Feraud has to one of best soloists on bass playing Jazz today.
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Hadrien Feraud Solo
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Feraud has to one of best soloists on bass playing Jazz today.
Called me old-fashioned but I like bass solos to sound like basses. It’s like guys who play screechingly high tenor sax solos. May as well be playing a soprano. The real beauty of the instrument gets lost IMO. Yeah, I know, the timbre of a high tenor is different to the same pitch on a soprano. I get all that but still it’s a missed opportunity to really capture the essence of the instrument to my mind. Anyway, as I said, I’m old-fashioned 
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As much as I love Feraud, I think you make a great point about making bass sound like an actual bass.Called me old-fashioned but I like bass solos to sound like basses. It’s like guys who play screechingly high tenor sax solos. May as well be playing a soprano. The real beauty of the instrument gets lost IMO. Yeah, I know, the timbre of a high tenor is different to the same pitch on a soprano. I get all that but still it’s a missed opportunity to really capture the essence of the instrument to my mind. Anyway, as I said, I’m old-fashioned
Going by youse twos, I was going in expecting something completely off the wall. 
But no, it's just Feraud playing high up on a bass.
It still sounds like a bass. Played up high.
But no, it's just Feraud playing high up on a bass.
It still sounds like a bass. Played up high.
Most soloist of his level don’t get their ideas from bass solos per se, but horns and guitar and pianos. Hence not sounding like a bass? I think it still sounds like a bass.
Called me old-fashioned but I like bass solos to sound like basses. It’s like guys who play screechingly high tenor sax solos. May as well be playing a soprano. The real beauty of the instrument gets lost IMO. Yeah, I know, the timbre of a high tenor is different to the same pitch on a soprano. I get all that but still it’s a missed opportunity to really capture the essence of the instrument to my mind. Anyway, as I said, I’m old-fashioned
Nah. This is just playing high up on the neck. Sounds exactly like a bass to me, just a different range of the instrument.
Somehow he manages to have the speed of all the youtubers out there, but with just beautiful musicality, sound and phrasing. Love it.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
he's so good at playing beautiful, interesting lines over simple chord changes.
- Apr 29, 2003
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- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
He sounds like Hadrien Feraud, and no one else. And no one else sounds like Hadrien Feraud (except the guys explicitly trying to). That in and of itself is worthy of deep respect, regardless of your aesthetic opinions about what bass players *should* be doing. He's carved out his own voice and sound, and building his brand on a very singular approach to "bass". Respect. I also happen to really like it. but then, I dont have a "bass should be xyz" bone in my body. To me its just music.
Hadrien really is one of the all time greats. he is a real pro, too. there's nothing he can't do very well. obviously his lead playing is stunning and likely the very best i've ever heard.
i was very, very disappointed when he did that "course" on some new lesson/masterclass type website. i bought it thinking i'd find cool new stuff especially to share with my students. it was really just him playing in a short solo in different keys with an included transcription, and no other information - and i think it cost like $200.
i was very, very disappointed when he did that "course" on some new lesson/masterclass type website. i bought it thinking i'd find cool new stuff especially to share with my students. it was really just him playing in a short solo in different keys with an included transcription, and no other information - and i think it cost like $200.
I'm gonna say I think the expectation that it should like a bass is, and stated, old fashioned. Tone wise it's ALWAYS been tough to tell what is going on on old jazz records and now there is the ability to get tone to pop in so many ways. To say we shouldn't do that for tradition is one of the many reasons to always question and break tradition.
From what I know about Hadrien Feraud is that he is largely self-taught. He probably did take solos, learned them in all the keys and gained a huge amount of insight. Most of us need a whole lot more structure than that.
I will make an off topic observation: I follow Feraud on Facebook and the coolest thing about him is that he is funny and fun-loving. He does not take himself too seriously.
In the times we're living in, there are two things that keep me awake at 2am like Dr. Cheese.
A clip like this is the good thing.
A clip like this is the good thing.
The Lakers showed this clip to Luka Doncic and said: "It's not enough to be an all time great at what you do. You've got to hit the gym".
OK, I will call you old fashioned.Called me old-fashioned but I like bass solos to sound like basses. It’s like guys who play screechingly high tenor sax solos. May as well be playing a soprano. The real beauty of the instrument gets lost IMO. Yeah, I know, the timbre of a high tenor is different to the same pitch on a soprano. I get all that but still it’s a missed opportunity to really capture the essence of the instrument to my mind. Anyway, as I said, I’m old-fashioned
Easy now on horn players. In classical , altissimo is required skill and they play it cleanly - since forever so it is old fashioned (Sigurd Rascher was born in 1907 and was playing symphonies in the 30's) . It's no big deal really, if you can play altissimo and for the most part in pop and jazz if you can do a 4th over hight F (6 semitones) that's probably all that's needed. I can on Baritone play over 4 octaves ( regular is only 2-5) consistently 3-2 on the tenor and alto, 4 octaves if I put more effort. Soprano - maybe 1-2 semitone s above normal . The bigger the horn, the easier it is to play top tones. You still have to play music not just notes.Called me old-fashioned but I like bass solos to sound like basses. It’s like guys who play screechingly high tenor sax solos. May as well be playing a soprano. The real beauty of the instrument gets lost IMO. Yeah, I know, the timbre of a high tenor is different to the same pitch on a soprano. I get all that but still it’s a missed opportunity to really capture the essence of the instrument to my mind. Anyway, as I said, I’m old-fashioned
Back to the OP - First I thought he had a really wide vibrato until I realize he was playing through a tremolo or vibrato effect maybe chorus
Nothing exposes an improviser's musicality and maturity, or lack thereof, like a ballad.
I guess someone like Feraud is really leaning into the guitar side of the bass guitar.
