Bass Lessons Melbourne Player Profiles

Born in South America (Chile), Igor Saavedra started playing bass at 22 years old. He's considered by the most prestigious critics as an ambassador of the authentic South American bass culture and one of the world's most innovative, respected, influential & virtuoso bassists, granting him as being a Pioneer of the 8-String Bass (since 1999) & one of the absolute Masters on the Extended Range Basse...

Tim is a freelance bass player and music producer located in Sydney (and increasingly, Melbourne). A lover of all music, he cut his teeth playing soul and roots based music around Sydney in the early 2000s. He was mentored by the late bass player/composer Jackie Orszaczky, with whom he had the fortune of playing with in the the last few years of his life. Experienced in many fields and genres, he...

Atlanta born and raised, Detoxxx honed his craft playing in the gospel churches of America's 'Bible Belt' and has since gone on to be a first call producer and session bassist in the RnB, Hip Hop and jazz/funk/soul scenes. Detoxxx was a joy to hang with while he was in town with Avery Sunshine, a gig in which he is able to showcase his deep pocket as well as ability to step into the limelight and...

Marty Holoubek was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia, where he spent his formative years studying in the prestigious Marryatville High School Special Interest Music Program. Joining the Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide to further his musical education, Marty was awarded Mitzi’s prize for the ‘Top undergraduate bass student’ in 2010 and the following year he was awarded...

Joshua Crumbly is an incredibly talented young musician currently on tour with Kamasi Washington and also on the verge of launching his own solo career with the release of his debut album later on in 2018. It was great to hear about Joshua's bass journey which included lessons from previous BLM interviewee Reggie Hamilton among others. Check out Joshua's website for more info: http://joshuacrumbly...

Fender artist Reggie Hamilton is a true giant of the session scene having toured and recorded with artists such as Seal, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Aretha Franklin, Stanley Clarke and then there is is long list of film credits including Passenger 57. In this interview we discuss his beginnings on bass, how Stanley Clarke helped his career as well as the thinking behind his signatu...

Born and raised in Trinidad, Rick Leon James moved to London when he was 15yrs old to pursue his dream of becoming a professional bass player. Fast forward to 2018 and he's played bass for such UK pop acts as Jessie J, Daniel Beddingfield, Tinie Tempah and is currently touring the world with saxophonist Yolanda Brown. A player with incredible facility on the bass, Rick is now making a name for him...

http://www.evanmarien.com Evan Marien is well known to bass players around the globe for his amazing youtube videos (including one of the first 360o videos I ever saw) featuring his fluid, melodic soloing, awesome use of fx and slick production values. However, he has built an enviable career as a side man playing for guitar gods such as Wayne Krantz and Allan Holdsworth. In this interview we disc...

Steve is a world renowned bass player. He has recorded 9 albums as bandleader and a further 6 albums as co-leader. He has recorded or toured with Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Bobby Previte, Ulf Wakenius, James Muller, Carl Orr, Dig, Renee Geyer, Maxine Nightingale, Kate Ceberano, Doug Parkinson and many others. It was a real pleasure to sit down with Steve at his home in Sydney while I was up there...

Phil Stack is a bass player of formidable prowess, having been a member of Aussie pop rock chart busters 'Thirsty Merc' for over 15yrs, Phil has toured the world and rocked some of the biggest stages around, however, he has also had a successful career as a bona fide jazz musician and most recently as an independent singer songwriter. In this episode we talk about Phil's bass journey, his passion...

Cornell Williams is one of my favourite 'pocket' style players, in that his time, tone and taste (note choice) are pretty much perfect for the material he is performing, and on the odd occasion when he does step forward he is super lyrical yet still so funky! It was a real pleasure to get to hang and jam with Nell while he was in town with Jon Cleary, I even got to play THAT Modulus, what a bass!...

Jonathan Dimond is an incredibly accomplished musician, composer and educator based in Melbourne. Having studied Indian classical music to an extremely high level, his rhythmic understanding is exceptional, coupled with his formidable technical facility and knowledge of western classical and jazz music, Jonathan is a truly inspiring bass player. In this episode we discuss some of his practice meth...

