Bass Lessons Melbourne Player Profiles

Michael League, bass player for Snarky Puppy, Bokante and Forq, is a modern master of the instrument and one of the hardest working band leaders around. Comfortable in a number of genres on electric, upright and key bass, Mike is not only a world class musician, but a prolific composer, record label executive and all round expert in the modern music industry. It was truly and honour to get to sit...

Now based in Melbourne, Lauren is a professional double bassist and educator. Her hugely popular YouTube channel features virtuosic performances of double bass solo repertoire. Lauren has studied with many notable bassists such as Craig Butterfield and Jeff Bradetich and is renowned teacher in her own right. It was great to sit down with Lauren and talk about her journey as a musician, career path...

Fodera artist and bass sensei Lucas Taranto has an enviable reputation around town as the guy you call when you need the best of the best. Pocket, feel, chops, tone, vibe, Lucas has them all in spades and rightfully earned him a place in the world conquering Gotye lineup during the 'Somebody that I used to know' era. It was super cool getting to chat with Lucas about his bass journey including his...

Teymur Phell is one seriously heavy cat! Currently Mike Stern's bassist of choice he has also performed with Oz Noy and trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval. A resident of NYC, Teymur grew up in Israel, studying classical upright bass along side developing his burning chops on electric. In this interview we discuss his approach to walking, what it's like to play for Stern, his beautiful 6 string F Bass...

I first saw a video of Junior playing about 18months ago and immediately I was hooked. He has an incredible facility on the instrument and coupled with deep harmonic knowledge, huge pocket and a Brazilian music background, you have the recipe for one of today's rising stars of electric bass. I was lucky to catch up with him for an hour or so while he was in town playing with Virgil Donati and we d...

Evan is one of my favourite Melbourne bass players, with a massive pocket, rock solid time and a phat tone it's no wonder he's held down the low end for the likes of Angus and Julia Stone, Dub Fx and Husky to name a few. In this episode we discuss topics such as domestic vs overseas touring, the importance of practicing super slow, the parallels between tai chi and music, in ear monitoring systems...

Hadrien Feraud is undoubtedly one of the pioneers of modern electric bass. Having played with the likes of John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Hiromi, Hadrien is also an established artist in his own right having released 2 albums to critical acclaim. I managed to catch up with him backstage at Melbourne's Bird's Basement jazz club while he was in town with the Zawinul Legacy featuring Scott Kinsey a...

Currently residing in Brisbane, Mark is one of Australia's top bass players having appeared on the first Gospel Chops Bass Shedz DVD and subsequently supporting Victor Wooten on a clinic tour. With a musical mind to match his incredible technical facility, Mark is truly a top flight bass player, but his musical journey has not been without struggles. In this video Mark candidly discusses how he ha...

Rocco Prestia is an undeniable living legend of the electric bass, having held the bass chair in Tower of Power for over 50 years, Rocco has influenced countless players with his incredible bass lines and unique tone and approach. It was a real honour for me to get to spend some time with one my bass heroes and was fascinated to hear Rocco talk about his incredible career in a candid and honest ma...

I was lucky to catch up with Francis on the balcony of his hotel room shortly before he hit the stage at the Caloundra Music Festival with acid jazz legends Incognito. Hailing from London, Francis has been musical director for Rahsaan Patterson, recorded with Anastasia, Chaka Khan, Lulu, Najee, Miki Imai, Gianna Nannini, Jocelyn Brown and Leon Ware and performed bass live with Cee Lo Green, Mario...

Hailing from Sydney, Daniel is an in demand electric and upright bass player with a substantial online following and has recently had some of his own video lessons featured on the GospelChops youtube channel. With a funky pocket, slick solo chops and strong harmonic knowledge, Daniel is well equipped to deal with almost any gig that comes his way. Cap it all off with a professional attitude and an...

Jimmy Haslip is one of the modern masters of electric bass, coming to prominence in 1980 as founding member of The Yellowjackets, Jimmy has since gone on to play with Jeff Lorber, Eric Marienthal, Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge, Gino Vannelli, Kiss, Tommy Bolin, Allan Holdsworth, Marilyn Scott, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Donald Fagen, and Anita Baker. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Jimmy abo...

Known for his chart topping smooth jazz CD's and his recently relaunched line of high end, high powered bass amplification, Wayne Jones knows what it takes to make great sounding, bass-led music both live and in the studio. Currently based in Melbourne, Australia, Wayne is originally from Wales. When he was 11 years old, his family immigrated to Australia. He started playing drums when he was 13,...

Tim Lefebvre is quickly carving out a bold and progressive vision of what a contemporary bassist can and should be. Fashioning a leadership role in avant-garde jazz and funk circles, Tim is also a capable and reliable sideman routinely called upon by today’s leading innovators from across the musical spectrum including: Tedeschi Trucks Band (his full-time gig), Bryan Adams, Chris Botti, Toto, Stin...

As a NYC based multi-instrumentalist , Lavondo has solidly rooted himself as a new breed of in demand performer. Having studied privately with Felix Pastorius , Dr. Mark Morton ( Principle Bassist of Columbus Symphony ) , Douglas Richeson ( Tony Bennett unplugged , Phil Collins ) , and Janek Gwizdala , he feels just as comfortable on acoustic bass as he does on his electric . He has performed for...

Not only is Mitch Cairns is a top class bass player, he's also an ARIA Award winning Producer, Mix Engineer and Writer. Based in Melbourne Australia, Mitch works out of his private studio built within a spacious warehouse in Melbourne's western suburbs. Mitch Produced the multi award winning albums Sharkmouth, Van Diemen’s Land and Red Dirt Red Heart for ARIA Hall Of Fame inductee and no. 1 sellin...

Watch the video interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmrZ_yVYY6A Joshua has established a professional music career on a thirst for performing as much as possible! As a proven sought after 'player-for-hire', Joshua has had the pleasure to perform in as many musical situations as Rock bands, large and small Jazz ensembles, Blues/Folk/Bluegrass and Country outfits, Rnb/Motown/Soul and Fun...

Watch the video interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RftlnYKWvGA&index=5&list=PLI3SNKfLTqrZskA2uuyjmPz5nmgjFJkfs In this episode we catch up with Melbourne bass legend Ben Cripps. Having been the bass player for Human Nature for over a decade, Ben is at the top of many artists list when looking for a pro player who can bring a little extra something to the table and always lay it down t...

Watch the video interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdXsY49cLIU&index=12&list=PLI3SNKfLTqrZskA2uuyjmPz5nmgjFJkfs As a sideman PW has toured internationally with artists such as country band Jetty Road (‘Golden Guitar’ winning Australian country music act), nationally with Aria award winning singer-songwriter Tyrone Noonan, appeared on national television with the likes of R&B star Jess...

Watch the video interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igk9ykgjYa8&list=PLI3SNKfLTqrZskA2uuyjmPz5nmgjFJkfs&index=7 Here at Bass Lessons Melbourne we were honoured to have Janek take some time out from his insanely busy schedule and be part of my Player Profile video series. In this interview he gives us the lowdown on his musical journey, what keeps him motivated, his views on the current...