|  | | 
01-28-2007, 06:24 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Summit, NJ | | | Jeff Berlin
Sign in to disble this ad
Edit:
Who's a Jeff Berlin fan here? I've heard him play a few times, and never knew why he gets soo much credit... I mean, he just plays simple and plain songs, no tapping, no Wooten licks, no cool harmonics, nothing! And he's the jerk that said "an article on how to play the fretless bass is like a guide on how to steer a car." (He plays a 4-string fretted bass) 
Original:
Who's a Jeff Berlin fan here? I've heard him play a few times, and never knew why he gets soo much credit... I mean, he just plays notes, no tapping, no Wooten licks, no Bailey licks, nothing! And he's the jerk that said "an article on how to play the fretless bass is like a guide on how to steer a car." (He plays a 4-string fretted bass)
__________________
Sig-neh-chure... eh?
Last edited by AmazingGracePlayer : 01-29-2007 at 03:15 PM.
|
01-28-2007, 06:32 PM
| | | | ...
Last edited by James Hart : 01-28-2007 at 06:57 PM.
|
01-28-2007, 06:32 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Murray, KY | | | dont we all "just play notes?" if you mean that he's not a flashy showman, then yes you are right. |
01-28-2007, 06:35 PM
|  | Registered User
Endorsing artist:see profile/Current Setup | | Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: CHICAGO,IL. | | | You don't have to like his playing or agree with his views but if you take the time and do some serious research you will learn that Jeff is not a slouch at all in the Bass playing department,just my opinion but he is nothing short of a genius on Bass along with being a modern Bass pioneer.He can send you thru the history of modern electric Bass playing in the time it takes to check out one of his gigs,his approach to chords,groove,harmony,soloing etc is unheard of and even untouchable on many levels of Bass playing today. |
01-28-2007, 07:18 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kent Island, Md. | | | I saw Jeff last year with BX3. Some incredible bass playing and he was also funny on stage.
__________________
"Be kind to yourself"
Schroeder #51,Mediocre Bassist Club #46, Genz Benz 129
|
01-28-2007, 07:23 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by James Hart  | Great links!!
__________________
Wishbass Club Member #128, Fretless Club Member #352, T-40 Club Member #43, P-Bass Club member #723
|
01-28-2007, 07:33 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Virginia | | | Should we start a list of great bass players who don't tap/slap? Also, people act like there is some great mystery to playing fretless. There isn't beyond practice you butt off, which would make for a very short article.
Scott
__________________
What we know as modern music is the noise made by deluded speculators picking through the slagpile.--Henry Pleasants
|
01-28-2007, 07:55 PM
| | Registered User
Endorsing artist:see profile/Current Setup | | Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: CHICAGO,IL. | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottgun Should we start a list of great bass players who don't tap/slap? Also, people act like there is some great mystery to playing fretless. There isn't beyond practice you butt off, which would make for a very short article.
Scott | Jeff has slapped in the past and he's very tasteful with it. |
01-28-2007, 07:56 PM
|  | Registered User
Endorsing Artist: see profile | | Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: toms_river.nj.us | | Quote:
Originally Posted by JAUQO III-X Jeff has slapped in the past and he's very tasteful with it. | one of the links I posted has him doing a slap solo even |
01-28-2007, 07:59 PM
| | Registered User
Endorsing artist:see profile/Current Setup | | Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: CHICAGO,IL. | | Quote:
Originally Posted by James Hart one of the links I posted has him doing a slap solo even | I saw that clip before and on a couple of his earlier recordings he's doing some killer slapping.
check out the song Joe Fraizer(if you haven't). |
01-28-2007, 08:00 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Bay Area, California | | He's a great bass player. He was one of my original inspirations to play Bach. He did an article about it in Guitar Player magazine in the 80's. I have a bunch of his old recordings with various lineups (mostly on LP).
Some of the stuff he says though ... 
