Dominique di Piazza Masterclasses @ AmsterBASS 30/31 October

Dominique, who resides in France, is of Sicilian origin and was raised by his gypsy stepfather, a heritage that would influence his musicality in later years. He played both guitar and bass for a period of time, and after hearing the infamous Jaco Pastorius in 1979 decides to focus strictly on the bass, and not long after starts finding the unique voice he becomes very well known for.
Being a self taught musician, he immediately started developing his own style of playing, and by the early 80's had refined his signature right hand approach. It began by using the thumb, index, and middle finger instead of the traditional two finger approach, and that move gave birth to the four finger technique which is used as a secondary technique by many of the top players in the world. In addition to that, he also enhanced this technique by using a pedal steel guitar pick on his thumb and index finger, and carved out a unique and distinctive sound on the instrument.
Beyond that, he also made a change over from a 4 string to a 5 string and introduced using a high C string as the 5th string instead of the low B, which was uncommon, and once again was embraced by many of the top players. On the « Que Alegria » album with John McLaughlin, which came out in 1992, the solo bass tune « Marie » would become one of the highlights of the recording, displaying his new « picking technique ».

These subtle but imaginative changes to his approach on the instrument, would have a ripple effect in the bass community and would be adopted by numerous players both here in the states and in Europe, such as Matthew Garrison, Adam Nitti, and Hadrien Feraud to name just a few.He also came up with a design for a special bridge to be used on a fretted bass to emulate the sound of a fretless bass.
This can be heard on the piece « Seven Up » from the album « Wait and See » recorded in 1993, which once again was another extraordinary performance by Dominique.
Add to that a strong background in the be-bop genre, his gypsy musical heritage, a neo-classical approach to his playing, and a strong sense of harmony, and you have one of the most original voices on bass in modern music today.
His career started in 1982 at the Hot Club de Lyon in France playing with Michel Perez. He became an established player on the Paris scene and toured as well with Didier Lockwood, Andre Ceccarelli and Gordon Beck.

In 1987 he does a European tour with Gil Evans and the Big Band Lumiere of Laurent Cugny. He then recorded a trio album with Jean-Pierre Como and Stephane Huchard called « Padre » .Then in 1991, Dominique becomes a member of the John McLaughlin trio along with Trilok Gurtu. They do a worldwide tour of more than 300 concerts and record the « Que Alegria » album, which caught the ear of many well known bassists, and Dominique becomes an established player on the jazz scene.
John McLaughlin quotes, « His talent is immense, and I feel he is one of the most musical bass players in the world today ».

In 2000 the group « Front Page » is created featuring Dominique with Bireli Lagrene & Dennis Chambers. They tour Europe and eventually record « Front Page » which wins France's « Victoires de la Musique » award for the years best Jazz CD.

In 2005 and 2006 Dominique is touring again playing in the Island of Reunion, the Island of Maurice, and Madagascar, as well as 10 countries in Africa playing with pianist Meddy Gerville, guitarist Jean-Marie Ecay, and percussionist Horacio « el Negro » Hernandez. This collaboration records the CD « Jazz Amwin » creating what was called « Maloya Jazz », a blend of jazz and Maloya, a traditional music of the Reunion Island.

In 2006, Dominique is in India, recording a CD with the great Indian mandolin player U. Shrinivas, guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya, Selvaganesh (kanjeera), and Zakir Hussain (tablas). « Samjanitha » be released on Dreyffus/Sony label in March of 2008.
He has also recorded a CD « Woman's Perfume » with Italian pianist Antonio Farao and drummer Andre Ceccarelli, which was released the 23 January 2008 on Camjazz label (import Omagatoki Japan)

In 2008, John McLaughlin asked Dominique Di Piazza to join him on his major European tour, "The 4th Dimension", with Gary Husband (keyboards and percussion) and Mark Mondésir (drums). From Spring through to Summer they travelled across Europe, playing over 30 venues together in all the major cities, from Spain to Russia, Ireland and Eastern Europe. Dominique also accompanied John McLaughlin in India at the Blue Frog Club in Mumbai, for a unique concert by "The Floating Point" group, with Ranjit Barot (drums), Louis Banks (keyboards), Shashank (flute), Naveen Kumar (flute) and Shankar Mahadevan (vocals). Meanwhile, Dominique's trio with the Brazilian guitarist, Nelson Veras and drummer Manhu Roche brought out their album, "Princess Sita" on 26 August 2008 on Sunnyside Records (USA), distributed by Ryko.

Since 1985 he has been teaching at music schools in France and throughout the world. His unique voice, style and commitment to music have kept him at the forefront of the jazz scene, and we will be hearing a lot more of him in the near future.

Check out:
www.myspace.com/dominiquedipiazza
http://amsterbass.blogspot.com/
Youtube

JuliousBass @ European BassDay

I played bass in New York City for various projects. I was on the scene as a bassplyer for the live poetry scene which i came in contact with The last Poets and i did alot of gigs throughout Harlem with them. I also worked on an independent movie Kung Fu Jew which i did the music for with the director. I started a band called Mindtrip which featured the original cast member of (Rent) Wilson on the vocals. I spent years at Studio Instrument Rentals working and rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous in music.
John Bon Jovi,Roberta Flack,Herbie hancock,Puff Daddy to Captain and Taneel to name a few.My role was basically if the wanted to play in New York I had to put it together with my crew.
I also worked on some of the best music videos ever made at the time.I was employed by Martine Capalbo and Matt Capalbo which lead to work with Hype Williams,Little X,Brett Ratner,Benny Boom etc.etc. It's funny now to think some of the best directors started out doing Hip Hop and R&b videos. Those were the days. We did video's ghetto style and my most favorite video was Big Pun's "i'm not a playa i just crush alot". (r.i.p Big Pun)
Soon after i got a gig with Lauryn Hill ,and i was in the do wop that thing video.The cool thing about that video was even though there was a lot of extras i was playing Bass behind her.In the video she was pregnant and the dress she wore was designed by my friends the Capalbo's mother. The video was produced by the capalbo,s and i casted the band in my scene and i was working at S.I.R at the time and i brought the equiptment and tech'd the video that day. So i made $$$! Soon after I moved too London to start music school.

