Reneaud Garcia-Fons is a bassist every bassist should know. I was hipped to him by my very first double bass teacher (a classmate of mine who had barely studied the instrument himself) and, like my first exposure to Victor, Edgar, Jaco, I could not even be sure I knew what it was I was hearing.
Garcia-Fons’ technique stretches the concept of the double bass to its boundaries. His extensive use of his high C-string and extended techniques elicit unexpected timbres from what, for all intents and purposes, is a clumsy, cumbersome instrument. Renaud recently released a DVD (from which this video is culled) and it is worth the cost to obtain.
David Howells posted a review of the Arcoluz package at Amazon.com that reads as follows:
J. Hellborg, G. Willis, S. Clarke, D. Holland et al could not begin to dream where Renaud Garcia-Fons journeys on his 5 string double-bass. He is quite easily the greatest bass player of them all and this breath-taking CD (and DVD) is a living testament to his out of this world skills. His bowing technique alone is both bewildering and awesome. The sounds and speeds he gets in the higher register are like those of a maestro violinist and the arrangements are a joy. If you don’t believe me, buy this CD/DVD. The 85 minute DVD alone is worth the asking price (and more!). If you are a bass player, please ensure have a loved one close by to console you. If you want (need) to listen to Renaud in a larger group setting, get hold of a copy of Oriental Bass. Oh, and the guitarist and percussionist are also wonders to behold. PS: If you’re of the opinion that Jaco was the greatest bassist of all time, think again!
Jason Heath just might be obsessed with cats. Since Jason is the inspiration for this blog, it seems I might as well follow suit.
My wife and I attended Pigilicious this weekend and came home with an adorable little kitten. I want to call her Pigilicious (Miss Piggy for short). I don’t think Meghan will let me.
If you think I should add something, let me know. Post your own list and leave a comment so I check it out. And please don’t be offended if you’re not on this list; I’m not always as focused as I should be.
It’s been a bit more than a month since I parted ways with my bass so she could get fixed. I posted some pictures of the instrument, post lobotomy, and now have what should be the penultimate post in this saga.
The guys at Upton have done an excellent job of keeping their www.stringrepair.com site up-to-date with pictures of my bass in progress. I have added some of these to my Flickr page to share here. If you are a gear-head like me, you might find these photos fascinating. Otherwise, I’ll have more updates up for you soon.
After repairing the damages corner and doubling the edges of the table, the top gets glued back on. What you are looking at is several dozen string-instrument clamps, made of cork-lined wood tensioned by a bolt and wingnut.
The fingerboard was then removed.
After discussing my thoughts on the sound of the instrument, Gary and I decided to replace the fingerboard with a longer, stiffer one to afford me a more percussive playing position. The fingerboard is getting the Upton setup.
You can see here the difference between the old shape of the saddle and the new shape Eric carved. It’s primarily aesthetic, but a nice touch none-the-less.
A normal tailpiece is way too short for my bass, so the Upton guys made a new one for me. I was using the Marvin tailpiece and Gary suggested I try a tailpiece with more mass to get me closer to the sound I want. I already told you that I liked what the Marvin tailpiece did to my sound, so I wait with baited breath to hear what this will do to my sound.
That’s a double dose of Eric working his magic on my tailpiece.
This is the repair; post-shaping, pre-finish. Allowing the wood to get a little “dirty” will make the finish less conspicuous.
And here you can see the doubled edge, designed to reinforce the slab-cut top in this vulnerable area (the shoulders).
This shop delivers. What a unique tailpiece!
If all goes according to plan, I will have my bass mid-week. I cannot wait to hear her!
Today was the second day of Mayfaire by the Lake in Lakeland, Florida. Yesterday’s hit was a 1:00pm with matthewwengerdtrio and today was a 12:00pm hit with Bendelow Road. There were over 200 exhibitors, ranging from musicians to sculptors to jewelry makers. There were quite a few duds, in my opinion, but I am very anti-Florida-style and imagined a lot of the art I saw hanging over a wicker sofa. ugh.
