Rabbath: 60

dgelting · #1 03-29-2009, 08:16 PM

I just got turned on to this Francois Rabbath album by a friend. Wow. Really great - just bass and drums. Fantastic energy and playing. I love the 60's sound to the recording and the great hall reverb, and the bass is sometimes overdubbed on top of himself creating a full and driving sound. I can't stop listening to it.

I've only had it for a few days, but it's impacting me in a way that not many albums have in quite a while. I've been playing about 20 years, and in my earlier days I found more stuff that blew me away - now I guess I'm getting old and jaded

This could end up ranking with Chico Hamilton's "The Dealer" (Richard Davis on Bass), Dave Holland's "One's All" and the Michael Moore/Bill Charlap Duo CD as my top bass-playing recording influnces!

I searched around this fourm subtopic and haven't seen this particular album mentioned. Has anyone out there heard it and if so, do you have any suggestions for other albums in the ballpark that I'd dig?

DaveAceofBass · #2 03-29-2009, 08:26 PM

I'd love to hear that. I have a solo album of Rabbath--"In A Sentinmental Mood"--Japanese import I got from George Vance. It's a bunch of jazz standards played by Rabbath with the bow. He doesn't really improvise at all--he just plays the melody and shows how important that part of the tune is. It's a good reminder because so many people get caught up in the improvisations that they have no relevance to the original melody. I'm not saying improv is bad, I'm a jazz player myself, but when you improvise on a tune I think it's important to capture the original feeling, mood, lyricism, and harmonic content of the original melody...this actually helps to pull the listener into what you're doing as well. Rabbath shows how the melodies are really the crux of those tunes, and how to really play them flawlessly with a gorgeous arco tone.

Ghost_Note · #3 03-29-2009, 10:23 PM

Last week I picked up Rabbath's Carmen! CD, also from Slava Publishing. One of the songs, Micaela's Aria, is on Rabbath's Art of the Bow DVD and is such beautiful piece, it compelled me to buy this CD.

I will gladly look into his others.