2008 Woodie Awards
Getting back to bass-ics
Jarrett Hothan - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Arts/mp3s
Rise up, my unappreciated bass-playing brothers and sisters - our days of taking a back seat to preening guitar players and wildly soloing saxophone players are over. Behold the UI School of Music's fifth-annual Bass Day, a workshop for young bass players that ultimately culminates with a free concert in Clapp Recital Hall at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The workshop will be conducted by famous bass educator, performer, and composer Robert Black, the double-bass professor for the University of Hartford, Connecticut.
"What I look to accomplish is to work with the bass players and show them my approach to the instrument and making music," Black said.
Adding a hint of excitement, the concert's program isn't even known yet, but it will be completed once the workshop's participants work together and get a feel for one another's playing. This isn't a surprise when considering Black's eccentric and creative works.
"My other group, Bang on a Can All-Stars, just premièred works commissioned by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Glenn Kotche, the drummer of Wilco," Black said. "I also just finished a small tour with an artist from Brazil. He would paint on stage while I would improvise on bass. I'd be influenced by how he's painting and likewise."
Black brought his music and teachings to five different continents, carrying with him a wise perspective on the state of music worldwide.
"I know it's a cliché, but it's true that music is the universal language. It speaks for all sorts of cultures and situations," he said. "The other big lesson is that we don't have all the answers still."
The workshop will be conducted by famous bass educator, performer, and composer Robert Black, the double-bass professor for the University of Hartford, Connecticut.
"What I look to accomplish is to work with the bass players and show them my approach to the instrument and making music," Black said.
Adding a hint of excitement, the concert's program isn't even known yet, but it will be completed once the workshop's participants work together and get a feel for one another's playing. This isn't a surprise when considering Black's eccentric and creative works.
"My other group, Bang on a Can All-Stars, just premièred works commissioned by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Glenn Kotche, the drummer of Wilco," Black said. "I also just finished a small tour with an artist from Brazil. He would paint on stage while I would improvise on bass. I'd be influenced by how he's painting and likewise."
Black brought his music and teachings to five different continents, carrying with him a wise perspective on the state of music worldwide.
"I know it's a cliché, but it's true that music is the universal language. It speaks for all sorts of cultures and situations," he said. "The other big lesson is that we don't have all the answers still."
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