SOME STUDENTS: The following is a personal note about some Ive personally taught since 1969: Taught over 5,000 fine bassists, many of them (see below) now famous themselves, including John Clayton, Reinie Press, Charles Meeks, Jim Hughart, Mike Porcaro, Mike Schnoebelen, Marco Panascia, Alf Clausen, you name it, they all came for lessons....see below: Yes, Dave Hungate (formerly of Toto) has been producer down there for quite some time now 10-15 years, very successful. I also taught (about that same time): John Clayton (who then played elec. bass on the road w/Count Basies band - now has grammys for his great arranging, his great grammy-winning Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, also for the Diana Krall recordings etc.), Reinie Press (longtime with Neil Diamond), Alf Clausen (was a bassist, wrote for Moonlighting and grammy-winning Simpsons TV shows now all these years), Pat Putter Smith, Monty Budwig (fine jazz bassist) who along with Jim Hughart, Joe Mondragon, Arnie Egilsson, Bob Berteaux, were *the* finest jazz bassists around and did a ton of fine studio work too then on elec. bass - you see Bob Berteaux in that Neil Diamond movie on bass - and I taught the great Reinie Press who did the HAIR stage show and movie (bass) and has been with Neil Diamond now for years, hes also a good jazz player. I also privately taught Mike Schnoebelen who became bassist/musical conductor for the famed Manhattan Transfer group, Max Bennett, Whitey Hogan, Abe Luboff, Pat Senatore, Richard Maloof (w/Welk all these years now is at Vibrato) - many more known bassists who were studio/jazz string bassists but wanted to get the Elec. Bass techniques and funky/commercial line-creating together, also about that same time, Tony Sales (Bowie for many years), Charles Meeks (Chuck Mangione), Trey Thompson, Leon Gaer well-known now in Australia, Steve LaFever, Don Bagley, Steve Edelman, Dave Edelstein, Harvey Newmark, Mike Porcaro, Ray Neopolitan who after a long career, became the manager of Joe Cocker, the list goes on and on. During the 1970s, it seemed like practically every bass player of every rock band in the USA came to me for lessons when in the LA area as well as all the finest string bassists of the studio work. Later in the 1980s, it was Bill Laymon (w/Dave Nelson band, Jefferson Airplane - subbing, and always with New Riders of Purple Sage), Scott Hinkle (now in Austin), Arnie Moore (Palomino club in No. Hollywood, for years and years, studio work, now an actor), Jeremy Cohen, many fine others in the Bay area, Ron Bland in Denver, others, and of course early on also was Frank Carroll. Taught much later: Roy Vogt (bassist for Humperdink), the exciting new NYC jazz bassist from Italy Marco Panascia, others, its hard to keep track of so many names. Been teaching music since 1949 (taught Shuggie Otis, some recently are: Gabe Manzo (works w/Santana brother as well as his own concerts....Gabe is playing HOT these days!), and Kevin Downy (NZ) on guitar, many many others on guitar since then, later....Anthony Wilson used jazz patterns my guitar jazz phrases book). I had to stop teaching when recording in the 1960s, which amounted to 10-16 hours every day of the week almost during the 60s years. You dont dare say no to recording work or youre gone, so had to lay off teaching until 1968-69 when I came back as a bass teacher, and began to write my many bass books (which even the writer-producer-arrangers started to use back then, as well as all the bassists), and courses, did a ton of seminars, appeared at business Trade Shows playing, etc. as well as still doing studio work in the 1970s and appearing in jazz concerts with Joe Pass and the great Hampton Hawes, when I was voted #3 in jazz magazine polls. I didnt teach the jazz theory on elec. bass at first, jazz wasnt popular for working then - I taught what was necessary to make a living with. Real jazz died in the 1960s, but later on I did teach jazz from 1980s on as it slowly came back to being popular again. During the 1970s when tour bands were popular, bassists needed to learn my rhythmic patterns for all styles of commercial music to make a living with. Since most of the hit recordings of the 1960s were done with a pick, teaching the proper picking method was important yes for playing with great sounds with powerful fast efficient picking - it was necessary for any working bass player to play with a pick back then....the great creative lines I did teach for professionals to make a living with were with the rock-funk-soul-motown-blues-gospel-latinfunk-pop theory, but did later teach (in the 1980s) the jazz chordal tones and chord subsitute theory, plus all the walking etc. Im very proud of all the people who came to take lessons from me. And later, wrote/published the famous Jazz Improv For Bass book and CD set, Pros Jazz Phrases book and CD set (1990s) as well as finally, the unique Jazz Improv Soloing DVD Course....no-one else has this educational expertise in jazz education, bits and pieces maybe but nothing that has the how to put it all together at all....as in these self-help tutors. BTW. Sting one-time announced on the Arsenio Hall TV show that he learned a lot on bass from my books too - he seemed proud to talk about that as well as my motown credits too. Carol More former musician-students: Brent Fischer - Clare Fischers son, Morty Corb, Bob Stone, Dave Dyson, Bob Apperson, Robin Mitchell, Larry Lathan, Ed Gilbert, Ray Leatherwood, Abe Siegel, Irving Edelman, Peter Mercurio, Rolly Bundock, Ray Durand, Nat Gangursky, Ed Gilbert, Milt Kestenbaum, Mike Rubin, Sid Weiss, Ray Durand, John Kitzmiller, so many others, these last being the finest LA acoustic players who needed to get their elec. bass together for studio work (a few of them are unfortunately not with us anymore). Also later, noted Alison Prestwood (top Nashville recording bassist for a long time) and Debby Hastings (leader and bassist for Bo Diddley, etc.), Lane Baldwin, Robert Russell,and the newer young lion jazz musicians, the fine Marco Panascia one of my later proteges whos done well (one of the most-working bassists in NYC and on-tour with the jazz greats), also Aziz Hashmi, Kevin Hsieh other great young jazz bassists. Also, of McCabes Music in Santa Monica, well-known Denny Croy a fine teacher. You see him and others I recommend on my Teacher List under my Education Tab on my website. My books and courses have influenced the following according to their public statements also, am proud to say: Sting, Jaco, John Paul Jones, Mo Foster (Mo is probably most-recorded bassist in England), Stu Hamm, Abe Laboriel, Nathan East, Christian McBride, Ron Carter, Will Lee, Leon Gaer, Joel DiBartolo, Bill Bodine, Tiran Porter, Chuck Berghofer, Debby Hastings, Jimmy Trujillo, Chuck Domanico, Hutch Huchinson, Marcus Miller, Ricky Minor, John Garnache, and scores more of vip bassists who used my books and courses. And the list keeps getting bigger with todays current bassists and guitarists also....its a musicians duty and honor to pass along what you have learned over the decades and through experience both in the studios and live work....and yes, the guitar did influence me somewhat when I accidentally became a bassist when a bassist didnt show up at Capitol Records. The 5 years prior heavy experience as a recording guitarist on record dates 1957 on (and prior 14 years as a professional musician was was invaluable also for all the multi-styles of music in all situational playing gigs and touring). But remember, the elec. bass is a totally different animal a different instrument, it has its own set rules of techniques and theory and lines you play for all styles of music and you usually dont use quite the same notes nor the patterns or riffs on bass you do on guitar, the two instruments are entirely different in ranges and sometimes in forming the patterns too. Yes, I showed Chuck Berghofer (when he asked me one day) how to hold the pick too and play with it too.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 20:23:55 +0000
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