A quick post to show off some very hip Youtube items.

I just got back on Sunday from a wonderful trip to Columbus, OH and Toronto, Canada. Both places were fantastic, interesting, and we played for excellent crowds. I’m sorry to say that I did not get to sample the ribs at the Jazz & Ribs Festival in Columbus, but there is always next year (one hopes). We played with four incredible Ethiopian musicians: Mulatu Astatke, and three DC-area musicians, Hana Shenkute, Setegn Atenaw, and Minale Dagnew. They play at Dukem Restaurant all the time, so if you are in DC, check them out.

I noticed an audience recording posted on Youtube of our Toronto show. It’s a pretty short clip, but should provide some sense of the uber-excitement present that night. That’s Tom Halter’s trumpet solo on Mulatu Astatke’s composition Yekatit (and that’s Mulatu on the far right!).

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsL-jP0fyto]

Since it comes back to the gear for me pretty frequently these days, here’s a quick run down:

• Columbus, OH (Jazz & Ribs Festival):
  • Basses: 1880s French double bass, Yamaha BB350F electric bass with Bartolini pickups
  • Amplifiers: Gallien-Krueger 1001RB head with RBH410 cabinet (gig only), Gallien-Krueger MB150 S-II combo amp (rehearsals)
• Toronto, Canada (Harbourfront Centre):
  • Basses: same double bass, no electric bass
  • Amplifiers: Gallien-Krueger 800RB head with unknown speaker cabinet

Lastly, I want to point you to another Youtube clip. This one is copywritten and for sale, so anyone upset with me for passing it along should turn their concern towards Youtube. Just FYI, it is available on the DVD released last year called Ethiogroove (buy it here). This clip is of the incredibly talented Tsedenia Gebre-Markos singing a traditional song called Bati with the Either/Orchestra at a concert we did in Paris two springs ago. Great concert; great DVD, too. Notice, of course, the brilliant – dare I say, genius? – bass playing.

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZT9JXq8MXA]

That’s it. Best, Rick

PS – speaking of gear, I’m thinking of getting rid of my Alembic Series II electric bass. Thoughts?