“You Don’t Mind If We Post This, Do You?”

I’ve been doing gigs for about 50 years now, if I count the rock, top-40, and fusion bands that I played with in my early teens. A few audio recordings from those halcyon days exist, which I rarely (read: never) revisit because of their awkward youthfulness. I do wish I had videos of some of […]

Jazz Concepts: Just the Two Of Us

Bass in the Duo Universe from BassMagazine — The Future of Bass — July 31, 2023 My current recording project features several EPs of piano and bass duo music with pianist Billy Test. In preparing for the recording sessions, I considered and analyzed the long tradition of bassists playing in duo with other instrumentalists. I […]

Step on Some Toes — the Richard Davis—Mel Lewis Rhythm Section

This excellent article by Vinnie Sperrazza gave me food for thought. Sperrazza dissects the dynamic between Richard Davis and Mel Lewis in the early carnation of the Thad Jones—Mel Lewis Orchestra. I sometimes get tasked with playing the TJ-ML classics with the WDR Big Band, and it throws me into an introspective conundrum about how […]

Jazz Concepts: Why No One Sounds Like Charles Mingus

Jazz Concepts: Why No One Sounds Like Charles Mingus Photo: charlesmingus.com Bass Magazine, Jan. 9, 2023 He played with reckless abandon, embraced the joy of music making, and performed with a fervor displayed by few musicians. His music, a symphony of contradictions, used complex harmony that somehow always sounded like the blues. He came up […]

Jazz Concepts: High School Jazz

Jazz Concepts: High School Jazz In 1968, a student at Palo Alto High School near San Francisco had the idea to present a jazz concert. Danny Scher was in charge of organizing school dances, but he was a huge jazz fan. To Danny, it seemed like a reasonable idea to try hiring the Thelonious Monk […]

How To Practice — Presentation Materials

Here are the supporting materials for my “How to Practice Workshop” that I recently presented at ZUYD Conservatorium Maastricht. Download and enjoy! Download the zip file: Goldsby_Practice_Presentation Please check out my new online video lessons from Discover Double Bass a great way to jump start your practice routine!

Jazz Concepts: Back to the Roots

Jazz Concepts: Back to the Roots by John Goldsby — Bass Magazine — Issue 9 How large is the number called a Googol? You could Google it, but I’ll just tell you: A Googol is 10100, or one followed by a hundred zeros. That’s about how many quarter-notes I’ve played in my life, or at […]