There are some Santana records that count amongst my very favourites (Lotus, Welcome, Caravanserai, Abraxas, Illuminations) and some that I wouldn’t recommend at all. I feel Carlos benefited greatly from having the right kind of creative personnel surrounding him and, from the 80s on, Santana was less likely to surround himself with musicians that pushed […]
Author Archives: philwbass
I was delighted when the lovely people at No Treble agreed to publish an article on the late, great Doug Rauch, one of my favourite players and a relatively unsung musical force. Here’s what some other guys had to say about Doug: Jeff Berlin: “… another slap bass player who would have been as big […]
I started writing record reviews for the No Treble website in October. Why? Well I love music and though I never saw myself as a writer, several paths led me to an increased confidence in writing and led me to feel it was worth having a go. I owe most of it to the web. […]
Tips to Tweet With I get a few people ask me for advice on using Twitter. I have to say I find it the most useful and enjoyable social media for me as it’s endlessly customisable though different interfaces/software/websites/clients and having so little to it that it’s all about the content and the interactions rather […]
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This has to have been the most successful schools music project I’ve been involved in. The Year 6 class at the school where I work were chosen to work with members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a composition project that involved five classical musicians, a highly skilled workshop leader and thirty-eight ten and eleven […]
Making great coffee is a real art and I was privileged today to witness a couple of fine baristas in action in an afternoon that was a lovely celebration of coffee and the skill and care which these people put into their art. Yes, coffee might not be the be-all-and-end-all to everyone but it’s always […]
August 30th So happy now after last night. I played bass for a ninety minute rehearsal and a full church service at All Souls Langham Place. Feeling good..very thankful for all the advice, help, encouragement and prayers I’ve received! Full report at https://philwbass.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/im-back-first-public-performance-since-my-wrist-injury/ August 24th About to make my comeback. I’m playing with no ill […]
Steve is a unique person and musician and he creates beautiful music that often draws the listener into his world. Steve has developed surely the widest audience of any solo bassist – he plays music – it just happens to be the bass guitar that he uses as a tool to paint with. His music […]
In no particular order: Lawson/Dodds/Woods – Numbers improv-looping- sensitive- musical-open-beautiful sounds Melvin Gibbs’ Elevated Entity – Ancients Speak making hip-hop vital again-pete cosey playing his head off-melvin laying down the bass-Yoruba chants-intense music Seth Horan – Clang and Chime coming of age music for Seth-lyrical-melodic-grooveladen-beautiful bass Vijay Iyer Trio – Historicity exciting-unique-contemporary jazz-Fibonacci and hip-hop […]
Phil Wain 