Arthur Fuller
fuller.artful at gmail.com
Tue Oct 22 17:28:47 CDT 2013
Rocky, It doesn't matter. I just thought of another profound bass player -- Charlie Haden, he of the Jazz Composers Orchestra Association and also the Liberation Music Orchestra (c.f. http://www.charliehadenmusic.com/music/liberation-music-orchestra). As for me, I never was a jazz player, but that can't stop me from loving it. My own niche is tabla (East Indian drums); I have taken lessons from three of the best tabla players in the world (Zakir Hussain, Swapan Chaudhuri and Ritesh Das) but despite that, I remain a terrible tabla player. Swapan, incidentally, is head instructor at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Francisco (http://www.aacm.org/). I bought my second set of tabla there while Zakir was teaching. Strictly on a the level of personal taste, I like Swapan's way with the drums better. He's less showy and manages to keep it possible for you to know where he is, even in something complex like Himpalasi (17 beats divided 4-3-4-3-3). Tabla is definitely an acquired taste. That said, I have acquired a taste for it and can listen to it all day long. I'll check out the book you recommended. Thanks for the tip. If you want to hear great cello, look no further than Beethoven's Cello Sonata Op. 69 No. 3 in A, with Jackie duPre on cello and Stephen Bishop on piano. She also recorded this with her then-husband Daniel Barenboim, and by comparison that version SUCKS. I think she was about 19 when she made the former recording, and it stands as the finest recording of that piece, bar none. Later, Casals and Rostropovich and Yoyo Ma. Jackie was the Jimi Hendrix of cello. A. On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 1:01 PM, Rocky Smolin <rockysmolin at bchacc.com>wrote: > Art (better than Arthur - Arthur's a drunk; Art Garfunkel was one of the > great folk artists of my generation; of course, there's Art Linkletter - a > notorious anti-Semite...but I digress) > > Arthur: > > I came late to the bass - I always wanted to play bass but never listened > to > any really except very casually - but when listening to rock, I usually > listened to the bass. So I got an electric about 8 years ago and fooled > with > it for a couple of years. Taught Max some bass - then he got in a band and > I > wasn't - so that seemed not right. SO I found a band and started playing > classics and covers. > > But my real love was for jazz standards, so eventually I found a piano > player and drummer who needed a bass and I learned the repertoire. About 2 > years ago I lost my head and got into the upright - which is really the > right instrument for the genre. I'm still pretty much of a hack string > bassist - but I'm getting some paid gigs and nobody's throwing tomatoes. > > Had a great Dixieland gig Saturday at the Coronado Ferry Landing - outdoor > gig - long - 3 sets. But we played really well. We've been together now > for three years with some personnel changes but pretty stable now with 8 - > and sounding more smooth, practiced, etc. But that's a hard band to book - > 8 pieces and not many people want an 8 piece Dixieland band. > > So I guess it's all good. With retirement here, maybe I'll have the > discipline to practice and improve my chops. > > But to answer the first question - I don't know who the bassist is you're > trying to remember - I probably never heard him. > > Cello: yeah, when I listen to quartets I listen to the cello. Don't know > why. Guess I just like the harmony. Feels good. That's all I can say - > it > feels good - just like the bass parts I play. Who know what goes on in the > musical brain? > > But I'd love to try it. Maybe, again, with retirement, I'll give it a go. > > BTW - I read a book 'This Is Your Brain on Music' (Daniel Levitin) - > fascinating and answered (or speculated answers) a lot of questions about > music - why some sounds good, some doesn't, things like that. Recommend it > if you're interested in the neurophysiology and psychology of music. > > r > -----Original Message----- > From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur Fuller > Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 9:12 AM > To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues > Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] Chip terminology > > Rock (that's your new nickname, upon which I have bestowed you: the Rock is > much more handsome than Rocky Balboa.) And besides, my fave bass player is > not Mingus but rather Dave Holland. And there was this other guy, whose > name > I forget, and most of my albums are in storage so it would be a chore to > look him up, but he was a black guy and he played electric bass ala Jimi > Hendrix, almost like a Strat but in the bass register, With more than a > little Funkadelic thrown in. Dammitol (I'm filing for a copyright on that > name for an Alzheimer's remedy). I would assume that you know the person to > whom I refer, given your penchant for the lower tones. > > Might I ask, Rock, are you also into cello? My fave cellist is/was > Jacqueline du Pre, whom I have often cited as the Jimi Hendrix of cello. > Her version of Beethoven's cello sonata Op. 69 No. 3 in A, accompanied by > Stephen Bishop on piano, is the definitive version of said piece. Later on, > when she fell in love with Danny Barenboim and they recorded the same > piece, > it fell very far short of her initial recording of same. > > Which, I suppose, summarizes my take on music. I have about 20 recordings > of > Beethoven's cello sonatas, and about the same number of Igor's The Rite of > Spring. And in both cases, I can cite which one is the best, currently > -- who knows what next week will reveal? I thought that I had the > definitive > version of the Bach Chaconne (from violin partita No. 2 in A), but then > along comes this Korean girl who blew the doors off every previous > recording. And then along comes Nicola Hall, a guitarist, who blew away > every previous recording of Casal's transcription for guitar. > > I live and die for music of this quality. But lest you think I'm a > classical > snob, let me also assert that I have some other faves, in different genres: > > The Clash: London Calling and Sandanista Talking Heads: Remain in Light > David Bowie: basically, everything The Ramones: basically, everything Bob > Dylan: everything, but IMO the stellar achievement is "Visions of Johanna", > which I deem the finest song written in the 20th century. > Leonard Cohen: Yes he's Canadian and so am I but I seriously doubt that > that > measures into this vote. Just listen to his words and appreciate their > concision. There's no finer songwriter on the planet. > > Arthur > _______________________________________________ > dba-Tech mailing list > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > _______________________________________________ > dba-Tech mailing list > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > -- Arthur