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 concert of Morgan’s transcriptions and arrangements of the music of Frank Zappa for the Jazz Unit featuring Ernie Watts and Mark Wood earned an Award of Achievement from Northern Ohio Live. He performed this music as guest artist with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra in December 2012. Morgan collaborates in crossover projects with Apollo’s Fire, the Internationally-acclaimed Baroque ensemble, and occasionally performs with The Cleveland Orchestra as a jazz bassist and bass guitarist. The American Wind Symphony Orchestra has commissioned several pieces, including “Colors of Your Dreams,” “Reflections and Mediations”, and “The Art of Seven.” Several of Morgan’s orchestral pieces are recorded on Centaur Records. The YSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble directed by Stephen Gage is planning to release a recording of his compositions for wind ensemble, featuring several YSU faculty members as guest soloists. A current project is Blue Is More Than A Color, a recording of his recent works for large jazz ensemble featuring many extraordinary soloists including Pete Mills, Brandon Scott Coleman, Theron Brown, Dave Kana, Chris Coles, and Sam Blakeslee. This project, made possible by a generous grant from the Knight Foundation, will be released in Winter 2019.

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. James has performed all over the U.S. as well as several countries and continents. He currently resides in Austin, Texas where he is working towards a DMA in jazz performance at UT Austin.

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 demand all around town for both public, private and non-profit events. Jon is a bandleader, bass player, event planner, entrepreneur, husband, dad, and a connector of people.

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.