Hi from Jeff Berlin

[BigTreble]

Hey Jeff,
What did you have for lunch?

 

[DZIB]

Hi Jeff -
Love your playing, but your vocal on Bruford's album...

 

[JeffBerlin]

Okay Jeff ,

Here is my question in reference to my last statement , ( not what you said but Why ) .

In a Sept.2007 Bass Player Article , they Deconstructed Hovana .

They then printed a comment of yours in the NOV. 2007 ,

Here it is quoted " Jaco Pastoriuos did not improvise his solo on Hovana . In fact , most of his well known solos ( Donna Lee , Used to be a cha cha ) were written and rehearsed ahead of time and are compositional rather than improvised works . Jaco's talents are unquestionable , but instant solo improvisation though chord changes was not something he developed "

This has bugged me quite a bit as it makes me wonder what you were trying to point out .

When you improvise Jeff , are you using information you haven't written out or rehearsed ? Are you just making up scales you have never played ? Or are you seamlessly combining phrases , scales , chord tones that you have written out and rehearsed for many years . So , okay , he wrote out his part and rehearsed it , and he was prepared for the sesssion and gave a very memorable performance that has stood the test of time . Should he have come in and just winged it ? Granted he could have done something that off the cuff and it would probably still blown everybody's mind at that time . Bringing up this point really seems trivial . Shouldn't we all do whatever we can to nial the session ? This comment you made goes against much of what you had to say about learning to read and write and using those tools to be prepared .

By pointing out that Jaco never developed the ability to instantly improvise through chord changes it sounds like you are saying " Jaco can't do it but Jeff Berlin can , I must be better than Jaco " I am sure you didn't mean it just like that . I would really like to know what your point was to comment on something that after the guy has been dead is recognized as one of his Gems . My other question is , how do you know these things about Jaco ( I assume it is true ) ? Did he personally reveal this to you ?

I have followed your written comments for many years , and I know how to take you bravado , but this one stuck with me . It came off as if you were jealous of Jaco for the attention and legacy that continues to grow . I know what a phenominally great bassist you are ! And I know that you should be recognized as such by a much wider audience , but to constantly curtail Jacos legacy just seems futile .

Please take this as it was written Jeff , with much respect and interest in what you have to say .

Best regards ,

Pete Skjold

The solos that Jaco Pastorius recorded were compsoitions, not improvizations. This is all that I was saying.

 

[JeffBerlin]

Hi Mr. Berlin, How important to you is a good quality bass guitar? Have you tried using less expensive bass guitars in your career?

Thanks Your Myspace friend...

My bass is worth around $700. If the action is the way that you like it and if the sound is to your liking, then whatever bass is the bass for you. You don't need to spend big bucks for a good playing, good sounding instrument.

 

[kesslari]

Great lessons will, inside of one year, turn anybody into three or four times the player they are today.

Thank you, sir, for that.
I recently started taking lessons again, working with a teacher who is focusing me back on modes and their applications (playing over changes) and helping me to break out of my patterns (and keeping me honest with working multiple keys).

It's not especially fast going - it seems the payoff will be in months, rather than the "instant gratification" one can get from stealing someone's youtube riffs
Your quote reminds me to be patient with it.

Thanks for that, and for coming on here to share your thoughts.

 

[Honk'n_down-low]

Jeff, Happy to have you here - this is great forum with many outstanding players.

We are fortunate to have Pros joining and taking their time to advise and inform us.

Hope we can maintain some civility here and engage in good conversation. I think everyone should agree to disagree in advance as we know there will be differing opinions.

Welcome to TalkBass I look forward to the dialog.

 

[thycrusader]

Greetings Jeff. Welcome to TalkBass.

And im sure you've heard this a million times before, but you dominate at the bass guitar.

I also have a question, on average, how many hours do you spend practicing and what generally do you practice?(technique, melodies etc.)

