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Yesterday, for the first time in almost two years, I dusted off my fretless bass and gave it some play. This should come as no surprise to some of you, but I bought this particular instrument primarily for its aesthetic value. It sounds great, yes – but looks stunning, which was (and still is) very important to me. Despite that, I haven’t given it much use in the 7+ years I’ve owned it; I tend to play my traditional fretted bass more often out of sheer laziness.

Playing fretless requires precision and a careful attention to tone. I read somewhere that a famous bassist would use a fretless every now and again simply to train his ear, and I can certainly see why. Frets cover a multitude of sloppy fingerwork; through my struggles to get reacquainted with the bass this weekend, I was reminded of how playing it requires constant concentration. The second you stop paying attention, you’re in danger of playing a note that’s slightly off-tune. And if your ear isn’t trained to hear it, you’ll continually play other notes relative to that note out of tune as well. Pretty soon your entire riff is off.

I’d do well to apply those lessons to other areas of my life.

“We’ve done four already but now we’re steady, and then they went 1, 2, 3, 4!

Growing up, I dreaded piano lessons. They happened on a weekly basis, and were a constant reminder of how little I had practiced during the week. My teacher drove in from Long Island to give me and my friends Calvin and Ernie hour-long lessons at my home; we’d always argue about who would go first when it was really just a futile act of prolonging the inevitable. Ernie and Calvin were a few years older than me and were therefore into things that I hadn’t yet heard of. Ernie’s music tastes, in specific, intrigued me. I’d spend many of those afternoons watching tv and waiting for my lesson, while Ernie would usually have headphones over his ears listening intently to his walkman. I eventually mustered up the courage to ask him to make me a tape of whatever he was listening to. The next week he brought me a cassette that was filled with songs from the Canadian prog-rock band Rush, a group that I’ve grown to love. The very last track, however, was a song by Led Zeppelin. It was called “The Ocean.”

20+ years later, I still can’t get enough of that song. I’m not sure if it’s the unorthodox time signature, the doo-wop at the end, the crunchiness of Jimmy Page’s riffs or John Bonham’s squeaky bass pedal that continues to captivate me time and time again; I suspect it’s all of those things and more. To me, “The Ocean” might be one of the greatest rock songs of all time – and like my hatred of cilantro, I will defend that opinion vigorously.

We’ve all been seeing the effects of technology in lowering entry levels for various professions. Photography is an easy example: with minimal investment, limited practice and a bit torrent account, anyone can have professional-level equipment and the ability to post-process at a level that was never achievable before. It can be argued that technical advancements have made industries overcrowded, but there’s something to be said about the new level of competition it brings. Many cling to the hope that the cream always rises to the top, and that good work will eventually be recognized regardless of all the newcomers who have not put in the necessary work to perfect their craft. This is not always the case; oftentimes it becomes hard to sift through the vast options to find something worthwhile. On the other hand, this accessibility is important for those who might not have been afforded such opportunities otherwise.

I’d like to talk for a minute about blogs – for most of us, they represent the new frontier of news communication. The internet has given anyone the ability to post their opinion so that it has unparalleled global reach. Everyone, like it or not, has now been given a voice. Some see the expression of this voice as a hobby, but others view it as a means to obtain work. Blogs have become the new résumé or portfolio – and yet, while you would never expect a CV to contain spelling mistakes, incorrect details and grammatical errors, many blogs which have accumulated huge followings are rife with such errors. Please note that I’m not talking about deliberate stylistic choices in writing, but actual mistakes: awkward/fragmented sentences, poor use of punctuation, et al. What’s more, many of these posts are written in a rushed manner (oftentimes in an attempt to beat others to the punch) and result in the proliferation of incorrect information. When a newspaper publishes something that is false, a correction is made in the following day’s paper; on the world wide web, the post is already 4 pages back. There seems to be a major lack of accountability in this particular craft. When you’re putting something into physical print, there’s a sense of finality to it when it’s sent to press. Online publications should give their posts the same type of attention and care.

What I’m getting at is this: if your blog serves as an inspiration board or a place to post your thoughts, that’s fine. If it’s a hobby and you have no delusions of grandeur about it, that’s fine. But if you’re trying to turn it into a legitimate source of income, please take a second (and third) look at what you write. Make sure what you’re sharing is accurate. Hire a proofreader if you need one. And most of all, take pride in your work and do the best job you possibly can at it – especially if you’ve already built up a rapt audience.

I scanned these pictures a few months ago while visiting my parents. My mom was bemused by my intrigue as I went through and carefully disassembled photo albums that hadn’t been disturbed for decades. My intention was to post a few of my favorite photos of my dad (I left out some sartorial gaffes in the ’70s) but when I started looking through them later on, it became clear to me that there was more to it than just sharing his style: these pictures remind me of many of his character traits I look up to. Although I’m sure he’s mellowed out quite a bit since his 20′s, he still is the reckless, confident man that won my mom over. He has small bouts of playfulness that peek out every now and again. He has good taste and strong opinions. And most importantly (not shown in pictures), he’s a man of faith and integrity who never hesitates to lead by example. In these past few years of adulthood I continue to realize how much I’ve been shaped by him, and am so thankful for his guidance and leadership. The more I find out about him, the prouder I am to call him my dad.

Happy Father’s Day.

With appearances on over 2,500 albums, Ron Carter is easily one of jazz music’s most-recorded upright bassists. I began to grow a deep appreciation for his trademark playing style from the work he did with Miles Davis’ second great quintet – the expression and tone he coaxes out of his upright is unmatched. Below is a track off a 1970′s Japan-exclusive recording of the Herbie Hancock Trio… he, Hancock and Tony Williams played a stripped down set that allowed each musician to shine.

My love for jazz music is reverse-engineered. I grew up on hip hop and alternative rock, but didn’t begin to listen to jazz until my college years. It was only through curiosity of the samples that various producers used that I was able to begin discovering the music that inspired so much of the east coast golden-era hip hop sound.  A few years ago, I realized that I had heard Ron Carter’s playing in middle school before I even knew who he was. It was no secret that Ali Shaheed Muhammed and Q-Tip leaned heavily on jazz samples for the group’s beats, so it was entirely fitting that they invited Ron Carter to play the bassline on “Verses from the Abstract” from Tribe’s legendary album The Low End Theory. That’s where it all came full circle for me: I was a fan of jazz before I was a fan of jazz.