Vail Johnson

[Munjibunga]

OK, we picked on Vail over in amps, but that's not to say he doesn't have some major chops. Here he is with ... who else ... Kenny G. Check it out, and click on a couple other of his YouTube clips while you're there.

BTW, this is in my neck of the woods ... Humphrey's by the Bay is one of the coolest venues going.

 

[bottomzone]

Oh yeah-Vail has mad chops!!!!!

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

 

[JimmyM]

ya, glad you guys ran him off for having an opinion.

 

[Kitsapbass]

Vail is a great player. I'm not sold on his tone on his earlier stuff, but he definitely can play.

 

[T-MOST]

I don't think Vail has anything to worry about. His resume' has very nice weight to it.

 

[MR PC]

you think he's worried?

 

[20db pad]

Great player, blessed with an enviable career.

As for reaction to VJ's opinions, it's a longstanding Talkbass tradition and is the reason why the vast majority of well regarded high-profile players refuse to post here.

 

[jjk2007]

ya, glad you guys ran him off for having an opinion.

Yeah man. I can't believe he still plays for that "hack" saxophone player that's only sold what.....75 million albums? Sheesh, what's wrong with Vail?? Ha. I'm sure he's not sweating TB as he cruises the world in the leer jet headed to the next show. Keep rockin' Vail and I hope you stick around. Enjoy your playing and your posts.

 

[Munjibunga]

ya, glad you guys ran him off for having an opinion.

Yes, that's right ... what was it ...? Oh yeah! "All light weight amps sound like crap." Now I remember. But he still plays real good.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Read the whole amp thread. Interesting and entertaining.
Does anyone know if Vail has, since he so vigorously defends his employer, ever expessed an opinion or rebuttal of Pat Metheny's total trashing of Kenny G's playing?
I'd be very interested in that.

 

[DWBass]

Read the whole amp thread. Interesting and entertaining.
Does anyone know if Vail has, since he so vigorously defends his employer, ever expessed an opinion or rebuttal of Pat Metheny's total trashing of Kenny G's playing?
I'd be very interested in that.

Yes. He did mention if Pat actually did come at Kenny G with a guitar, he would defend him to fullest without question. And Vail's a big dude! Don't think Pat wants any of that! Suffice it to say, he was pretty pissed at Pat. Pat Metheny was WAY out of line! You may not like Kenny G but he HAS paid his dues to get where he is now! He didn't always play slow pop ballads! He found a nitche and rolled with it!

 

[One Drop]

ya, glad you guys ran him off for having an opinion.

That's not fair.

He went postal when asked to explain or expand his rather sweeping opinion.

I thought the Kenny G. remarks were uncalled for, though maybe he was a bit thin-skinned in his reaction.

Like I said in that thread, no matter who you are if you want to educate and inform you have to respect your audience.

I've met pros at the top of various professions and sports, and there is rarely consensus on technique, gear, methodology, etc. I don't ignore their advice but I tailor it to my needs and my reality. If they give a my way or the highway opinion with no explanation or context it just isn't useful to anyone but themselves and those who only make decisions based on a blind faith in authority.

It's a pity he felt his help was unwanted; what people really wanted was just some more info. It was his arrogance (whether justified or not) that rankled others and made the whole silly thread go personal, IMO.

 

[jjk2007]

Read the whole amp thread. Interesting and entertaining.
Does anyone know if Vail has, since he so vigorously defends his employer, ever expessed an opinion or rebuttal of Pat Metheny's total trashing of Kenny G's playing?
I'd be very interested in that.

I just re-read that interview and got a good chuckle out of it. Sounds more to me like he's just upset that a sideman of a former opening act has garnered worldwide recognition and fame while Metheny, not so much.

 

[cnltb]

I find it hard to believe that this thread actually exists.

 

[CapnSev]

I must have missed something good over in the amps forum.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Yes. He did mention if Pat actually did come at Kenny G with a guitar, he would defend him to fullest without question. And Vail's a big dude! Don't think Pat wants any of that! Suffice it to say, he was pretty pissed at Pat. Pat Metheny was WAY out of line! You may not like Kenny G but he HAS paid his dues to get where he is now! He didn't always play slow pop ballads! He found a nitche and rolled with it!

From what I gathered, he wasn't a big fan before G's solo success.

I just re-read that interview and got a good chuckle out of it. Sounds more to me like he's just upset that a sideman of a former opening act has garnered worldwide recognition and fame while Metheny, not so much.

Not really a good comparison.
How many of the heavy, heavy jazz cats have ever had the "commercial" success (in modern times) of a Kenny G.? I was more interested in Vail's take on someone with Metheny's credentials and esteem in the jazz world having such a negative detailed opinion on his boss' musical skills.

I don't really care about Kenny G either way. Vail is a monster (and actually plays with one of my former guitarists on solo progects).
But I do know that a young savant like keyboardist I used to play with, that had the scariest perfect pitch I'd ever seen (He got bugged because the air conditioning was humming at A=442 instead of 440. I checked it and he was right. I could randomly lay down all ten fingers on a piano and he could instantly tell me every note low to high.) hated Kenny G because he said he was out of tune all the time.

 

[jjk2007]

From what I gathered, he wasn't a big fan before G's solo success.

Not really a good comparison.
How many of the heavy, heavy jazz cats have ever had the "commercial" success (in modern times) of a Kenny G? I was more interested in Vail's take on someone with Metheny's credentials and esteem in the jazz world having such a negative detailed opinion on his boss' musical skills.

I don't really care about Kenny G either way. Vail is a monster (and actually plays with one of my former guitarists on solo progects).
But I do know that a young savant like keyboardist I used to play with, that had the scariest perfect pitch I'd ever seen (He got bugged because the air conditioning was humming at A=442 instead of 440. I checked it and he was right. I could randomly lay down all ten fingers on a piano and he could instantly tell me every note low to high.) hated Kenny G because he said he was out of tune all the time.

I don't know Phat, but how many of the heavies have come out blasting the G using a good number of four letter words along the way? Makes me wonder. Anyhow, Vail probably looks at the schedule, the countries and cities he'll be in, and the checks in the mail and probably says "Pat who". (That's what I'd do anyhow)

edit: I met a young man once who had ridiculous perfect pitch too. We would clang metal pipes, keys, whatever and he would identify it. We'd go over to the keyboard to verify and he was never wrong. He loved Primus and learned most of their songs by ear, quite easily. He played a few of them for me and they were spot on from what I could tell. Amazing!

 

[PhatBasstard]

Vail probably looks at the schedule, the countries and cities he'll be in, and the checks in the mail and probably says "Pat who". (That's what I'd do anyhow)

Oh, no doubt, me too.
What made me curious though was that I don't think Vail takes this frame of mind. He seemed to get real bent out of shape (in a "hey that's my family, wanna' fight?" sort of way) just because someone made a "joke" about Kenny G..
But a joke (perceived or not) coming from some TBer and getting totally trashed by a Pat Metheny are two different things.

 

[KwinS]

Vail and Kenny are probably pretty good friends. They've known each other a very long time. I'd probably develop a shorter fuse after years of folks bagging on one of my best friends--Scandinavian blood boils quicker. I need to go back and read the thread in the amps forum, now.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I haven't read the amps thread, but I'm not surpised that a world classs player is not up on all the latest gear: he's too busy actually getting paid!

It's bedroom bassists and part timers or people who are just gearheads who take the time know all the minutia about every bass, amp, and cab. Always remember what Marcus Miller said about picking your gear quickly and getting it out of the way so you can actually get good at the music!