Evripides Evripidou is one of those rare bass players that seems to be able to straddle opposing genres with ease and authenticity. Playing bass for such fusion giants and Virgil Donati, Dave Weckl and Frank Gambale would be enough to catapult any bass player into the history books, but Evri has neither rested on his laurels or adhered to the stereo types associated with such complex music and has...

Like myself, Drew Dedman is a self professed bass nerd and we get deep into a lot of topics in this interview like Drew's roots in speed and prog metal, his gigging philosophy, practice tips, his time with Melbourne Nu Metal kings Superheist, the current music industry climate and of course: bass gear! Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9pOCKhm9c8VhQbGFiBM5Ag Facebook: https://www.facebook...

Bass player, educator and luthier Neil Kennedy stopped by with a few examples from his stunning new line of basses soon to be released in conjunction with legendary Australian guitar company - Cole Clark. We discuss a range of bass building topics ranging from fingerboard radius, wood choice (including indigenous Australian woods), neck construction, bridge material etc etc; and we also hear about...

Chicago native Michael Manson has filled the bass chair for some of the top names in jazz and gospel music such as George Duke, Larry Carlton and Kirk Whalum. I caught up with him while he was in town with Jeff Lorber Fusion and we chatted about what it takes to be prepared for a high profile gig like that as well as the importance of developing your own voice on the instrument, his classical upbr...

I was excited to have Claire on the podcast as not only is she a fantastic bass player, composer, band leader and educator, but she has a passion and drive for music and self improvement that is really inspiring. In this episode we hear about how Claire ended up falling in love with the bass, her penchant for classic artists like Steely Dan and Duran Duran, touring America with the outrageously ta...

If you've ever trawled YouTube for bass gear demos (and let's face it, who hasn't), chances are you've come across Gregor Fris's 'Bass The World' YouTube Channel which will have exposed to the immense bass playing of René Flächsenhaar. After watching a few videos of René playing numerous exotic basses, I was struck by the depth and variety of grooves he could demonstrate with seemingly effortless...

David Searle is a Melbourne based luthier who hand-crafts incredible instruments with a wide variety of tone woods and design aspects. In this interview we talk about what to look for in your first bass, tone woods, scale length, designing your own custom bass, active vs passive and a whole lot more! Be sure to visit the Melbourne School of Guitar Making website to find out more! http://melbournes...

Jon Wilson is one of Adelaide's finest bass players and music educators. With a packed gigging schedule and healthy work ethic, Jon sets a strong example for any bass player to follow. In this interview we learn about his beginnings as a player, his thoughts on breaking into a scene, the importance of musical diversity, teaching and also some great technique tips.

Dave is one of those players that really can do it all, from blazing fusion chops to tasty, reserved singer/songwriter supporting lines and everything in between. As enthusiastic about bass playing and music as he's ever been, it was a blast to hang with Dave and get to learn more about his bass journey and his take on being a sideman in today's current music climate. Dave Anderson is a bass playe...

Born out the 90's acid jazz scene in London, Neil shared the stage with the likes of Jamiroquai as part of the pioneering group 'Mother Earth. A fellow F Bass player, Neil has a great ear for tone as well as being a superb groove player with some insane chops up his sleeve. In this video we discuss his 'bass journey', including his early basses and influences, as well as his writing process and wh...

Jonathan Maron is probably best known as one of the founding members of NYC outfit Groove Collective, as well as his iconic playing on the Maxwell cut 'Ascension'. However, after spending some time with him jamming and talking it quickly became apparent that there is so much more to Jonathans playing and approach to music than meets the eye/ear. In this interview we discuss a myriad of topics incl...

Ben Wicks is the guy you call when you need a tight, tasty, experienced roots & blues bass player with killer tone and a pro attitude. Sporting a beautiful custom P Bass made right here in Melbourne and over 20 years experience backing some of Australia's top blues and rnb acts, Ben is no stranger to touring and has played some of the country's premium festival stages. In this interview we get dee...

Laura Mvula has taken the global pop scene by storm in the last few years, with entrancing melodies, complex African rhythms and cutting edge sonics, it would be a challenge for most bass players to comfortably find their role. Karl Rasheed Abel fulfills the bass duties flawlessly, with a deep understanding of jazz, rnb, neo soul and Afrobeat, Karl manages to not just fill out the bottom end, inst...