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Hadrien Faraud No Longer With MacLaughlin

#23
The interview makes it sound as if Hadrien was the wrong man for the job on the previous albums. I thought Hadrien's playing on Industrial Zen fit the entire sound extremely well, but that's just IMO.

(I just realized that there was another album after that with Hadrien and some Indian musicians that I missed entirely...)

Anyway, I'm now curious about the new album. Surely with a new bassist who has a different approach, it will must sound quite different. But that's the thing about J Mc... His music always goes to different places.
 
#24
I think this is an interesting area for bass players and musicians about the nature of Jazz.

So - I think a lot of BG players seem to have the opinion that Jazz is all about showing off how fast you can play and how you can negotiate your way through difficult changes etc.

Whereas players of other instruments I meet, are more aware of how it is about group improvisation, making a great sound, creating alternative melodies, maintaining the audience's interest - taking them on a journey etc.

It is about so much more than demonstrating your virtuosity and I think that the reason that a lot of the most respected players in Jazz are older, is that you have to get past this and actually have something to say when you are playing - something to say, that an audience wants to hear.

All the most highly-respected bass players in Jazz, can play minimally and accompany for the whole gig, making the band sound great, with their tone and feel - not just their chops!
 
#25
Bruce Lindfield said:
It is about so much more than demonstrating your virtuosity and I think that the reason that a lot of the most respected players in Jazz are older, is that you have to get past this and actually have something to say when you are playing - something to say, that an audience wants to hear.

All the most highly-respected bass players in Jazz, can play minimally and accompany for the whole gig, making the band sound great, with their tone and feel - not just their chops!
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This.
 
#26
Bruce Lindfield said:
I think this is an interesting area for bass players and musicians about the nature of Jazz.

So - I think a lot of BG players seem to have the opinion that Jazz is all about showing off how fast you can play and how you can negotiate your way through difficult changes etc.

Whereas players of other instruments I meet, are more aware of how it is about group improvisation, making a great sound, creating alternative melodies, maintaining the audience's interest - taking them on a journey etc.

It is about so much more than demonstrating your virtuosity and I think that the reason that a lot of the most respected players in Jazz are older, is that you have to get past this and actually have something to say when you are playing - something to say, that an audience wants to hear.

All the most highly-respected bass players in Jazz, can play minimally and accompany for the whole gig, making the band sound great, with their tone and feel - not just their chops!
Click to expand...

I'm sure you have more experience than me but I'd guess the opposite from what I've seen online and in real life; That a lot of bass players in jazz know that theirs is a role of support and aiding the sound of the band and those more focused on the technical aspect of playing are few(er).
 
#27
Kwesi said:
I'm sure you have more experience than me but I'd guess the opposite from what I've seen online and in real life; That a lot of bass players in jazz know that theirs is a role of support and aiding the sound of the band and those more focused on the technical aspect of playing are few(er).
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Well - I was careful to say BG players!! ;) So - Double Bass players I have met are very different - especially Jazz DB players are very supportive and will play one note and let it ring....

Over the last 10 years - meeting so many Jazz DB players has completely changed my view and from being a BG player trying to get as many notes in as possible - now I have gone over to playing as few notes as I can on DB! ;)

I remember a workshop, with about 10 students all playing bass but about 50/50 BG and DB - the tutor said : we'll go round the class and play a Blues in F . So all the DB players, played a solid walking line and all the BG players played a solo !! :p
 
#28
Wowww that's the first time i see something like that ! At an international level , a musician that try to destroy another one !!

i just discover Gary Husband 's comments about the " new bass situation " in 4th Dimension band .
wow , I must say that i feel very sad for Gary ! and as "harrybosh " said some posts above , i 'm afraid Gary is not a real cool guy !!

How is it possible , that G Husband , 50 years old , experienced musician with some notoriety , criticizes on the net in such a bad way , a young "friend" musician ,who played in the same band ?
When he says ( to synthesize his words ) that Hadrien is a bad musician ! The question is :why J McL invited him on 3 albums , if that dude is as bad musician as G Husband said ?
Does that mean Husband criticize the understanding and the choices of his "Boss" J McL personally ?
Same for Chick Corea , Bireli Lagrene and many others that invited Hadrien to play on their album and i pass over the different nominations in 2008 and 2009 on Bass Player mag and Downbeats mag ( both voted by readers and pol pro critics … )
For those who are tired with virtuosity , nobody forces them to listen and all the tastes are respectable ..

Enough said ..

i wonder , if , with such a mentality , one can pretend to be a respectable musician with great integrity !?

PS : Of course Etienne is a marvelous bass player and he and Hadrien are really good friends sharing great respect to each other .
But to be honest , G Husband's comment posted on the 30th April , gives the " nice " opportunity to sell the new " groovy " 4th Dimension's version … ;-)
There's only one way to play bass, musically
 
#29
Kwesi said:
I understand that music in general is a very personal thing but I feel like I have to respond to this, lol. While I do agree that Hadrien does seem to make his music for other musicians I think he's far more than a chopsmeister. Yes, he can blaze across a fretboard at Mach 2 but I find him to be one of the most tasteful and musical bass guitarists around. I think he falls right in line with this "new" generation of bassists (Tony Grey, Janek Gwizdala, Richard Bona, Matt Garrison) that improvise in similar ways to horn players in their phrasing and use of dynamics and sound fantastic doing it. Hadrien's solo album is one of the most well composed, beautiful sounding bassist albums out there. You can tell right off the bat that it's a bass album but he does it in such a way that it isn't obnoxious or grating, everything just falls into place.

