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jonas hellborg

#61
johhn smith said:
i have been playing for over 25 years now and back in the eighties i bought a little book called chord bassics by jonas hellborg. the book is bassically just a series of chord shapes and variations that can be made on a 4 string bass neck. i always have slapped and always tried to incorporate chords and little walking figures moving through chords similar to a fingerstyle guitar player where he is playing a melody on top and has a moving bassline underneath. when i finally was exposed to hellborg's playing i was shocked as to what a level he had taken it, but i had a real understanding of what he was doing and have adapted some of his techniques to my own playing. a lot of the rhythms he uses are based on konokol which is an indian method of rhythmic subdividision and memorization ( ta ka di mi, ta ki ta, ) john mclaughlin and the kanjira player that jonas plays with frequently, salvaganesh vinyakram have a dvd out called the gateway to rhythm that explains this, here is a clip:

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Very cool! :bassist:
 
#62
If you haven't seen the DVD "Paris Live" by Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane, and 3 indian musicians (2 drummers and a singer) I really encourage you to get it. Amazon.com or Bardo records should be able to source it.
It's really excellent. In those days he played a highly modified acoustic bass.
he really is a phenomenal bassist, and he composes some of the tunes as well
 
#63
jerry said:
Shawn Lane, talk about talented and overlooked!
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+1

He is easily my favourite guitarist alongside Alex Lifeson! He was not only amazingly competant on his guitar but his skills on the piano were brilliant too, and he had an amazing ear for arrangement! Definitely a hugely overlooked talent and a massive loss to music. I can't think of anything that he couldn't turn his hand to.

Everything he did, I just loved it. Every single recording I have heard of him has moments of stunning beauty in it. He was a man who could make the earth move with his music. It is perhaps fitting that "Escape" was his last "real" recorded track, it is a stunningly beautiful final statement from a beautiful human being.
 
#65
Thanks for posting that Johhn

He is an unsung bass hero in my book.
Truly my favorite bassist to listen too.
 
#68
I love Hellborg.
I agree by "western" standards, he doesn't show up on too many bass player's radar.
But mention his name and I'm yet to ever hear someone NOT have good things to say.
Unlike guys like Wooten/Miller- you have haters and lovers of them.
Not Hellborg though.
 
#69
Jonas is in my top 5 (not just bassists, but musical acts over all). 'The Word' was my introduction and still one of my favorite albums. Tony Williams just tears it up!

I was lucky enough to see him with Shawn and the Vinayakrams in 2001. Really, you need to get everything he did with Shawn Lane, Buckethead and Paul Hanson. IA Eklundh is cool as heck but not my cup of tea. McLaughlin does nothing for me. Temporal Analogues of Paradise is some of the most inspired improvised music you'll ever hear.
I have a few youtube vids up:


~Jimm
 
#71
there isn't much recorded by hellborg that i don't have. i think my recorded highlight would be " good people in times of evil ".

your posted video of leal souvenir is from the DVD paris. that DVD is the first show of the 2001 tour at the new morning jazz club in paris. it is basically good people in times of evil live. if you don't have it, get it. it is an awesome intimate portrayal of hellborg, lane and the vinayakrams improvising like no one else can.

if i had to, i would probably say that he is my favorite living bassist and musician ( but there are so many things out there that i like that i'm glad i don't have to, hahahaha , nevertheless i cannot think of anyone that can overshadow his virtuosity )
 
#75
I've been a big fan of Hellborg for years, after finding a copy of Elegant Punk at a record store on a whim (I think I have about 13 albums now). Great playing, fantastic musicians, all around.

His acoustic he played in the mid-90s (up until he got the WW one, I believe) was a Wechter, made about 15 minutes from me. I knew one of the guys there, and he had stories of Jonas sending the bass to get worked on in just a gigbag and bubble wrap (even after the luthier had a case made for it).
 
