New Jeff Berlin Interview On-line

[glassonyonpr]

A new interview with bass legend Jeff Berlin, conducted by Al Carlos Hernandez of international news website Herald de Paris, has been posted today. The candid interview, which touches on every aspect of Berlin's illustrous career, can be accessed at http://www.heralddeparis.com/the-bad...-berlin/101034. Jeff goes into detail about his declining to join rock legends Van Halen, as well as his newly released CD "High Standards", his upcoming South American tour and the work he is doing at his music school The Players School of Music.

[Day]

I like the part where he talks about the Funk University. Man I wish he could still post here.

Sheesh, he kinda makes you feel like crap if you enjoy being a "standard" bass player, holding down the root etc... part of me thinks he picked the wrong instrument.

[bottomzone]

My hat is off to Jeff for being an in your face bassist and an in your face instructor. His candor, musicianship and passion about being a bass player vs an entertainer may rub some people the wrong way, but I'm cool with his views.

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[PastorofMuppets]

his ego shines through in that interview.

sure its a nice compliment but Ive gotten nice compliments for decades...

[Billnc]

Originally Posted by PastorofMuppets

his ego shines through in that interview.

sure its a nice compliment but Ive gotten nice compliments for decades...

I took it to mean compliments weren't getting him gigs.

In the grand scheme of things, with Jeff anyway, I'm nobody. Yet we have corresponded numerous times times. His replies were thoughtful, long and he explained a point if I didn't agree with him. He also offered free advice on some musical things. He had nothing to gain, could have ignored me but did not.

[bassness]

I like this part better, it's so true.

There might be a record industry, but they are under internet siege. Plus, there isn’t much music to listen to anyway. People aren’t really interested in music. They are interested in music entertainment and there is a great difference between the two. In the past there wasn’t. But today there is! Music today is as musically meaningful as professional wrestling is a meaningful sport. This is a time in history that would deny Jimi Hendrix a record deal. Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Charlie Parker would be totally ignored. The Beatles wouldn’t even rate getting an indie deal. And Eric Clapton would be forced to play gigs with a drum machine on Clearwater Beach, Florida under a tiki roof if he had the bad fortune of coming along in today’s music era. The truly great players are here right now, as you are reading this, but the music industry has mostly turned its back on them. Yes, it glorifies the artists who sell well. The more you sell, the greater a musician you are considered. Today Lady Gaga and Snoop Dog are musical geniuses.

[blues.bass]

Originally Posted by bassness

I like this part better, it's so true.

There might be a record industry, but they are under internet siege. Plus, there isn’t much music to listen to anyway. People aren’t really interested in music. They are interested in music entertainment and there is a great difference between the two. In the past there wasn’t. But today there is! Music today is as musically meaningful as professional wrestling is a meaningful sport. This is a time in history that would deny Jimi Hendrix a record deal. Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Charlie Parker would be totally ignored. The Beatles wouldn’t even rate getting an indie deal. And Eric Clapton would be forced to play gigs with a drum machine on Clearwater Beach, Florida under a tiki roof if he had the bad fortune of coming along in today’s music era. The truly great players are here right now, as you are reading this, but the music industry has mostly turned its back on them. Yes, it glorifies the artists who sell well. The more you sell, the greater a musician you are considered. Today Lady Gaga and Snoop Dog are musical geniuses.

Really?
No record deal for Jimi Hendrix?
Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Charlie Parker totally ignored? The Beatles or Eric Clapton wouldn’t rate?

BS surely...?

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by blues.bass

Really?
No record deal for Jimi Hendrix?
Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Charlie Parker totally ignored? The Beatles or Eric Clapton wouldn’t rate?