Highlights included: Jack Hill created these scultures – the larger “mello cello” sculpture was nearly six feet tall. I am particularly fond of the Icarus image of the middle piece.
This is perhaps the most impressive work at Mayfaire. I was at first convinced that these were photos screened onto frames, but Mike takes the photos and Patty paints the frames. It’s a pretty phenomenal setup they have and I was impressed with every piece they had displayed.
Nathan Herrera had an excellent set of Flamenco-inspired solo guitar work.
Joe Pilcher’s work focused on laminate wood bent into vibrant shapes. His use of a reflective laminate on one side of the material creates pleasing lines in the center piece. I could not find web information for Pilcher.
This image of Trane was created by Arthur Dillard. Dillard’s work is in the practice rooms of several of my friends’ homes. His work is music-centric and an interesting source of jazz-art.
Joe Ihn‘s furniture and sculpture work with wood is contemporary and plays to my interest in unique pieces of wood.
Ron Lemoine creates fish-centric metal sculptures. I love the Bass-playing Bass, but am particularly fond of the shot in the center.
It seems a lot of the artists had subject-themes. Michelle Mardis‘ theme was dogs. I can easily see one of these hanging over our couch, but I’m not sure the cat would appreciate it.
I think I can easily call this my favorite exhibit at Mayfaire. Scott Causey‘s sculptures are absolutely breathtaking. I am not the only one to be drawn to these absolutely wonderful animals!
Last but not least, yours truly playing with matthewwengerdtrio:
My friend, Rich Van Voorst, and I have started a listing of straight-ahead jazz gigs in the West Central Florida area called tampajazzscene. It is a blogspot with a companion Google Calendar. If you or anyone you know has a jazz hit anywhere in the Central Florida area, let us know and we’ll list it!
We’re looking forward to an opportunity to build the jazz scene in Tampa. I’ve gotten sick of waiting by the phone, so now I’m hitting the proverbial streets.
matthewwengerdtrio and Bendelow Road will be playing at Lakeland’s Mayfaire by the Lake this weekend. Mayfaire is an excellent outdoor arts festival on Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL. mwt and Bendelow Road are the only jazz groups performing, but there will be other excellent performers and dozens of artists’ booths. Stop by and say hello if you can make it!
matthewwengerdtrio
Saturday, May 12, 2007
1:00pm – Mayfaire by the lake mwengerd|b rvvoorst|ts rmarsh|d
Bendelow Road
Sunday, May 13, 2007
12:00pm – Mayfaire by the Lake
dlunsford|ts,as
kguira|tb
nbagwell|p
mwengerd|b
rmarsh|d
The modern American church does a poor job of conveying what Jesus taught and who he was. These videos, known to me as “the Jesus videos,” are a satirical look at the concept of Jesus that many people have today. It’s meant to be funny, feel free to laugh.
Eric Roy of Upton Bass emailed me to let me know that pictures of my bass have been posted on www.stringrepair.com, the webpage of the workshop at Upton Bass. Eric has been diligently working on my bass while boss-man, Gary Upton Birkhamshaw, is on a little R&R. Eric has been reinforcing the damaged area of my bass and re-building the missing corner. I appreciate the communicative and transparent nature of the shop. These guys politely tell the truth, whether or not it’s pleasant, because they know that the customer would rather hear it up front than deal with it after the fact.
Eric outlined a loose timeline that could have my bass back in my hands by the beginning of the week after next. The whole thing would have been done much earlier had I not had the rosin accident, but the wait is plenty reasonable for work of this magnitude (if not downright amazing) and is only alleviated by the amount of communication they provide.
Eric (and some other Upton folks, I bet) took some of the most eye-catching pictures of my bass imaginable. I love seeing the inside of basses and this is my first glimpse into the inside of mine. He says there are more on the way, so I am looking forward to seeing those soon.
My experiences have been similar to Calore’s and I can say that the only frustration I still have with the Google products is the inability to drag and drop in Gdocs. I am not using these applications in an office setting, but manage my gig calendar, contacts, practice goals, and communications with the suite. Do yourself a huge favor and get a google account. Explore the Labs Section to see what’s in the works.
Michael Calore had a