#76
One Bad Monkey said:
I've been a big fan of Hellborg for years, after finding a copy of Elegant Punk at a record store on a whim (I think I have about 13 albums now). Great playing, fantastic musicians, all around.

His acoustic he played in the mid-90s (up until he got the WW one, I believe) was a Wechter, made about 15 minutes from me. I knew one of the guys there, and he had stories of Jonas sending the bass to get worked on in just a gigbag and bubble wrap (even after the luthier had a case made for it).
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elegant punk, that is one of the few that i don't have. i have 16 albums/cds plus a few miscellaneous things that he is on.

as far as i know, he played the waechter more back in the nineties. i think he has been searching for " the " bass for a while and he gets one he likes and he likes it until the next one comes along. i know that he had status design a chambered 6 string bass for him ( he had them double the body thickness from their normal ) he played a crafter on the 2001 tour ( it's the bass that he's playing in the Paris DVD, among other basses. strange thing, i don't know if you know or not, but the warwick isn't an acoustic bass. according to hellborg it is a solid body bass ( i think there is a solid piece down the middle that the pickup sits on with hollow wings ) he says he prefers the acoustic bass shape as it puts his body in a postion that is comfortable for his back. i would love to try one, just have to find a store that would stock one.

http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html

actually while getting the address for the jonas hellborg signature bass i came across a new status that i like

http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html
 
#77
I've been listening to Helborg for about 20(?!) yrs now. Elegant Punk was my first album of his given to me by a friend. He had a huge (and still does) influence on my playing and overall view of music and musicianship.

Jonas is jamming! I have most of his albums and ones that he has appeared on.

I think you will find many people have been influenced by him.

Also, looks like the new band is not going to be touring due to the volcano activity. They can't get together to rehearse so they are canceling.
 
#78
I don't know much about him, and from what I've heard his music isn't really my cup of tea, but Jonas Hellborg has the coolest name in the business. Hell-Borg - Hell as in you-know-where, and Borg as in Star Trek's Borg. That's a name I'd want if I was in a metal band!;)
 
#79
gre107 said:
I've been listening to Helborg for about 20(?!) yrs now. Elegant Punk was my first album of his given to me by a friend. He had a huge (and still does) influence on my playing and overall view of music and musicianship.

Jonas is jamming! I have most of his albums and ones that he has appeared on.

I think you will find many people have been influenced by him.

Also, looks like the new band is not going to be touring due to the volcano activity. They can't get together to rehearse so they are canceling.
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i would be surprised to find out that many people had been influenced by him. i'm sure that he is more popular in europe, india, and other places that he plays and travels through but in north america, even among bass players, he's not that well known ( comparatively speaking ). part of this is due to the fact that his recordings are more of less special order items, so you wouldn't just pick them up browsing, he doesn't do any live shows in NA ( except maybe at NAMM ) and part of this has to do with his views on the business of music and self promotion.

he puts it this way : JH: Yeah, I think that a big difference is I’m not really into having a career. I make a decent enough living from what I do. I don’t need to be more rich or famous or anything like that. I don’t really feel the need to focus on that, which means that I’m more into just exploring and seeing what comes. I feel like if I do the same thing again I’m wasting my life. I’m like an eternal researcher of music and that’s why I’m moving into different territories all the time. Because I want to explore and I want to get something out of it. ( from this interview: Invalid Link Removed )
 
#80
johhn smith said:
he puts it this way : JH: Yeah, I think that a big difference is I’m not really into having a career. I make a decent enough living from what I do. I don’t need to be more rich or famous or anything like that. I don’t really feel the need to focus on that, which means that I’m more into just exploring and seeing what comes. I feel like if I do the same thing again I’m wasting my life. I’m like an eternal researcher of music and that’s why I’m moving into different territories all the time. Because I want to explore and I want to get something out of it. ( from this interview: Invalid Link Removed )
Click to expand...

That's one of the reasons I buy almost everything he does, I trust him as a artist.
 

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