BS surely...?

i don't think thats all that off the wall......if those guys were coming up today they would probably be selling their discs themselves at club gigs.....the times when they came up were different.....even here how many threads mention that playing "dance-able songs" is pretty much mandatory these days,and how difficult it is for original bands to find paying gigs

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

Originally Posted by bassness

There might be a record industry, but they are under internet siege. Plus, there isn’t much music to listen to anyway. People aren’t really interested in music. They are interested in music entertainment and there is a great difference between the two. In the past there wasn’t. But today there is! Music today is as musically meaningful as professional wrestling is a meaningful sport. This is a time in history that would deny Jimi Hendrix a record deal. Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Charlie Parker would be totally ignored. The Beatles wouldn’t even rate getting an indie deal. And Eric Clapton would be forced to play gigs with a drum machine on Clearwater Beach, Florida under a tiki roof if he had the bad fortune of coming along in today’s music era. The truly great players are here right now, as you are reading this, but the music industry has mostly turned its back on them. Yes, it glorifies the artists who sell well. The more you sell, the greater a musician you are considered. Today Lady Gaga and Snoop Dog are musical geniuses.

Brilliantly said. +1000

[treekiller]

This is why bands like Gov't Mule are independent and seem to be doing fairly well on their own. The music "industry" is slowly killing itself........

[Commreman]

Thanks for posting that link. I miss having Jeff around here! His educational stance was a breath of fresh air, and I learned a ton from him.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by Commreman

Thanks for posting that link. I miss having Jeff around here! His educational stance was a breath of fresh air, and I learned a ton from him.

+1

[PhatBasstard]

"In musician circles, Berlin is “The Merlin Magician” of the electric bass, considered by many to be the finest electric bass player in the world. Marcus Miller, an American jazz musician, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and is known best as the bassist for Miles Davis has said that he wanted to be the “Black Jeff Berlin.” Rush bassist Geddy Lee referred to Jeff as, “The greatest bass player on the planet.” Jack Bruce, the legendary bass player with the super group Cream, referred to Jeff as, “The best bass player I ever heard.” Carlos Santana referred to Berlin as, “The best bass player in the world.”"

Billy Sheehan simply refers to him as "Our leader". And yet....

I'm sure, in years to come, TB will look back on his banning at some point as one of those "What were we thinking?!?" moments.

Great interview, BTW.

[Roy Vogt]

Thought the interview really painted an honest picture of him. I'm working on one for Bass Frontiers (the transcription/editing is taking some time....)stay tuned.

[champbassist]

Originally Posted by Roy Vogt

Thought the interview really painted an honest picture of him. I'm working on one for Bass Frontiers (the transcription/editing is taking some time....)stay tuned.

Get it up already! We've been waiting for ages now!

[Roy Vogt]

Originally Posted by champbassist

Get it up already! We've been waiting for ages now!

That's a lot of words to parse through, especially whilst gigging and teaching as much as I do-but working on it....

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

Billy Sheehan simply refers to him as "Our leader". And yet....

I'm sure, in years to come, TB will look back on his banning at some point as one of those "What were we thinking?!?" moments.

If you mean as in "what we we thinking- we should have banned him sooner," then you're probably right.

I've seen the big list of compliments at the beginning of a lot of interviews with him this past year, so either a lot of interviewers are copying one source interview, or he's really bandying that around.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Day

Sheesh, he kinda makes you feel like crap if you enjoy being a "standard" bass player, holding down the root etc...

I did think his "Santana doesn't need me, the guy he hired just plays root-fifth" was a bit uncharitible. Let's see, Santana's last two bassists were, um, Alphonso Johnson and Benny Reitveld...hey, you're right, Jeff, he doesn't need you!

(But the Santana bass chair sure is a bit deeper than just I-V.)


Other than that it was one of the more enjoyable All-Things-Berlin I've read in a long time.

[PhatBasstard]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

If you mean as in "what we we thinking- we should have banned him sooner," then you're probably right.

I've seen the big list of compliments at the beginning of a lot of interviews with him this past year, so either a lot of interviewers are copying one source interview, or he's really bandying that around.

Wrongo...

The best bassists and musicians in the world were saying these same things about him 25 or more years ago in their own interviews. Even the ones who dissagreed with his views still thought he was one of the best if not THE best.

[kreider204]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

If you mean as in "what we we thinking- we should have banned him sooner," then you're probably right.