On Hadrien Feraud

[woaheasylang]

Hey there Janek.. I just finished watching the Gospel Chops Bass Sessionz previews on youtube(awesome solo at the first part by the way) and there was a short but sweet clip of Hadrien doing.. SOMETHING on his bass.. I was just wondering if you have any comments or insight on his playing, melodic movement, rhythmic patterns and chords because to me, its so weird but at the same time it sounds really nice. I look forward to getting my hands on a copy of Bass Sessionz and seeing more of the two of you make music! (along with Andrew Gouche and Damian Erskine) > Also, how was Hadrien as a comping bassist? I couldnt hear his bass as much through the cut as compared to you and Bubby during the Beat It jam you guys had.

[janekbass]

Hadrien is a fantastic bass player as you're well aware, although I'm not too sure about his concepts as I haven't studied his playing much at all. I know from hanging and playing with him that he plays with a very cutting midrange sound a little like jaco, and has pretty flawless technique on the instrument.

As to his harmonic and melodic concepts you would have to sit down and transcribe some of his playing to analyze it and figure out what's going on there. I notice a lot of intervalic playing, lots of stuff influenced by the changes of giant steps for instance as chord substitutions over other songs etc etc.....

What I can say about Hadrien that I know for a fact, is that he's an incredible talent, a young musician with an incredible career ahead of him (as well a quite a lot behind him at this point!), and he's a really beautiful soul of a human being. I think that's the most important thing for me when I'm looking at any kind of musician or other human being. I'm looking for honesty, respect for the music, and a passion to be better.

Easy,

Janek