-printed, compostable, recyclable surfboard, while composing and performing scores for forthcoming films like The Hunt. He premiered Vote For Home the first web video series to feature well-known musical artists discussing the current impact of climate change on hometowns in the United States, while helping register viewers to vote in the upcoming 2016 US election. Ostroff performed for President Obama and the UN in New York City during COP20 and made his debut performance as a leader at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He was also featured in the HBO Series Masterclass performing with Joshua Bell in New York and London. He has a B.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University with the aim of carving a path towards mitigating climate change through artistic pathways.

Brad Miller is a young NYC based Acoustic/Electric bassist, composer and producer. Miller's unique approach, propulsive basslines and big sound travel with him always, regardless of the musical setting. Brad's early upbringing started in South Florida playing with Randy Bernsen, Ira Sullivan, Othello Molineaux, Jon Secada, Jacob Jeffries Band, Roosevelt Collier, Duffy Jackson and more. Brad can be heard currently playing with groups/artists such as Oz Noy, Ari Hoenig, Big Yuki, Sean Wayland, Jonathan Blake, Obed Calvaire, Fabian Almazan, Sean Rickman, David Binney and more. He has played at venues such as 55 Bar, Nublu, Bitter End, Brooklyn Bowl, Rockwood Music Hall, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center, Smalls, The Bitter-End, SOB's, Shapeshifter, Black Cat and more 

Owen Clapp is a bass player, composer, and songwriter living in the San Francisco Bay Area. His versatility on upright bass, electric bass, and keybass has given him the opportunity to work with a variety of artists across a range of genres, including hip-hop artists Anderson .Paak, Dumbfoundead, and George Watsky, and GRAMMY award winning jazz musicians Kenny Burrell, John Clayton, Ruslan Sirota, Mads Tolling, and Evan Price. His recording credits include sessions for Sony Pictures, Lyft, and various Los Angeles-based commercial licensing agencies. Since returning to Northern California in 2016, Owen has continued to perform with Los Angeles groups the Jonah Levine Collective, the Aditya Prakash Ensemble, and the Le J Keys Collective, of whom he is a founding member, in addition to accompanying a number of notable Bay Area artists including Paula West, Mads Tolling, and Evan Price. As a house bassist at the Black Cat in San Francisco, he has accompanied New York jazz musicians Evan Sherman, Ken Fowser, and