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HISTORY
OF
MY BASS-PLAYING
I love the
bass. I
was attracted to the electric bass when I was a trombonist first and foremost.
In
taking
up
this instrument,
I approached it in a jazzy and soloistic manner. I was interested in its versatility,
responsibility
and power as a melodic, harmonic and rhythmic instrument. In High School I had
the sounds of Jaco
Pastorius and Dave
Holland in my ears, and spent time listening
to and transcribing
their recordings. When 17 I had a quintet modelled on Dave Holland's at that
time, which had no chordal instrument and so placed enormous responsibility on
the bassist.
During college my experience on electric bass was mainly with jazz combos, often
in original/contemporary bands. During my Bachelor of Music studies I was inspired
to take up the 6-string electric bass by the music of John
Patitucci, whose playing remains an inspiration.
With the formalization of my Indian music studies
during my Post-Graduate studies came my first application of the instrument to
Indo-Jazz fusion settings. I feel that the fretless bass, like the trombone,
is
a
most suitable
instrument
for such music. (You can see pictures of performances on fretless
bass with tabla player Gulfam Sabri in my photo
gallery.)
On returning to Australia after completion of studies in 1995 the focus of my
bass playing was with my contemporary jazz trio Loops.
During my three years in Los Angeles (2003-5) I performed not only
in
jazz
and
fusion
combos
but
in
the
styles
of
reggae,
R & B, Latin, and world music. I also worked as a session bassist in recording
studios.
I returned to Boston for another year (2005-6),
deepening
my
understanding
of
Latin
bass playing through studies with Oscar
Stagnaro, and raga through studies with sitarist Peter
Row. I am now based in Melbourne, Australia.
"BASS
RIYAZ"
I am delighted
to announce the release of my new bass instruction book, "Bass
Riyaz". This
is a practice workbook designed to assist any bassist progress towards the
mastery of the 4, 5, and 6-string electric bass guitar.
Eight years in
the making, this book is the culmination of years of teaching at University
and also from my private studio. Begun in India and inspired from the rigours
of studying Indian music, this book is some 275 pages long. Over 87 pages
of musical examples and dozens of illustrations and photographs support the
text.
Check out the Bass Riyaz Forum.
MY
BASS EQUIPMENT
My main "axe" is
a 6-string
Warwick Thumb bass. It's a through-neck model from 1991. I also still
enjoy one of my earliest instruments - a fretless Fender Jazz
Bass special. It reminds me of my initial inspiration to take up the bass
in High School - Jaco Pastorius.
In the mid-1990's I moved from an SWR rig
to Eden.
I still love SWR, but I found that the brightness of my basses and playing
style benefited from the relative
warmth of the Eden equipment. Until very recently I
used
an
Eden D410
XLT Quad Box.
Now I am proud to be an Epifani artist,
and play an Epifani
UL-410 speaker cabinet. I
love the responsiveness of the 4
ten-inch
drivers,
and the
frequency
response given by this horn-loaded cabinet. You can't beat the 57-pound
weight also!
I
drive
this
with
an
Eden
World
Tour
WT800.
When I use effects I usually use a Yamaha SPX-900, with five controller pedals.
I play round-wound bass strings
made by DR.
RECORDINGS
Check out
my recordings page for MP3
samples of commercially-released CDs and other recordings of my bass-playing.
TEACHING
I am available
for private lessons and workshops on bass, and its role in various musical
formats and styles. My specialities are technique, rhythmic skills, and jazz
and contemporary bass-playing. Refer to my teaching page.
I have transcriptions available also - check out my transcription page.
PERFORMANCES
I have been fortunate to perform bass on-stage with such diverse and
renowned artists as Paul
Grabowsky, Mike
Nock,
Roger
Dean, Bob Moses, Gulfam
Sabri,
Dave
Stringer, Debasish
Chaudhuri, Arthur
Lipner, Darryl Pratt, Luciana
Souza,
Doug Webb, Bevan Manson, Brian
McNeill, Paul
Livingstone and Roger Frampton.
I have performed on bass at such venues as the Sydney Opera House, Queensland
Performing Arts Centre, Jordan Hall (Boston), Lincoln Center (New York), the
REDCAT theater (Los Angeles) and
the
Brisbane
Powerhouse.
Since 1995 my chief
creative performance outlet has been the band "Loops",
an eclectic ensemble which performs original compositions fusing jazz, classical
and world musics. Loops have performed in festivals, concerts, clubs, and theatres
around Australia.
As a 6-string electric bassist, I have featured with the Queensland Symphony
Orchestra on the Steve
Martland composition "Hard Times" (written for the Australian Chamber
Orchestra and "Bang On a Can All Stars", performed at the 2000 Sydney
Olympics). I have also performed the Australian premier of Jeff
Beal's "Concerto for Jazz Bass and Orchestra", and Gerard
Brophy's "Hot Metallic Blues".
Refer to my news page for upcoming public
performances.
LINKS
There are
plenty of bass-related links on this web
site. Go surf - but don't forget to practice!