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Hadrien Feraud is approaching G.O.A.T. status.

#23
That was great.

Meaning absolutely no disrespect to any listener - it takes some listening practice to develop an ear for changes in jazz, especially when it's a solo piece and the player is trying to play outside of them a little on purpose like Feraud was there.

When I was in college I tried to understand the Chick Corea Akoustic Band recording of "Bessie's Blues." It was inscrutable, hardly sounded like a blues form to me at all. I wasn't smart enough then to go listen to Coltrane's version to hear where the song came from, and didn't figure out that it's a modified blues form until far later. But now I hear it because I'm older and have spent more time thinking about stuff like that and training myself on what to listen for. So I like it better.

That probably sounds like more work than enjoyment and it surely would be for many people. I enjoy it as it gets me out of my head.
 
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#24
J Wilson said:
Undoubtedly a first class musician, but this is like when I go to NAMM and see all these guys demonstrating that are so far past what I do or had in mind, I always feel like I just saw a UFO: I KNOW I saw something, I'm just not sure what it was. I marvel at the musicianship and am moved by it, but it's like someone playing an instrument I know nothing about.
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Thought the same thing about Reb Beach when I saw him at NAMM. Then I saw a Winger DVD and Whitesnake Live in London and my opinion was changed forever.
 
#25
Altitude said:
Meaning absolutely no disrespect to any listener - it takes some listening practice to develop an ear for changes in jazz, especially when it's a solo piece and the player is trying to play outside of them a little on purpose like Feraud was there.
Click to expand...

The thing is I can hear (in my head) the changes of the song as composed forwards, backwards and inside out. I can hear (in my head) how the melody as composed is harmonised by those changes and they make musical sense. When I play the song I play a reasonably 'outside' melodic 'solo' part through a verse/chorus section supporting a piano solo. So I think/thought I had a good musical, functional and theoretical grasp of the song. But here pretty much every chord is substituted, the rhythms have little to do with the meter of the lyrics and the original melody is as good as absent. If it was presented as an original composition taken for its own sake - "Ars Gratia Artis" - it would make a lot more sense. But I tried to use this as an accompaniment whilst singing the lyrics to the composers' melody...
 
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#26
SteveCS said:
The thing is I can hear (in my head) the changes of the song as composed forwards, backwards and inside out. I can hear (in my head) how the melody as composed is harmonised by those changes and they make musical sense. When I play the song I play a reasonably 'outside' melodic 'solo' part through a verse/chorus section supporting a piano solo. So I think/thought I had a good musical, functional and theoretical grasp of the song. But here pretty much every chord is substituted, the rhythms have little to do with the meter of the lyrics and the original melody is as good as absent. If it was presented as an original composition taken for its own sake - "Ars Gratia Artis" - it would make a lot more sense. But I tried to use this as an accompaniment whilst singing the lyrics to the composers' melody...
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All good points. Looks to me like he threw it out there as a challenge to a few of his cohorts to play on top of. So possibly he was going out of his way to be obtuse.
 
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#28
DWBass said:
G.O.A.T.? No, but he's one of the best out there. Scott Ambush doesn't get a lot of accolades and unless you're a Spyro Gyra fan, you've probably never heard of him. There's lots of amazing bassists out there. No way I could single out any one as the greatest of all time.
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I guess I don’t mean goat literally because, IMO, that would mean he is the best choice for any and all situations, and I do not think that is the case. I do think, however, that he is an absolute master of bass guitar in a Jazz context.
 
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#29
I think this would sound better without the metronome.
Still, I do like quite a few passages there.

Fantastic technical player? Absolutely!
Original?...not so much to my ear.
Great? Too early to tell perhaps but I don‘t see it yet.

Imho
 
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#35
Altitude said:
That was great.

Meaning absolutely no disrespect to any listener - it takes some listening practice to develop an ear for changes in jazz, especially when it's a solo piece and the player is trying to play outside of them a little on purpose like Feraud was there.

When I was in college I tried to understand the Chick Corea Akoustic Band recording of "Bessie's Blues." It was inscrutable, hardly sounded like a blues form to me at all. I wasn't smart enough then to go listen to Coltrane's version to hear where the song came from, and didn't figure out that it's a modified blues form until far later. But now I hear it because I'm older and have spent more time thinking about stuff like that and training myself on what to listen for. So I like it better.

That probably sounds like more work than enjoyment and it surely would be for many people. I enjoy it as it gets me out of my head.
Click to expand...

You just articulated perfectly why I've decided to finally take practice seriously at 40.
 
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#36
Dr. Cheese said:
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Dude is a great player and he is an original. I am pretty sure Jaco was his inspiration, but Feraud is his own player for sure. I really love what he has to offer.
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Excellent playing and very musical to my ear!

nonohmic said:
Don't know how to characterize GOAT in music. But he's def an inspiration.

This video of his convinced me to stick with fretless;
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:wideyed: Fantastic. A beautiful tribute to a legend and a legendary album.

I can't pick a GOAT in any genre, just too many excellent players out there through the decades. I mean, how do you pick between Duck Dunn, Thundercat, Jimmy Blanton, Nathan Watts, Mr. Feraud, and Mike Watt? (And a hundred others...)
 
#37
He sounds like Jaco.
For once, I’d love to hear a bassist solo without using horn phrasing and harmonics. It’s been my mission to avoid those things when soloing lately. Actually, it’s been my mission to avoid soloing period. I grudgingly did one on Saturday, at a wedding. Gritted my teeth. So lame, and no one fills my shoes while I take time out from being the bass player. Aaarghh!
(Actually I don’t really care. HF has worked hard and I applaud that).
 
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#40
Chickenwheels said:
He sounds like Jaco.
For once, I’d love to hear a bassist solo without using horn phrasing and harmonics. It’s been my mission to avoid those things when soloing lately. Actually, it’s been my mission to avoid soloing period. I grudgingly did one on Saturday, at a wedding. Gritted my teeth. So lame, and no one fills my shoes while I take time out from being the bass player. Aaarghh!
(Actually I don’t really care. HF has worked hard and I applaud that).
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I can’t solo like that even if I try. I just groove and play funky stuff or get a bit melodic without thinking about it too much. Can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
 

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