Wilbert De Joode

Tin-Foot Paul · #1 04-19-2007, 10:30 PM

I just had the pleasure of watching and hearing Wilbert De Joode give a solo performance. A great player and friendly guy. He played a beautiful little half size bass made in 1840.

He did one thing I've never seen before: On one piece he put small clothes pins on his A D and G strings. They, combined with his already percussive playing and sophisticated use of harmonics, made his bass sound almost like a marimba or maybe the world's largest thumb piano.

simandlhandle · #2 04-20-2007, 05:42 PM

Can be an interesting technique, you just have to make it work musically for you. The composer John Cage used it in some " classical avant garde" work for "prepared" piano. You can use screwdrivers jammed between strings, coathangers,paper clips, anything you want. The guitarists Derek Bailley and Henry Cow's Fred Frith made a full time career out of it on the "free" jazz circuit for the last 30 or 40 years 'till they both died, although I don't think that was the reason for their seperate and unconnected demise.
Have fun, experiment.

Anonymous75966 · #3 04-21-2007, 02:06 AM

As far as I know, Fred Frith is not dead - or have I missed something?

Haven't seen WdJ do the clothespins but I have seen him stick the bow in between the strings and twang it. He gets some great stuff out of that little bass.

simandlhandle · #4 04-21-2007, 08:00 PM

Oops, you might be right. My apologies to you and him. I'll probably get a message from Fred Frith "Reports of my death have been greatly exagerated, I've just had a bit of a cold"

Joel Wanek · #5 04-21-2007, 10:51 PM

DeJoode's fellow Dutchman and cellist Ernst Reijseger does that too. They put them on the harmonic points to sound like a thumb piano/marimba/etc.

damonsmith · #6 04-21-2007, 11:06 PM

Fred is still alive. He teaches in Oakland at Mills college. He plays around and is great.
A lot of this type of prepared stuff actually comes from the amazing Dutch bassist Maarten Van Retgren Altena. He moved into composition later, so we tend to think more of Barry Guy and others when it comes to prepared bass.
Altena had his left arm in a cast so he put the bass neck in a cast and made the solo LP "Handicaps", he prepared the bass with bows and other objects and it is actually a great record. Unfortunately, it generally goes for a lot on ebay.
In the book "New Dutch Swing" the writer downplays Altena's virtuosity, but he is very wrong - he was one of the greatest.

Still, I am a huge fan of Wilbert's I was able to play with him last year and it was a great experience for me.