 

[JeffBerlin]

Hi Jeff!! Man I just love your playing. Your soloing is so fluid and melodic...

which leads me to my question:

when playing a complex jazz standard (or piece), with lots of chords, key changes etc. (e.g. giant steps).. how would you start approaching a piece like that? praciting it in little sections, maybe also in one sections on your fretboard? soloing over it at a slow tempo? also would you recommend practicing standards in all 12 keys?

thanks!!

You don't have to practice standards in 12 keys, but you should practice some exercises this way. It depends on what they are. To solo over any tune, start with the chord tones and soloing in any combination of eighth, quarter, half or whole notes. No triplets because this is a bass player cliche when soloing on tunes, especially at slower temps. remember these are academic, not artistic suggestions. Oh, and definitely practice slowly and out of time if needs be.

 

[4-string]

Good to see you here! I think it is fantastic that you participate here, and the fact that you do makes this place even better. Welcome.

 

[davidb]

Jeff, welcome. In the interest of perhaps many wondering if it is you, we have a mutual drummer friend in Miami named Craig P. Can you provide his last name? No offense intended.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Hey Jeff.... nice to hear from you. No questions.... just please say hi to my old friend Danny Gottlieb when you see him. We used to play together here on Maui quite a bit. What a lovely dude.

 

[UncleBalsamic]

Hi Jeff. It's really great to see someone like you here. I look foward to see your contributions to this community.

 

[cnltb]

If the action is the way that you like it and if the sound is to your liking, then whatever bass is the bass for you. You don't need to spend big bucks for a good playing, good sounding instrument.

+HHUUGGEE NNUUMMBBEERR

 

[Geddyfleaharris]

Jeff, Happy to have you here - this is great forum with many outstanding players.

We are fortunate to have Pros joining and taking their time to advise and inform us.

Hope we can maintain some civility here and engage in good conversation. I think everyone should agree to disagree in advance as we know there will be differing opinions.

Welcome to TalkBass I look forward to the dialog.

+1 to the above. Very cool to have a working pro jumping in here!
Hello!

 

[JeffBerlin]

Hey Jeff,

Love the tight finger style playing of yours ..
Very tasty stuff up & down the neck ...Listening to those lines are very inspiring ...

Question, You thought on 5 string bass guitars,ever any interest playing them ?

Thanks

I have no interest in them, but a lot of other people do.

 

[mkrtu9]

Welcome to TB

 

[pringlw]

Jeff, lots and lots of people have commented on how much you have inspired them and I have to add myself to that list. I still remember the first time I heard 5G. That moment opened up my mind of what was possible with my instrument. Thanks for sharing your art and talent with the rest of us.

 

[JeffBerlin]

p.s. I want to reach this "total freedom" over the fretboard,.. how do i reach there?

By learning what you do not already know, byt putting more into your practicing other than technical work, by practicing slowly and out of time so that you have the time to learn well what it is you are practicing, by recognizing that you will make a million mistakes in the name of musical improvement and not be bothered by this, by working for a long time on all these things, by practicing music other than the music you love to play in art. These are good philosophies to guide you toward a day of fluid and musical bass playing. Good luck!

 

[JeffBerlin]

This thread has now been opened up again for now after extensive cleanup.

Maybe this is the real Jeff Berlin, maybe not, for now we shall treat him if he is the real thing.

No trolling here thank you!
Those who will troll will be slapped with heavily with the modstick!

Yes this is Jeff. Nice to meet you. Thank you for moderating this. You are definitely helping.

Regards,

Jeff

 

[JeffBerlin]

Hello Mr. Berlin,

I have enjoyed reading this thread and even your myspace bulletins.

My question to you is this, how have you dealt with the bias towards electric bass in the jazz world? I started as an electric bassist, took up the double bass went through music school on the DB and gigged around NYC on it. Then I started to feel that the electric was my voice and when I'd show up to gigs I'd get "the look."

I know your playing would more than likely shut people up in these situations, but was it ever a problem?

I live this bias and it is what it is. This is the best era for bass players and there are more virtuosos and fantastic bass talents out there. But the general music industry has no use of this and pretty much ignores it. You have to love what you are doing, for its own sake in order to continue playing in this rather cold environment.