Frank Gambale's natural high feat. alain caron

[Asaf]

the 2006 latest Frank Gambale has Alain Caron playing bass with him - anybody got to hear it ?
i can't understand what basses does he play...i hear an acoustic bass on some of the tracks but i also heard some fretless playing.
let me know if you know anything about it...thanks.

[rulyøngo]

i gotta check it out!!! Alain is one of my favorite bassists!!!

He plays F basses, www.fbass.com He even has his own signature bass...

[Asaf]

yea man...i know he plays F basses, i liked him since he used to play in uzeb and i have all of his Solo albums.
from the Frank gambale website i know that he plays an acoustic bass on most of the tracks and on the third track i can hear he plays fretless.

[Mike Flynn]

Hey - I have this CD - it's good Alain is in good form but I have to say because he's playing an acoustic bass guitar his tone is a little different from normal - so it's a but less 'mwah' and a bit more like DB - kind of somewhere in the middle. That said the trio is amazingly talented and Gambale plays some lovely stuff, though I have to say his sweep-picking gets a bit boring after a while - but there are some amazing unison sections with all three blazing - overall a very different album for gambale and Caron is on great, great form - an acoustic fusion record - and definitely worth checking out, if not buying!

Cheers

Mike

[jerry]

Is that the CD Frank plays standards on?

[Asaf]

Originally Posted by Mike Flynn

Hey - I have this CD - it's good Alain is in good form but I have to say because he's playing an acoustic bass guitar his tone is a little different from normal - so it's a but less 'mwah' and a bit more like DB - kind of somewhere in the middle. That said the trio is amazingly talented and Gambale plays some lovely stuff, though I have to say his sweep-picking gets a bit boring after a while - but there are some amazing unison sections with all three blazing - overall a very different album for gambale and Caron is on great, great form - an acoustic fusion record - and definitely worth checking out, if not buying!

Cheers

Mike

hi mike,
the problem is i dont understand if he plays an acoustic bass guitar or an acoustic bass also know to me as contrabass, the third track sounds like his fretless usal sound but with a more "woody" sound then the very clean sound he always had.

[Larry99]

cool. I'll have to pick this up.

I have to admit I'm not a guitar tricks kinda guy but I have always loved FGs playing. Obviously he's got that technique but he also has a great sense of melody. I've seen him live a few times and I'm always in awe of the sounds coming from his guitar given what you're watching. ...sort a like a bad martial arts film language overdub. I can't take my eyes off him sometimes.

His last record with Billy Cobham and Rick Fierabacci (sp?) is really good too with some nice bass by Rick. FG uses an alternate guitar tuning to create some really interesting chord textures.

[Funkturnal]

I'm really digging up an old thread (and showing off my Search skills ).

But anyway, for some reason, Alain Caron was one of the "virtuosos" that I had just not gotten around to checking out extensively. I'd gotten this album to check out FG in a trio setting playing standards.

I was really surprised to find out that Alain Caron was playing an acoustic bass guitar on this album. It had me fooled that it was an upright. I guess he's playing an MF bass. Do these basses all sound like that? (Sorry, maybe that question needs to be in the Basses forum.)

But it wasn't only the tone of the instrument that led me to think it was upright. It was Caron's phrasing. His rhythmic articulation on his solos over the "standards" really emulated the upright approach and was very fitting IMHO.

On the track where he plays electric fretless, he has a completely different sound and approach.

Since picking up this album, I've checked out more of him and found out that he's really versatile. Also, his slapping on a 6-string is something else!

[VroomVroom]

Cool to see this - great reminder of a terrific recording. Caron is amazing. I am a HUGE fan of his fretless playing, as well as his writing. Truly a melodic wizard.