- Dave |
01-28-2007, 08:06 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Troy, NY/Arlington, MA | | | I think he's a great player and has contributed much to music and bass throughout his career, but somehow can't bring myself to actually like and willingly listen to the stuff he plays. |
01-28-2007, 10:22 PM
| | [acct disabled - multiple aliases] | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Venice, CA | | | Jeff is a great soloist and has scary chops, but that's about it. |
01-28-2007, 10:46 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The Woodlands, Texas | | Quote:
Originally Posted by justinb515 dont we all "just play notes?" | +1
that's what I was thinking |
01-28-2007, 11:49 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Mmm...brAins I think he's a great player and has contributed much to music and bass throughout his career, but somehow can't bring myself to actually like and willingly listen to the stuff he plays. | Exactly. I have many CDs of his and I just don't care for his playing or music at all.
Anybody interested in trading Jeff Berlin CDs'?
I'll trade them for CDs of fretless bass players; anybody other than Steve Bailey!  |
01-29-2007, 06:26 AM
| | Pat's the best! | | Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Northern Virginia, USA | | | He taps a lot on his "Taking Notes" CD. He's a great player, and a jerk. Lots of great musicians are jerks, though, so I don't hold it against him. |
01-29-2007, 06:44 AM
|  | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by htotheh Who's a Jeff Berlin fan here? I've heard him play a few times, and never knew why he gets soo much credit... I mean, he just plays notes, no tapping, no Wooten licks, no Bailey licks, nothing! And he's the jerk that said "an article on how to play the fretless bass is like a guide on how to steer a car." (He plays a 4-string fretted bass) | "I mean, he just plays notes..." sorry, but that's priceless.
I think you're having us on here a little. But if your definition of great only includes people who tap or play Wooten and Bailey licks, you're going to miss out on learning from some great players.
Big +1 to James, Jauqo and Phil and others for pointing out that Jeff's a great player - one of the very best. Matchless chops, but also innovative and tasteful. He may be a little controversial with what he says at times, but hey, I can forgive him for that and just listen to the music.
__________________ Quote:
Originally Posted by SBassman | |
01-29-2007, 07:39 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Grossman He's a great bass player. He was one of my original inspirations to play Bach. He did an article about it in Guitar Player magazine in the 80's. I have a bunch of his old recordings with various lineups (mostly on LP).
Some of the stuff he says though ...
- Dave | Wow! My first bass teacher photocopied that article for me way back in '89. I also remember him giving me transcriptions to "Joe Frazier" and "5G" and saying "Okay, let's sight read these." 
When it comes to technique and theory, Jeff Berlin is one of the most advanced players on the instrument. For me personally, I don't get much of an emotional connection like I do from other players. THAT"S JUST ME.
__________________
"I don't think equipment is high on the list! It still comes down to WHAT NOTES one chooses to play and to HOW ONE TOUCHES THE INSTRUMENT"-Nels Cline
|
01-29-2007, 08:00 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Texas, USSA | | | I like him. He says it like it is, and is so politically incorrect it's not funny! He pulls no punches, even in the ring (he was a Golden Gloves boxer). He actually made me sit and transcribe a solo he taped for me. I got all the notes right, but I screwed up with the timing. I was trying to overanalyze, and he busted me on it big time. I spent hours and hours going over the tape, playing along with it, counting it, then double-checking to make sure that my dotted-eighths and dotted-quarter notes all added up...only to be crushed when he told me "That's great, if you're playing classical piano. You should have just written "swing eighths" and done it all in eighths..." Then he gave me something like 1200 exercises to have down by the next lesson in five days. I said "What? When am I supposed to sleep, or eat, or.."
"Quit it- do you want to play bass, or do you want to sleep? You have to choose, I can only point you in the right direction..."
So, he is a task master, he does slap (well, too!), he doesn't mince words, and you always know where you stand with him. I saw him a few years back at MARS in Houston, he recognized me instantly and came over and said hi to me, asked how things were going, was I playing a lot, etc...he really is a nice guy, but has a gruff facade... | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
