Hello everyone.
I've put together a jazz fusion band, and we're covering classics of the genre—Uzeb, Weather Report, Stanley Clarke, etc.
Here is our first rehearsal.
We're playing "Brass Licks" by Uzeb; I'm using a 1996 Alembic SC Standard bass.
I hope you enjoy it. It was recorded on a phone. See you soon!
From France ...Mehdi 

Wow, UZEB. I haven't listened to them in a long time. I'll have to fix that. Great groove, and that little bass has a big low end. I had to see the Pearl logo on the kick drum head to realize the image is flipped. 

I'm still looking for the right new band and have been recording some youtube videos on my phone lately to place on social media in the hope of finding a suitable band.

Though i've had some of my Steely Dan/ Donald Fagen ones blocked by the youtube platform for various reasons. So here's one that got through recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW0t1KOoQgM&list=PL83iJEMd_7jwX7UCrdtFIs5AfWknA_XoT&index=2

The sound is just what comes off the phone so not the balance is not great.

since we have a new singer, we gotta learn some slow songs.  so here's the only one we know.  so far.  i haven't taken the stereo bassesss along for an outing in a while, so this was a fine day to show up with the good wood.  im on hte A-bass for this one.  a particularly fine bass for this song imho. 

https://youtu.be/RAslIxfn2Z0?is=Q9uuF7-iV9xfL3X4

That was really good!

Hello everyone
I´ve tried the begining and the sound of Jimmy Johnson ´s solo on " Rio Funk "
Still got some work to do...

Quote from: BeenDown139 on October 22, 2026, 06:17:10 PMsince we have a new singer, we gotta learn some slow songs.  so here's the only one we know.  so far.  i haven't taken the stereo bassesss along for an outing in a while, so this was a fine day to show up with the good wood.  im on hte A-bass for this one.  a particularly fine bass for this song imho. 

https://youtu.be/RAslIxfn2Z0?is=Q9uuF7-iV9xfL3X4

loved that!

A-Bass is long scale?

QuoteThat was really good!

thank you, sir!

i've been in cover bands that have played that song since it came out.  almost every time i listen to it, i hear some new detail or embellishment that i've missed. and it's only 2 chords (mostly)! what a subtle and tasteful bass part! ya don't really appreciate what a master john mcvie is until ya learn one of his parts.  doesn't hurt to have a talented singer up front.  be interesting to see how this particular evolution of the band plays out.  gotta get this version on a stage before it flames out.

QuoteA-Bass is long scale?

yes it is.  unlined fingerboard.  LED position markers.  anneversary electronics (played in stereo).  thus the A-bass moniker. upgraded body & neck.  has everything i want in a fretless except a B-string.  oh, well.

Quote from: BeenDown139 on October 22, 2026, 06:17:10 PMsince we have a new singer, we gotta learn some slow songs.  so here's the only one we know.  so far.  i haven't taken the stereo bassesss along for an outing in a while, so this was a fine day to show up with the good wood.  im on hte A-bass for this one.  a particularly fine bass for this song imho. 

https://youtu.be/RAslIxfn2Z0?is=Q9uuF7-iV9xfL3X4

I got confused - I was thinking the band "Madness" and was like, isn't that Fleetwood Mac? I managed to figure it out (your band is called Madhouse?) - I think! 

Quote? I managed to figure it out (your band is called Madhouse?) - I think! 

yep. we're madhouse. basically a band of old burnout cover band musicians reliving the halcyon misspent days of our youth. or, as i like to say - "we're in our 70's playing the 80's".  we're about as different from each other as can be except for one thing:  we cannot. stop. playing.  not sure i wanna wind up in my 80's playing the 90's.  somehow we've managed to land a pretty talented (imho) singer in her 30's who's obsessed with performing 80's pop.  gonna roll widdit till the wheels fall off.

I don't listen to commercial radio so missed out on a lot of 80's & 90's pop.  One of my faves from that era is Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
 Ahem, will you be covering this huge hit from the 80's?

Quote from: bigyouth on October 23, 2026, 01:55:35 PMHello everyone
I´ve tried the begining and the sound of Jimmy Johnson ´s solo on " Rio Funk "
Still got some work to do...

Ha!  I don't think I've ever heard of anybody working that one out.  Nicely done Mehdi!  And with a pick which is extra cool.  (And left-handed!)

I've told the story of that gig before but the summary is - we had just flown from LA to Europe, then were driven the 3-hours from Helsinki to Pori, then thrown onstage.  Needless to say we were all jet-lagged toast.  But that gig and that vid lives on forever.  You just never know.  

Also of note, the bass I was playing at that moment was a fretted graphite neck Series I which was eventually transformed into my backup fretless bass.  At the time I didn't like the dynamic compression which the graphite instilled on a fretted bass.  But these years later I must admit that bass recorded well!  Oh well.

Thanks for working on it.  I apologize for any bad notes I played in that crazy moment. 

Jimmy J

Wow Mehdi, that's quite a story.  Switching from right-handed to left-handed playing is a great accomplishment and probably really good for your brain too.  I can't even brush my teeth with my other hand.

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you are enjoying that old solo.  I now realize this wasn't the one from Pori, Finland that I was describing above so please ignore that part of my story.   I don't remember this particular Ritenour gig but I'll add one story:  Lee decided the band needed to dress "hipper" so he took us all to a place on Melrose Ave in LA and they gave us "outfits".  That was a hilarious experience for all of us and as close as I ever got to a "Spinal Tap" moment.

I sure miss Carlos Vega.  He was such a joy to play with.

Anyway, don't spend too much time working on that solo.  It includes a couple of good stumbles which are characteristic of my live soloing style. 

Now what's going on with your Series bass?  Our big single-coil pickups can be sensitive to electrical interference but it's not supposed to have "a lot of buzz".  Tell us more about the problem and maybe we can offer some ideas.

Jimmy J

QuoteI was originally right-handed, but I've since switched to playing left-handed.

dunno know how many of y'all have tried playing lefty if you're a righty, but it's no small accomplishment.  then there's the matter of flipping a right-handed bass over.  strings are backwards (GDAE).  down is up.  up is down.  controls and jack are in the way.  i've known a couple of lefty guit@rists who could flip over and play like nothing happened but i could never get past stumbling thru playing a scale like that, myself.  well done, sir!


here's one more from the stereo bass session.  this time i'm on the SII.  ya can't really see it but it makes its presence known.  i'm trying to imagine keeping up with this girl for a 4-hour show.  whoooo!


https://youtu.be/57Qzu7Llg1A?is=jhoevo8elihZ1suw