Since we left the EU, I think it is harder now to get some bands like this coming to the UK, and when they do mostly they just do London then fly off back to mainland Europe. I live in the central part of the country West Midlands and we rarely get any of this type of bands here and travelling down there for a gig is really expensive before you even get a ticket. But when the dates come, it may be cheaper to fly to europe than see the gig in London.

Quote from: JimmyJ on March 15, 2026, 08:19:27 AM

[snip]...
I'm at a point where it takes a LOT to get me to leave home for something other than my main touring job.  And I'm a bit old for these EU jazz runs which are often pretty grueling experiences.  But this rare opportunity to play with my longtime pal feels like something I should jump into. 

[snip]...
Now I need to start practicing to see if I can keep up with these monsters!  I love Gary's composing but much of it is in odd meters with unusual phrasing.  It's gonna take me a minute to be comfortable with it.

In the end - it's nice to have this potentially fun tour to look forward to and the musical challenge to keep my brain working.

Cheers!
Jimmy J

I wonder if you'd share sometime, a little of how you practice? Obviously you guys can't get together on Friday night to jam from various points of longitude... and this gig doesn't seem like one you'd improvise your way through. You guys share tracks? Then develop the show as the tour progresses? Any rehearsal at all?


Admittedly it takes a lot to get me interested in anything other than just fill-in jobs anymore. My practice habits are really lagging behind. I don't have a 'fence to swing for' anymore is a lot of the reason for this. I do still enjoy running around making music with the guys on my weekend runs around the hindquarters of the State. I might even see Tennessee, West Virginia, or Carolina every so often. I imagine this is far less grueling and tiresome than an EU tour. It keeps me performing though. Something about that trial by stage mentality keeps me just sharp enough to say yes when asked.

It would be nice if you could get a small East Coast thing going. If you could make it to the Birchmere I'd definitely make the trip to Alexandria to see y'all.

Jazzy, Brexit may have complicated the situation as it means a lot more paperwork for foreign acts.  But if acts are playing London and not getting to any other towns, that could just be the economics that I was talking about.  There are few venues outside of London that can pay enough to support a tour of relatively unknown musicians.  It's much more difficult to see obscure or unusual music being played in person these days.  And that's true all around the world.

Greg, I think the plan is to have one rehearsal at the start of this tour, most likely in London.  But that's an expensive proposition as both Rocco and I will need to get there a day early, have a hotel room, and probably rent a rehearsal studio.  In the meantime, Gary has made some well-written charts and shared audio demos of his compositions and arrangements.  We play along, take notes, sometimes rewrite our own charts, and hopefully by the time we get together it will all kinda works.  But you never know.  There's always the blues.  HA!!

Keith, I've played the Birchmere several times over the years and it's definitely on that east coast circuit which a lot of great bands get to play.  But this band includes two Brits and one Italian which makes it complicated - especially right now.  (Don't get me started).  I know Husband scored a long-term "Artist" Visa a while back so he may still be able to come over for work.  Not sure about the other two guys.  It's gonna be interesting to see if I can get my own paperwork together for this fall run.  Yikes.

Gary has found somebody who's interested in recording this combo so there may eventually be some lasting record of it happening.  We will see.

Best to everybody,
Jimmy J

Hi Jimmy, very nice to find you here! You are in my top 5 of favorite bass players. Love your work! Always an inspiration for me.

Any shows in the Netherlands planned with Gary Husband? Would love to see this band.
The Paradox in Tilburg would be a great venue for this. I saw Chad Wackermans band there a few weeks ago. Also really nice. Greeting and good luck with the tour! Barend

Hey Barend,

I'll join the others in welcoming you to the forum and I thank you for the kind words.

Glad you got out to hear Chad and the gang. Some great tunes played by great players!

Husband's thing is still in the planning stages so we'll see how it comes together. So far there are solid offers in Germany, Italy, and possibly Ronnie's in London. Even though there are so many great jazz venues over there, it's still not easy to put together a tour for a group of relatively unknown musicians. (Known to other musicians is different from known to club owners). Most of us are sidemen so the venues worry about not having a "big name" on the bill. I understand. So if they are able to fill in enough dates to make it viable then we're good to go. If not, maybe we try again another time. We'll see!

