I’ve recently listened to Jauqo III-X’s (
http://www.jauqoiii-x.com/) pre-mastered final mixes from his new album. This album features some daring improvisational contributions from drummer Ernie Adams (Al Di Meola, Ramsey Lewis, Gephart Long Quartet, etc.), guitarist Kudzai Kasambira, and DaLawn Simpson on 9-String Guitar. The combination of said talents results in an outstanding and authentic concept album, one that will surely raise the awareness of the sub-contra bass as a prominent tool of THE GROOVE.
To be candid, I was massively skeptical about how “honest” a sub-contra bass would function within this particular album’s fusion-tinged improvisation-based setting. I had preconceived notions that the audible sub-contra bass textures would produce unfocused, incoherent, and floppy masses of airflow through my monitors. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the thick, warm recorded presence and pristine clarity of Jauqo’s Adler 4-String Fretless Sub-Contra Bass (which was tracked by miking a Basson Sound 510SC cabinet straight to the board with no effects).
Compositionally, the album conjured up tinges of jazz deconstruction, which at times reminded me of Dave Fiuczynski’s Screaming Headless Torsos project. The album is full of Jauqo’s signature slippery dub-type basslines; articulately improvised 16th note staccato passages that lock in tight with Adam’s frenetic fusion beats and pulse effortlessly amongst a wave of tastefully panned guitar noise.
Find out more about Jauqo’s C-Sharp concept at:
http://adlerguitars.com/csharp.html
Check out the 4-String Fretless Sub-Contra Bass that Jauqo III-X used on this album:
http://adlerguitars.com/bassflash.html
It’s all good!!!!!