The London Music School!
I didn't need to go to London to study music but i needed to get out of New York at the time. I learned Music theory which was just what i needed. In New York everything seems out of reach as a ghetto child and no one gives nothing away for free.
The main lesson I learned in London was I had something to offer despite what I was being told in New York. Jazz and Classical Music education doesn't make you a Musician,talent passion and Theory, Chords, understanding piano is what will put the missing peaces together. When you go your own way you tend not to run into to much bull***t.

check: www.juliousbass.com

Stefan Neldner - new Spector Endorser

Spector Basses und der Gerhard Knauer Großhandel freuen sich, die Zusammenarbeit mit Stefan Neldner verkünden zu können.
Stefan Neldner ist einer der aufregendsten und interessantesten Bassisten Europas. Mit seinem unglaublich virtuosen Fretless Spiel, das vor Musikalität und Spielfreude nur so strotzt, setzt er ganz neue Maßstäbe in diesem Bereich.
Da er seit vielen Jahren einen 1978er Spector USA Bass spielt, war es nur logisch, ihn als Endorser mit ins Spector-Team zu nehmen.
Für das Jahr 2010 sind Spector Clinics mit Stefan Neldner bereits in Planung.
Infos auch auf:
www.stefanneldner.de
www.gknauer.de
www.spectorbass.com

TC Electronic RS112

We continue to make waves in the bass market, this time with another cabinet in the RS range. The RS112 is a great-sounding cabinet to carry, plug and play anywhere...

Our RS112 is a new high quality compact cabinet in the RS bass range. RS112 delivers TC tone in a small and compact package. But don't let the tight design fool you, RS112 handles 200 watts of power and the 12" driver and 1" tweeter is the perfect choice for a full toned sound anywhere spaces comes at a premium. As with all of the RS range, the 12" driver and tweeter (with rear HF adjustment) are custom made by the Eminence and offer superior quality and power.

Read more about RS112

New TC Electronic Bass Amp - Staccato'51 - the sound of a legend

The bass world's response to our introduction of award winning RH450 and Classic450 has been overwhelming. Now, with the help of a true world-class bass legend, we introduce our third amp to deliver instant world-class bass tone - we are proud to present our cooperation with, Tower Of Power's Rocco Prestia on Staccato'51

Think of legendary bass players and Francis Rocco Prestia features on every list. For over 40 years now Rocco's bass has been underpinning the groove for Californian funk legends Tower of Power. In that time Rocco has defined his own style and become synonymous with the much-imitated 'Finger Style Funk' that he pioneered back in the '60s and '70s.

click here to see the video
Laura Clapp & Rocco Prestia
Laura Clapp presents the new Staccato'51 bass amp to Francis Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power. Afterwards, they talk about how it all came together and how it was to develop the amp together with TC Electronic. We also hear the response from other members of ToP including Rocco's bass tech.
Now TC and Rocco have joined forces to make Staccato'51 - a custom-tuned version of the RH450 that's been made to Rocco's exact specification and ear. It may look like the RH450 bass head, but the sound design is completely different and meets the demands of a legend like Rocco Prestia - both on stage and in the studio.

Rocco's sound design on Staccato'51 fits his legendary finger-muting technique like a glove. The full-bodied tone with plenty of highs and lows as well as the ultra fast precision response enhances the percussive elements of Rocco's playing to perfection.

In addition to the sheer tone shaping, Rocco has added a touch of our SpectraComp™ per-string compression to tighten the sound even more. And finally a touch of TubeTone™ brings out the growl of Staccato'51 when really digging into those low-end notes with his powerful right hand technique.

To achieve perfect tone, Rocco pairs his Staccato'51 with a stack of our RS cabinets - An RS410 and two RS212s - giving him both punch and enough low end to stand out on stage with the 10-piece Tower of Power band.

Check: www.tcelectronic.com/bass

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Adam Nitti & Band @ European BassDay 2009

Adam Nitti has been establishing himself as both a bass-wielding frontman and recording artist for well over a decade. Having also performed and recorded with a diverse collection of artists, including The Dave Weckl Band, Mike Stern, Scott Henderson, Peter Erskine, Susan Tedeschi, Steven Curtis Chapman, Jeff Coffin Mu'tet, Phil Keaggy, and Heather Headley, he has likewise earned his reputation as a distinguished studio bassist and sideman based out of Nashville, TN. A passion to inspire excellence in musicianship led Adam into co-founding www.MusicDojo.com, the first-ever interactive online music school. Adam is a tireless educator and touring clinician and is also a regular columnist for both Bass Player Magazine and Bass Musician Magazine. He has been featured in hundreds of music publications and on stages around the world and continues to bring unique voice and perspective to the bass playing community. He currently celebrates the recent release of his fourth album, entitled, "Liminal." Learn more at www.adamnitti.com and www.myspace.com/adamnittimusic. 

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