Mike Overly's 12 Tone Music News

The Latest Guitar and Bass News from around the World Wide Web . . .
October 26, 2017
In This Issue
1,500+ Genres of Music
Country Version of "Giant Steps"
The Ten Best Jazz Bassists Of All Time
Glen Campbell Plays the 'William Tell Overture'
Alternate Tunings Of 8 Groundbreaking Guitarists
Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10 Combo Amp
Scott Lafaro

If you are ready for a time-suck internet experience that will also make you feel slightly old and out of step with the culture, feel free to dive into Every Noise at Once.

This is an ongoing attempt at an algorithmically-generated, readability-adjusted scatter-plot of the musical genre-space, based on data tracked and analyzed for 1,536 genres by Spotify. The calibration is fuzzy, but in general down is more organic, up is more mechanical and electric; left is denser and more atmospheric, right is spikier and bouncier.

It's also egalitarian, with world dominating "rock-and-roll" given the same space and size as its neighbors choro (instrumental Brazilian popular music), cowboy-western (Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, et. al.), and Indian folk (Asha Bhosle, for example). It also makes for some strange bedfellows: what factor does musique concrete share with "Christian relaxitive" other than "reasons my college roommate and I never got along." Now you can find out!

Click on any of the genres and you'll hear a sample of that music. Double click and you'll be taken to a similar scatter-plot graph of its most popular artists, this time with font size denoting popularity and a similar sample of their music.
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Here's a video that's been burning up the internet for the past few weeks. It's jazz legend John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" played "cowboy style" by guitarist Lars Schurse. If Lars looks familiar, that's because we recently shared what's probably his most popular video: his blazing, country-fried version of Joe Satriani's "Satch Boogie." Lars packs all his fretwork fireworks into about a minute and a half-in both cases. Be sure to check out both performances.  
IN THE BASSMENT
 
In jazz discussions, the saxophonists and the trumpeters generally dominate the conversation, and rightly so. Equally as integral to the music, though, is the rest of the band. While we've already listed the top guitarists and pianists, today we focus on those holding down the low-end. Although there are a number of exceptional bassists worthy of consideration, these are the ten best jazz bassists of all time. See if you agree...
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT 


The Official 12 Tone Music Hat is On SALE and available Now!

It's the fashionable way to share your love of guitar and bass with others at home, at work and at the gig. Highest quality 100% soft black brushed cotton with embroidered yellow-gold logo. Classic relaxed structure and antique brass buckle closure assures a comfortable fit. It's the perfect gift for any occasion! On Sale Now for a limited time. Get yours today!

Order now through November 2, 2017 to receive SALE pricing on The Official 12 Tone Music Cap. Only available from the store. No coupon code needed. Domestic orders only.

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www.guitartruth.com and www.basstruth.com are subsidiaries of 12 Tone Music Publishing, LLC.
WATCH THIS
 
Glen Campbell first heard The Lone Ranger's brisk theme song as a kid and vowed to learn it on guitar. Not only did he do just that, Campbell made the theme-an overture from the 1829 opera William Tell, by the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini-one of his signature numbers. He revisited it throughout his career, wowing audiences by playing it with casual ease, sometimes with the guitar on top of his head.   
I was reading Keith Richards' fantastic autobiography Life recently and was struck by a particular passage wherein he describes the newfound energy that open G tuning brought to his playing. I immediately tuned my guitar to open G and spent the next hour trying to nail "Brown Sugar" and "Can't You Hear me Knocking." Open tunings aren't exactly new territory in my playing, but I still felt that same sense of liberation and discovery that Keith describes.
GREAT GEAR
Magnatone Panoramic Stereo 2x10 Combo Amp

Historically speaking, Magnatone was a significant maker and innovator of amps going back to the 1930s. One of the most celebrated things about its peak period in the '50s was the inclusion of a genuine vibrato effect, which - in contrast to Fender's misnamed "vibrato" that was really a tremolo - actually created pitch-based warble.
ARTIST AWARENESS
 
Scott LaFaro was just 25 when he died in a car accident in 1961, Scott LaFaro showed an early proficiency on the bass after taking it up at the age of 18, just before starting at Ithaca College. A weeks into his sophomore year, LaFaro hit the road with Buddy Morrow, but left the band in Los Angeles, and then went on to play with Chet Baker, Stan Kenton, Cal Tjader and Ornette Coleman. LaFaro is probably best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio over the last few years of the bassist's life. His playing on Evans's Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby is just remarkable.  

Order The Official 12 Tone Music Cap through November 2, 2017
to receive ON SALE pricing.
Available only from the 12tonemusic.com online store.
No coupon code needed. Domestic orders only. 
12 Tone Music Publishing, LLC * P. O. Box 20564 * Dayton, Ohio 45420  
www.12tonemusic.com * [email protected] * 1-937-256-9344  
  www.guitartruth.com and www.basstruth.com are subsidiaries of   
12 Tone Music Publishing, LLC.