All that said, I do believe that if Hadrien were put into a band "for the people", people being non-musicians, I feel like he could really turn some heads. That's just a gut feeling though.
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Maybe so, and different strokes for different folks of course. I've been debating this issue of technical prowess as compared to mature musicality internally for some time, and to me players like the one you mention above are good examples of the former, excepting Richard Bona for his unique writing/singing styles. Not to say that these aren't all interesting and mature players, but I find it interesting to consider that many of these players are stars in styles of music that just don't seem to resonate with most listeners. Asking myself WHY this is helps me understand my own approach to music, and how important it is to try and 'say something' as opposed to trying to impress the other musicians in the audience with my chops.
 
#30
majo57 said:
Wowww that's the first time i see something like that ! At an international level , a musician that try to destroy another one !!

i just discover Gary Husband 's comments about the " new bass situation " in 4th Dimension band .
wow , I must say that i feel very sad for Gary ! and as "harrybosh " said some posts above , i 'm afraid Gary is not a real cool guy !!

How is it possible , that G Husband , 50 years old , experienced musician with some notoriety , criticizes on the net in such a bad way , a young "friend" musician ,who played in the same band ?
When he says ( to synthesize his words ) that Hadrien is a bad musician ! The question is :why J McL invited him on 3 albums , if that dude is as bad musician as G Husband said ?


Enough said ..
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With all due respect, What you don't seem to understand is exactly why Gary Husband said what he said. Obviously he knows what he knows about the situation first hand.

majo57 said:
i wonder , if , with such a mentality , one can pretend to be a respectable musician with great integrity !?
Click to expand...

At least Gary said what he said with out hiding behind an anonymous screen name. I think Gary's integrity should be applauded.


But no matter what Gary has said about Hadrien, Hadrien is no longer with John McLaughlin.

And the end result is that it's JM's band.
 
#32
+1 to what Jauqo said. Stole the words out of my mouth. Sounds like Hadrien was playing more for himself than for the ensemble in this case. Playing supportive bass lines that enhance the overall group and don't overshadow 'the boss', in this case John MacLaughlin, seems to have been the order of business. That being said I agree with an earlier post that a player like Hadrien, IMO, would be better served touring as a primary soloist in his own band, with another 'BASEplayer' in tow to play supportive lines. His amazing technique obviously has a lot of fans and I'm sure he could build a career off of just that.
 
#35
ElMon said:
Asking myself WHY this is helps me understand my own approach to music, and how important it is to try and 'say something' as opposed to trying to impress the other musicians in the audience with my chops.
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JAUQO III-X said:
At least Garry said what he said with out hiding behind an anonymous screen name. I think Garry's integrity should be applauded..
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I agree that he is to be applauded for honesty and it gives us all the chance to reflect on our own approach and consider whether our egos are getting in the way of the band making great music.

Every experience can shape us - bad as well as good and thinking about criticism can help in a positive way and gives us a chance to develop as musicians.

So if you go to a teacher, then honesty is important - you might not agree with what they say, but at least you know how you come across to others and I think in this respect, I can imagine Garry Husband as a teacher who wouldn't keep you waiting with an answer as to how to improve yourself!! :p
 
#36
78bass said:
former JM bassists = long list.
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+1 No shame in that.

I remember the only gig I was ever fired from (although I was eventually hired back) way back in the day. It was a relatively high profile gig, and after a few months, the artist said that he just wasn't digging it. I was just crushed. However, the drummer said something that I remember to this day. He said 'there were a lot better bassists than you fired from this gig'.

Sometimes, it is just about 'fit' or 'change and freshening things up' and not 'good versus bad',
 
#37
I gotta say something that I've always wanted to say:

Hadrien makes the band sound better when he is soloing than when he is holding down a bassline.

It's weird... I don't know what it is. I admire him a lot actually and I'm transcribing some of his solos, but I'm still not sure about him.
 
#38
i think it's interesting how words can be read so many different ways--it seems half of the readers found GH to be putting down HF for playing too fast, while the other half (including me) read it to mean GH was just saying that JM didn't feel he was the right bass player for the job, in which case, to quote Miles Davis, so what? maybe JM wanted a more groove-oriented player and not a lead bassist. That's his vision for the band, and if HF isn't in it, that's not insulting, it's band/sound management, and when it comes to improvisation, it helps to know what kind of players you are playing with.
 
#39
ElMon said:
+1 to what Jauqo said. Stole the words out of my mouth. Sounds like Hadrien was playing more for himself than for the ensemble in this case. Playing supportive bass lines that enhance the overall group and don't overshadow 'the boss', in this case John MacLaughlin, seems to have been the order of business. That being said I agree with an earlier post that a player like Hadrien, IMO, would be better served touring as a primary soloist in his own band, with another 'BASEplayer' in tow to play supportive lines. His amazing technique obviously has a lot of fans and I'm sure he could build a career off of just that.
Click to expand...

So bassplaying is behind not with,i cannot agree, i don't think JM call Hadrien without know the guy, so maybe i'm not in the rigth place anyway.

Gary is a great musician, but in this post, i don't think it's a universal law just a point of wiew, that causes more damage for Hadrien in the sense that it say that he IS not a good bassplayer .
 
#40
I didn't think Hadrien was playing with McLaughlin for a while. Last year (or maybe two now..?) he broke his hand and Di Piazza subbed for the tour.

I didn't read the article yet but I can't imagine Gary "snubbing" Hadrien or Domnique etc... he's way above that and too much of a class act to do something of that nature.

I've seen Hadrien in Paris before playing with his own band and I can fully attest to his ability to hold down the low end in the support role.

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O.K. after reading the post, it seems to me more like Gary is not bashing Hadrien but is just speaking his opinion about what he thinks in his mind the best configuration of the band should/could be. I think people are really reading into this just a little too much?

Overall, Hadrien is kicking butt when it comes to playing and composition and I'm looking forward to hearing the next album.
 

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