Just a quick note to let you know that, besides today’s episode of the podcast dropping, we’re getting really close to being able to announce the London clinic with myself and Ian Martin Allison on June 1st.

In today’s episode, I take a crack at sharing my latest harmonic curiosity: Neo-Riemannian Triadic Theory. It’s a bit of a mouthful for something that’s essentially just major and minor triads—in all their inversions—and how you can connect them using (amongst others) relative, parallel, and leading-tone transformations.

It’s fascinating, kind of nerdy, but surprisingly good for your bass playing!

You don’t ever have to actually play the ideas as chords on the bass—but the information you’re armed with, having studied the concept, gives you so many more options when it comes to note-choice and supporting the musicians around you in the band.

More soon!

Janek

A quick emergency episode of the podcast to let you know that Bass Day Europe has been cancelled a the last-minute, and that Ian Martin Allison and myself are going to try and do something in London together in its place.

Comments on the video with suggestions are already pouring in which I really appreciate, but we can’t have too many ideas. So put your thinking caps on and let’s see what the best option ends up being. Since posting the video just a few hours ago it’s looking totally doable.

I have been fielding dozens of questions about whether or not it was happening or was potentially a scam. Now we know.

The writing seemed like it might already be on the wall when this was posted a couple of months back, but I was trying to be optimistic and going on the facts not the rumors as I had indeed been booked ad confirmed to play.

I’m also really sorry to hear about people who have paid for tickets and haven’t had any direct communication from the organizers. That’s really not cool and there will be more in-depth video about this when I get back home from touring next week.

More soon,

Janek

I've been looking for the perfect touring pedalboard case my entire career, and even though I think I've come pretty close with this latest setup, only time on the road over the next two weeks will tell.

We start our tour here at home in LA for four nights, but once we leave for the airport it's 14 flights in 10 days.

I'll be sure to report back on all the wins and losses for the board when the tour is over.

More soon,

Janek

It's incredible what can be staring you in the face for so long, and you just can't see it no matter how hard you look.

My discovery this week, of a function on a pedal I've owned for over 5 years, changed the way I'm able to play, to write, and to enjoy music.

The pedalboard has now been cannibalized as a result, and is being totally rebuilt before touring starts next week. As a result, some pedals are on the way out to make room for new stuff.

Check them out!

I’ve mentioned in the past that some of the books we get from the factory don’t make it to us in perfect condition, and as a result of not being able to sell them, they’ve been piling up here. We’re now offering these units for sale with a massive discount. The defects are purely cosmetic of course, and the content in the books is still 100% sound. There are only a few available, so grab yours now!

More soon,

Janek

A bass arrived yesterday that I'm holding onto for a friend before I deliver it to him, and I get to share it with you on the channel while It's in my studio. It’s always interesting to see what other builders are doing, and what other people are playing.

It’s definitely not my particular flavor, but still a fun and challenging exercise to play a strange instrument and try and sound like yourself right away.

In today’s episode I also get to a new gadget for touring, and an exercise I've been using to get me ready for touring season which starts in just a couple of weeks here on the West Coast of the US.

More soon,

Janek

Today's episode of the podcast takes a quick look into the new "medium" stereo pedalboard build, a dive into the epic 10th anniversary version of the JHS Colorbox, and some lo-fi exploration with the Vibrato Coral from EQ Circuitos.

More soon,

Janek

As touring season approaches, another rig build is imminent. I've been working on some sounds and figuring out how I'm going to take this massive stereo image on tour with me for both playing live and recording.

With tours in the US and Europe with Vital Information, solo clinics, bass days, and several large recording projects scattered around the world, compact and easy to carry is the name of the game with this board.

But at the same time, I don’t want to sacrifice anything when it comes to sound, and I want it ALL to be in stereo.

More soon,

Janek

I recently hopped on a flight to Boston to meet up with my good friend and bass-hero John Patitucci.

We went all the way down the rabbit hole on his entire discography as an artist, his new album Spirit Fall, and so many details of how his career was shaped by Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter, and how it is still taking on new shapes and forms to this day.

Be sure to check out tour dates at his WEBSITE! and the new album with Chris Potter and Brian Blade now on all platforms.

Enjoy,

Janek

Whilst sifting through old drives for B-Roll for another video I found this old overhead shot of me working on a Till Brönner transcription from a few years back.

Obviously I don’t set up the camera and makes videos like this every time I transcribe something, but I do make a habit of transcribing on a regular basis.

As my ear gets stronger, the material I’m transcribing tends to change. It’s quite rare these days to be transcribing linear ideas for instance as I’ve done so much of that over the past three decades. I’m more curious now about harmony and chord voicings, and how those might work for orchestration and arrangement purposes when I’m in writing-mode.

As you can hear from this very raw voice note made with my phone, I’m focusing on harmonic development for this new album I’m planning to record in Europe later in the year.

I’m working towards recording the trio (possibly Jojo Mayer and Tom Cawley) in the south of Germany, and then hopping over to Sofia to record the New Bulgarian Voices on top of the trio right after.

Layering elements of Jazz, European folk music, electronic music, and some of my biggest influences from the classical world like Chopin, Brahms, Messiaen, Mahler, Schubert, Ravel and Rachmaninoff, is something incredibly exciting to me.

Knowing I have access to some of the greatest musicians, engineers, and studios out there gives me a lot of hope that no matter what we do in the studio, we will make music we love. And when you add in the possibilities a choir could generate… I start to get a real buzz about the project even when we’re so many months away.

This is a clip from my daily practice routine that I’m constantly documenting to make sure ideas aren’t lost. The one recurring melody throughout this improvised clip could end up being the main theme for a choral arrangement for instance. You just never know.

That’s why I felt compelled to share these three things today.

* The transcription clip represents where I’m coming from and the crazy amount of hours I’ve put into transcription and ear training over the years.

* The audio clip gives you an idea of how I’m constantly making short voice notes of compositional ideas.

* And the video clip is looking forward to this year’s recording projects as I continue to write as much as possible every day, and get used to a new instrument so I’m in the best place possible when the red light goes on to record.

As always, be sure to stream the latest album with Mark Turner, John Ellis, Gretchen Parlato, Jojo Mayer, Elliot Mason, Gregoire Maret, and Tim Miller for free wherever you listen to music.

My listening platform of choice happens to be Spotify.

If you’re a fan of physical media, you can now pre-order vinyl of this latest release

More soon,

Janek

In today's episode I dig into the Wayne Shorter composition Capricorn, take a look at new chord voicings, and explain my process for creating a new challenge in my practice routine.

Since the recent video about the dozens of books that got stolen from my porch we've managed to re-stock, so there are 10-Minute Manuals, Scales and Arpeggios, and almost every other book we have in stock right now!

Don’t forget that the John Patitucci interview is dropping this Friday to celebrate the launch of his new album Spirit Fall.

More soon,

Janek