What kind of bass does he use: Dominique DiPiazza

[louloomis]

Hi. I don't know if anyone knows this bassist. He's a French guy who played with John McLaughlin and Trilok Gurtu in the early '90s.

He was (is?) unbelievably amazing and had a phenomenal sound. In the videos I've seen, it looks like he's using a custom made jazz bass and some kind of 5 string (I think).

Does anyone know what kind of basses/amps/pickups, etc. he used.

Thanks,
LL

[rulyøngo]

Some info on his gear:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...piazza/mat.htm

and:

http://www.globalbass.com/archives/o...ue_dipiazza.ht

[louloomis]

Hi. Thanks a lot for the link! Excellent.

Does anyone know what he was using in the early '90s with McLaughlin and Trilok Gurtu?

LL

[DaveBeny]

Here is a recent thread on Dominique di Piazza:

'Front Page' feat. Dominique Di Piazza

He now has a professional-looking official website at: www.dominiquedipiazza.com - the site loads in French, but you can switch to the English version by clicking on the British flag.

Here is a video of DdP playing with the McLaughlin trio:
http://www.spikesbigadventure.com/mp...QueAlegria.wmv

At that time, he played a fretless Fender Jazz and a fretted 5-string (high C) Warwick.

Nowadays, he uses Warwick amps. He uses Fodera, Neuser and Noguera (spelling?) basses.

[Aaron J]

He is truly and incredible bassist and Que Alegria is one of my all time favorite records. That video clip of him is downright scary!

[JMX]

When I saw them live in '90 or '91 he was using a Warwick Streamer 5. Don't remember if Stage I or II.

I saw them at an indoor festival for 2.50$ and sat 2 meters away from them. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!

[j-raj]

Dominique DiPiazza is one of the most amazing players... his right hand technique isn't easy...

I know that he was a classical guitarist at one point in his life... Has anyone ever heard his classical guitar playing?

[DaveBeny]

Originally Posted by j-raj

I know that he was a classical guitarist at one point in his life... Has anyone ever heard his classical guitar playing?

Actually, I think his background was in gypsy jazz, rather than classical music. He plays some acoustic guitar on his hymns CD - I've just him an email to find out how I can get hold of a copy.

There's a nice interview with Di Piazza over at Norm Stockton's site. Here's a little excerpt:

Let’s talk about your technique a bit; it sounds like you have a fairly unorthodox right (picking) hand approach.

I mainly pick with two fingers: my thumb and middle finger. I sometimes add my index finger, so I can play triplet figures. They can be played all on one string, or can be spread out over several strings.

Did you develop that technique on guitar or bass?

It was on my bass, really. I already had a lot of that bebop music in my head before I started playing bass...you know, all of those arpeggios - I really like arpeggios - and I found that the easiest way to play them was with this technique. I also use a lot of left hand hammer-on’s, pull-off’s and slides in conjunction with my picking technique. But for the fast, staccato playing, it is mainly two fingers.

Did it take a lot of practice to get it so that notes picked with your thumb had the same tone as ones picked with your fingers?

Actually, that was mainly a matter of raising up the string action a bit, and also using slightly heavier gauge strings.

What gear did you use in the McLaughlin days, and what are you using today?

When I was playing with John, I had a Warwick Streamer 5-string and a Kubicki Factor 4-string. I am presently using Noguera basses, made by a French luthier. I have two (both 5-strings, tuned E-A-D-G-C); one is fretted, and the other is fitted with a special bridge system I made myself that gives it a fretless sound...sort of halfway between a sitar and a fretless bass (Ed. Note: Dominique has since become an endorser for Neuser basses and EBS amplifiers). It can be heard on the new Front Page album coming out in the States, on the tune, "The Eyes of Jesus Christ." I also endorse Warwick’s Pro Tube 9 amp, Line 6's Bass Pod, and Lakewood Guitars, since I’m starting to play guitar again.



It's worth pointing out that he now endorses Epifani amps and has a new Fodera Imperial 5 with his own fretted/fretless bridge design.

[obi 2 kenobi]

Did he become a monk in the 90s for several years, stopped playing bass, etc.

I guess he must have kicked the habit*










*sorry

[j-raj]

Originally Posted by obi 2 kenobi

Did he become a monk in the 90s for several years, stopped playing bass, etc.

