Jonas Hellborg (Mahavishnu Orchestra)

Courtesy of Jonas Hellborg Com

An instrument designer, prolific recording artist, studio and label owner, collaborator, producer, composer, and bass guitarist – Jonas Hellborg has been at the forefront of the jazz fusion / world fusion movements since the 1980s.

 

A dexterous player who draws from Western, Indian, classical, jazz, rock and permutations thereof, among Jonas’ high-profile gigs have been with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Word with Tony Williams, PiL, Ginger Baker, and Michael Shrieve among many others.  Since 1979 Jonas has waxed nearly thirty albums as a bandleader! 

 

Jonas Hellborg Sound & Vision

 

John McLaugnlin and Billy Cobham https://youtu.be/Kr0OO3oEPkE

 

Jonas Hellborg Band live 1988 https://youtu.be/CfeVVt4ojOE

 

Shawn Lane and The Vinayakrams https://youtu.be/eOofD4F2K-g

 

 

Ron Carter (Miles Davis) VIDEO INTERVIEW

Courtesy of Ron Carter Net

“I think that the bassist is the quarterback in any group, and he must find a sound that he is willing to be responsible for…” Ron Carter

 

Ronald Levin Carter is the most recorded jazz bassist ever with over 2,500 albums to his credit. His rich tone, soulful rhythmic phrasing, and harmonic flexibility, which draws from classical, jazz, and rhythm & blues, along with his extensive body of work as a leader, collaborator, and sideman on CTI, Milestone, Blue Note, Impulse, and Prestige, among many other imprints, is, in a word – unmatched!

 

Carter’s enormous contributions to recordings by Miles Davis, George Benson, Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Joe Henderson, Gil Scott-Heron, Herbert Laws, A Tribe Called Quest, Tony Williams, Wes Montgomery, Donald Byrd, Jim Hall, Roberta Flack, Bill Frisell, and Kenny Burrell, to cite a very, very few, are all worthy of exploration.

 

Ron Carter’s tenure with Miles Davis is likely his most recognizable work. Ron propelled Miles second greatest quintet which spanned the hard bop of E.S.P. (1965) to the fusion filled Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968). As told to this writer along with David C. Gross “Miles may have been the bandleader…but I led the band!”

 

An educator, and revered and prolific composer, if you had to bestow the title of the world’s greatest living bassist …look no further than Ron Carter.

 

Ron Carter Sound & Vision:

 

Miles Davis:

 

“Eighty One” https://youtu.be/WN-hXbeI6vQ

 

“Four” https://youtu.be/Ce2S2LkTjKI

 

“E.S.P.” https://youtu.be/lRhqn21-xeg

 

“Filles De Kilimanjaro” https://youtu.be/7hBJ4664bNQ

 

Roberta Flack: “Compared to What” https://youtu.be/wDUk9Lsy_yQ

 

Herbie Hancock / Tony Williams / Ron Carter: “Third Plane” https://youtu.be/9hKFkCtiFZs

 

Tribe Called Quest “Verses from the Abstract” https://youtu.be/FGB6pWGI_kE

 

 

 

Jack Bruce (Cream)

Courtesy of Jack Bruce Com

By Thomas Semioli

Along with Paul McCartney, Duck Dunn, John Entwistle, and Chris Squire – John Symon Asher Bruce was among rock’s most accomplished and influential bassists.

 

Jack Bruce’s iconic status as a virtuoso instrumentalist emerged from his improvisatory genius with Cream as evidenced on their legendary extended live jams on record and on the concert stage– a revolutionary horizon for rock bands of the era. His wide array of studio recordings as a solo artist and collaborator were mostly innovative and equally important in expanding the language of rock music to include jazz, classical, and permutations thereof.

 

Bruce’s signature tone truly emerged from his soul – regardless of the bass he utilized. From his Fender VI to his signature Gibson EB to Warwick – you always recognized Jack in a single passage!

 

In addition to his work as a bassist, Jack was also an extraordinary vocalist.

 

With Cream, Bruce also flexed his remarkable songwriting chops with lyricist Peter Brown: “White Room,” “Politician,” “SWLABR,” and “Sunshine of Your Love” are among rock music’s most enduring standards.

Bruce’s collaborations with artists from every conceivable genre – including Tony Williams, John McLaughlin, Frank Zappa, Leslie West, Carla Bley, Mick Taylor, Billy Cobham, Robin Trower, Lou Reed, and Cindy Blackman Santana, to name a very few, never failed to break new ground.

 

Jack Bruce Sound & Vision…

 

“Tickets to Waterfalls” https://youtu.be/ng7vpLsEX-o

 

“Theme for An Imaginary Western” https://youtu.be/ZE-zVoru1rE

 

“White Room” https://youtu.be/V5BF1V1pbTs

 

“Sunshine of Your Love” https://youtu.be/y_u1eu6Lpds

 

“SWLABR” https://youtu.be/l0QV71h-1b8

 

“Politician” Live https://youtu.be/XPv9W_55zdE

 

“Apostrophe” with Frank Zappa https://youtu.be/XPv9W_55zdE

 

Tony Williams Lifetime: “Right On” https://youtu.be/XPv9W_55zdE

 

Courtesy of Cream Com