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Fernando Saunders

Fernando Saunders on Lou Reed, playing the White House and hitting Harlem jazz clubs with the Czech political elite

By Bass Player Staff

Ahead of the release of his upcoming album We Are People, the prolific bass session legend and solo artist shares a slew of stories from his remarkable career

Benny Rietveld

Carlos Santana’s long-time bassist Benny Rietveld reflects on a career at the front line of expression

By Joel McIver

Rietveld on playing with Miles Davis and Carlos Santana, the pivotal points in his prolific bass-playing career and the gear choices he swears by

Sam Kiszka

Sam Kiszka: “The P-Bass has been proven to be the best bass, perhaps of all time. Leo Fender was one of the greatest revolutionaries of our time“

By Joel McIver

As retro rockers Greta Van Fleet return with The Battle at Garden’s Gate, bassist Kiszka discusses his bass journey, GVF's influences and his essential gear

10 best bass guitars 2021: top 4-string and 5-string bass guitars for beginners to pros

10 best bass guitars 2021: top 4-string and 5-string bass guitars for beginners to pros

By Jonathan Horsley

Presenting the world’s finest low-end monsters, with the best bass guitars from Fender, EBMM, Yamaha and more…

Adeline

Adeline: “For me, bass is about finding a good groove that people may not even notice – a good groove that I want to keep playing forever“

By Bass Player Staff

The bassist and producer discusses the low notes behind her phenomenal creativity

Issy Ferris

Issy Ferris: “Playing bass gives me a power and character on stage that I hadn’t experienced before, and has made me a better performer and writer“

By Bass Player Staff

Ferris & Sylvester kick out a full-band sound with just two members. Here, bassist Ferris explains how she does it

John Goldsby

John Goldsby: “It’s expected nowadays that you know how to play Brazilian music, or funk, or hip-hop, or metal. A lot of younger bass players can do it all“

By Bass Player Staff

Goldsby is back with three EPs from his eponymous trio, a much-needed perspective on the future of bass, and a definitive answer to the question, ‘Is jazz dead?’

Shez Raja

Shez Raja: “The harmony in Indian music is super-simple – where it gets mind-bogglingly, face-meltingly interesting is the rhythm and the melody“

By Bass Player Staff

The mighty Indojazzfunk bassist returns with his most ambitious album yet, Tales From the Punjab. We meet the maestro...

Tony Choy

Tony Choy: "I’m a groove-oriented bass player – I love to stay in the pocket. I love the groove. We call it a kick drum with notes"

By Joel McIver

The super-talented bassist, producer, arranger, manager and now educator isn’t taking the pandemic lying down. We meet the busiest man in bass...

Chris Beattie

Hatebreed‘s Chris Beattie: ”No matter what you do in life, but especially as a bass player, you’ve got to keep learning”

By Bass Player Staff

Beattie checks in to talk about his journey on bass, the melodicism underpinning Hatebreed's pit-starting sound, and explains why he's loving the bass after some time off

Jon Hoare

Trapped in Purgatory's Jon Hoare: “I don’t go for expensive gear. If I can make it from the car to the rehearsal room in one trip, then it’s mission accomplished”

By Bass Player Staff

The bassist talks gear, influences, high school bands and Trapped in Purgatory's thrashy debut album, Damned Nation

Lee Rocker

Lee Rocker: ”Elvis was like Batman or Superman when I was a little kid – even before I was aware of his music. It’s so raw”

By Bass Player Staff

The Stray Cats’ rockabilly legend talks writing an album on an Airstream trailer, the energy of the old stuff and why there are still plenty of note choices to discover after all these years

Renforshort

Renforshort: "I get surges of creativity at 3 in the morning – I'll be up in bed, trying different tunings and seeing if I come up with anything cool"

By Cheri Amour

Following the release of sophomore EP, Off Saint Dominique, we speak to the prodigious 19-year-old about teenage angst, alternate tunings and working with Mateus Asato

Brian Marshall

Alter Bridge‘s Brian Marshall: “Bass is a different skill set and a different mindset. I think we’re just born that way“

By Bass Player Staff

Marshall checks in to share some advice for bass players and reminds us that “we're unicorns“

9 best bass amps for practice 2021: top combos for working on your chops at home

9 best bass amps for practice 2021: top combos for working on your chops at home

By Chris Schwarten

Get the most out of your playing at home with one of these great bass practice amps

Yolanda Charles

Session great Yolanda Charles on her best (and worst) bass albums

By Bass Player Staff

Charles reflects on playing with BB King, Paul Weller, Squeeze and P-Funk legend Bernie Worrell

Starr Cullars

Starr Cullars: "Prince used to come out to P-Funk shows – he was tripping that I was playing with them"

By Bass Player Staff

The former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist and solo artist recalls her early career, and a legendary encounter with Prince

Bootsy Collins

Bootsy Collins: “It’s not about being the greatest bassist in the world – you want to do great, but learn some kind of discipline as well“

By Joel McIver

With The Power of the One, the master takes a cast of stars for an album that lives and breathes funk

Brian Bromberg

Brian Bromberg: “Hendrix's presence as an artist was overwhelming, and that’s what makes his music so special“

By Bass Player Staff

The legendary jazz bassist discusses the challenge of adapting Jimi Hendrix for bass, and recalls his greatest collaborations

Joey Vera

Armored Saint's Joey Vera: ”I heard Kiss’s Alive! and that was about it for me. I just wanted to play an instrument”

By Bass Player Staff

The Californian metal stalwarts' bassist talks influences, playing styles, and how rescuing a P-Bass from under John Bush's bed got him started