I bought a Jonas Hellborg album by accident.

Spencer! · #1 07-12-2006, 09:44 PM

I'm a big Buckethead fan, and I saw an album in my local CD store called "Octave Of The Holy Innocents." I put it into my stereo, expecting to hear some amazing acoustic guitar playing, and I walked away being equally impressed with the bass playing!

rulyøngo · #2 07-12-2006, 10:10 PM

Anything from jonas hellborg is amazing check out his cd's with Shawn lane!!! check this too:

http://www.hellborggroup.com/

Baryonyx · #3 07-13-2006, 08:37 AM

Well done, Jonas is one of the best. I personally, love his music. Absolutley fantastic player!

lousybassist · #4 07-13-2006, 10:53 AM

Way to go! Octave... is one of my favourite Hellborg albums. And if you like it, I've got every reason to believe that you'll like The Word as well. On it, Jonas plays his acoustic Wechter together with a string quartet (IIRC) and a very energetic drummer whose name escapes me right now. I'm not sure if it's in print anymore, and it was released on Bill Laswell's label Axiom, not Day Eight Music or Bardo. I even think the album was produced by Laswell, but don't quote me on that. Either way, it's a brilliant album that all fans of Jonas' acoustic bass guitar playing should check out.

Oh, and as most of my Hellborg albums, like The Word, is at a friends house at the moment, I had to dig out the only acoustic one left on my shelves after reading the first post of this thread (a post which also, incidently, fueled my acoustic bass guitar GAS). So now I'm listening to Ars Moriende on which Jonas plays with the percussionist Glen Velez. Don't know why, but I seem to have forgotten how beautiful that album really is. Highly recommended, though more mellow than Octave...!

DaveBeny · #5 07-13-2006, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lousybassist

Way to go! Octave... is one of my favourite Hellborg albums. And if you like it, I've got every reason to believe that you'll like The Word as well. On it, Jonas plays his acoustic Wechter together with a string quartet (IIRC) and a very energetic drummer whose name escapes me right now. I'm not sure if it's in print anymore, and it was released on Bill Laswell's label Axiom, not Day Eight Music or Bardo. I even think the album was produced by Laswell, but don't quote me on that. Either way, it's a brilliant album that all fans of Jonas' acoustic bass guitar playing should check out.

The drummer is none other than the legendary Tony Williams. I don't have the CD to hand, but I believe it was co-produced by Hellborg and Laswell. Came out on Laswell's label Axiom. Long out-of-print. Try checking out Dusty Groove, the Downtown Music Gallery or ebay for used copies.

'The Word' is, in my opinion, Hellborg's best recording.

lousybassist · #6 07-13-2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Benyahia

The drummer is none other than the legendary Tony Williams. I don't have the CD to hand, but I believe it was co-produced by Hellborg and Laswell. Came out on Laswell's label Axiom. Long out-of-print. Try checking out Dusty Groove, the Downtown Music Gallery or ebay for used copies.

'The Word' is, in my opinion, Hellborg's best recording.

For me, it's a tie between The Word and The Silent Life, and luckily I own and cherish both.

Spencer! · #7 07-13-2006, 12:53 PM

Thanks for the recommendations guys! I'll be sure to check out some more of his work.

Baryonyx · #8 07-13-2006, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Benyahia

'The Word' is, in my opinion, Hellborg's best recording.

my favourite Hellborg album is either Kali's Son, Elegant Punk or Personae, although they're all brilliant! I must say, as much as I love his Acoustic playing, his Electric is what excites me most, he's a true, oft overlooked master!

Prahainspring · #9 07-13-2006, 05:47 PM

Interesting, a friend of mine knew I was a Hellborg fan and found a Ginger Baker CD "Unseen Rain" in some obscure music store which he purchased for me. Another excellent album to check out. I can't wait for his "Art Metal Trio" to come out with a CD too!

iamlowsound · #10 07-13-2006, 05:49 PM

Buckethead and helberg doing a cd together, what a great idea. That should deffently be done.

lowsound

lousybassist · #11 07-14-2006, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Buckethead and helberg doing a cd together, what a great idea. That should deffently be done.

Welcome to the year 1995! And, best of all, the above mentioned album with Hellborg, Buckethead and Michael Shrieve is still available. Check it out here: http://www.bardorecords.com/Bf132.htm

jerry · #12 07-14-2006, 05:21 AM

Jonas is like Bill Laswell in a lot of ways, they both seem more interested in projects with musical growth over commercial concerns. The projects he did with Jeff Sipe and the just plain awesome and underrated, the late great Shawn Lane is some of the finest "fusion" music that genre can aspire to. Helborg is one of the great ARTIST of bass! IMHO

rulyøngo · #13 07-14-2006, 07:48 AM

Another great Jonas cd is: "Aram of the two rivers"... Jonas in a different setting...

Definitely a must!!!

Baryonyx · #14 07-14-2006, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rulyøngo

Another great Jonas cd is: "Aram of the two rivers"... Jonas in a different setting...

Definitely a must!!!

That is certainly a good one, although I'd say Good People In Times of Evil is a better buy than that one. That said, "Aram" is still great, and all the intensity of the live performance is captured on that disc!

lousybassist · #15 07-14-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerry

Jonas is like Bill Laswell in a lot of ways, they both seem more interested in projects with musical growth over commercial concerns. The projects he did with Jeff Sipe and the just plain awesome and underrated, the late great Shawn Lane is some of the finest "fusion" music that genre can aspire to. Helborg is one of the great ARTIST of bass! IMHO

I agree fully with your first and third sentences. Jonas truly is an artist and a great musician, and I have the utmost respect for the non commercial creative path he's taken, as well as his artistic integrity. With that said, I find it hard to enjoy his collaboration with Lane and Sipe, and his other, chop heavy, metaly projects (like, for example, what I've heard from his recent group with IA Ekberg on guitar, and a drummer I don't know the name of). The heavy side of Hellborg's musical endeavors don't really touch me emotionally, and certainly don't inspire me as much as his more mellow and acoustic musical collaborations.

Baryonyx · #16 07-14-2006, 03:48 PM

I quite enjoy the heavier side of Jonas' music, but even then, I find that even on his Acoustic he can start doing some really heavy stuff!

rulyøngo · #17 07-14-2006, 06:17 PM

I absolutely love his "heavy" side but, having said that, my favorite all time Hellborg is "the Word"...