I guess he must have kicked the habit*


*sorry

Maybe someone on this thread could tell us, but I could have sworn he decided to be a priest for short amount of time.





Thanks for that caption David Benyahia, Please share with us how we might be able to get a hold of that CD as well. I'm going over to Norm's site to check out more about that DdP interview.

Gypsy Jazz? Cool. Last month I had the oppty to play a couple traditional jewish gigs for a friend of mine and after one of the gigs we got in to a brief conversation about Safardic Music (sp?). Basically Safards were jewish people from Spain and Portugal, their music was very influencial amongst gypsy's.

*I'm very curious to hear more about Safardic music and Gypsy Jazz, feel free to point out some recommended music I should look for.

[DaveBeny]

Originally Posted by obi 2 kenobi

Did he become a monk in the 90s for several years, stopped playing bass, etc.

I believe he is an ordained minister, but wasn't a monk (he has a wife and teenage daughter )

I think he just plays music on the side nowadays, with his church work coming first.

[obi 2 kenobi]

I remember reading an interview with John McLaughlin in a French jazz mag in the mid 90s, where he commented that DDP had become a monk (possibly in Italy) and had stopped playing.

I didn't know he had restarted.

Looking at his website, there's a significant gap in his discography

[DaveBeny]

Good interview over at AllAboutJazz:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/ddipiazza.htm

"AAJ: We will eventually get to the beginning, but please indulge me for a moment by telling the fans and readers about your seeming “disappearance” from the music world. At any time during your hiatus did you quit playing music altogether?

Yes, I quit the music “business” for seven years. I did not play at all for the first four -I did not touch an instrument. I sold everything… no musique! I left to pursue the study of God, the study of religion, and am now an Associate Pastor. "

Between this article and the Norm Stockton interview, you can pretty much get the full picture.

Found this review of his 'Spiritual Hymns' album:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=9891

[DaveBeny]

Originally Posted by j-raj

Gypsy Jazz? Cool. Last month I had the oppty to play a couple traditional jewish gigs for a friend of mine and after one of the gigs we got in to a brief conversation about Safardic Music (sp?). Basically Safards were jewish people from Spain and Portugal, their music was very influencial amongst gypsy's.

*I'm very curious to hear more about Safardic music and Gypsy Jazz, feel free to point out some recommended music I should look for.

I can't claim to know that much about gypsy jazz, but I'm sure that you couldn't go wrong by looking up some of the classic 'Hot Club' recordings of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Likewise, Bireli Lagrene is one of the modern masters of gypsy jazz guitar - his recordings should be easily available.

Here's a website with plenty of fun video footage to watch:
www.gypsyjazzguitar.com

Also,
http://www.lagrene.com/
http://www.hotclub.co.uk/
http://www.redhotjazz.com/django.html

There's a good compilation CD out called 'The Rough Guide to Gypsy Swing' that's worth looking into:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...bvyxdjb4ol7~T1

[j-raj]

David,

Thanks man... I guess I have some reading for this evening back at home...!

There is a local bassist Adam NItti, (well, not local anymore... moving to Nashville soon) that was in correspondence with Dominique DiPiazza for a little during his period of bass hiatus... He told me about a time that he was able to meet up with DdP at the Univ. Of Alabama during one of his clinics.

He said it was a once in a lifetime experience.

[Lenko]

I saw him playing live in november and he was using a brand new singlecut Fodera (with what it looked like a Neuser bridge) through an Epifani rig.

[DaveBeny]

And here's a photo:

[DaveBeny]

A google search just threw this up: 2 1/2 minute mp3 of DdP live. Nice sound - halfway between fretted and fretless.

http://serving.joyfully.at/display/r.../dipiazza2.mp3

[j-raj]

^__^
Man... You gotta love his playing.


Thanks David, that was simply amazing!

I have only heard the live version of Marie from "Que Alegria". Eventhough I miss that wild harmonic run (from "QA"), this live version is beautiful...and a bit longer too!

[DaveBeny]

J-Raj,

Looks like it's just us two in here!

I had an email yesterday from Dominique's wife. He's away until Monday (presumably he's still in the States after NAMM), so I'll hear back from him sometime next week about the 'Plays Spritual Hymns' disc.