Thanks for posting.
Jimmy J

Thanks for your reply. I will keep an eye on the tour. Can't believe it is so hard for musicians of your stature to accomplish a tour. Gary and yourself are well known amongst jazz/fusion lovers. So I guess the venue programmers must know that. But there are a lot more things involved I understand.

Yes, the Chad Wackerman LA All Stars gig was great. Very inspiring! I was mostly impressed by Steve Hunt. What a great player!

Hi Jimmy, was playing the Flim & the BB's CD "This is a Recording" in my car last week and noticed you are playing a fretless bass on two songs. Which bass is that? Also an Alembic? Sounds great. Love the album! Thanks, Barend

Hey Barend,

Yes, my entire collection of basses is only 5 and they're all Alembic 5-stringers.  The fretless you heard there is a 1980 Series I with a graphite neck.  I still love this instrument and use it on recordings at a rate of maybe 1 out of every 10 songs.  It seems to end up on at least one track of every complete album that I've played on.  

The stiff nature of the graphite works like a natural compressor on that bass which gives it a deep tone and great sustain.  I have a second graphite-necked fretless from '82 as a backup to that primary bass, but I've never used it on any recordings.

My other 3 are all fretted Series II basses and even though they're all essentially the same - same dimensions, same wood - they all sound slightly different (to me).  One is my recording bass which generally stays home.  One is primarily my "live" bass.  And the 3rd is mostly for practicing and comes on tour as a backup.  I think I've only ever played a couple shows with that bass when the main one had some issues.  Nobody noticed but me.  

Cheers,
Jimmy J

PS:

I'm afraid that fall tour they were trying to cobble together for Gary Husband's Orbital Band may not be happening now.  Those jazz tours are booked so far in advance that I think it's too late to put together a routing that can work.  We're hoping to try again later and maybe do some recording first.  Onward!

Jimmy J

Quote from: JimmyJ on May 07, 2026, 10:36:40 AMPS:

I'm afraid that fall tour they were trying to cobble together for Gary Husband's Orbital Band may not be happening now.  Those jazz tours are booked so far in advance that I think it's too late to put together a routing that can work.  We're hoping to try again later and maybe do some recording first.  Onward!

Jimmy J

Shame to hear that Jimmy. At least I'll still get my fix in July when JT comes to Edinburgh.

Graeme

Quote from: JimmyJ on May 07, 2026, 10:36:40 AMPS:

I'm afraid that fall tour they were trying to cobble together for Gary Husband's Orbital Band may not be happening now.  Those jazz tours are booked so far in advance that I think it's too late to put together a routing that can work.  We're hoping to try again later and maybe do some recording first.  Onward!

Jimmy J

Sorry to hear about the tour. Would have loved to see you play here in the Netherlands! But who knows some day.

Thanks for the info on the basses. Really great a graphite neck fretless. Any chance of a family picture of your basses? 😀 Or maybe a picture of the graphite fretless?

Let's see if I can upload pictures in this new forum format...

Jimmy J

Wow! Very nice one. The Omega shape is one of my favorites. That back wood with the graphite neck looks great. And the headstock is pretty rare I think. Also really like the small string spacing. Looks like 15mm or so? I have two (non-Alembic) six strings basses with 14 and 15mm so I am used to the small spacing. Easier for the left hand also.
Thanks for the pictures Jimmy, amazing bass!

Hi Jimmy:

Maybe it has been mentioned above in the 132 PAGES or this thread.....but what was the Bass market like in 1975 when you decided to go with Alembic for a 5-string?  Were there any other makers out there?  I was only 15 and wanted to be Chris Squire so I lusted for a Rick. Got one in 1979 with lawn mowing money....replaced that starter $75.00 Japanese 4-string Vantage. Chosen because I would NEVER get my parents onboard for an amp so I bought a semi-hollow body.  It only took a couple months to figure out how to hook my bass up to my stereo while my parents were out. Long hair and guitars were verboten in our house in the 60's / 70's.  Was sent to bed before the Beatles played Ed Sullivan.