The John Benítez Bass Method, Vol. 1: Freedom in the Clave: A Rhythmic Approach to Bass Playing - Paperback

by John Benitez (Author), Ian Stewart (Author)

In the world of Latin Jazz/Latin American music, John Ben tez is considered to be one of the greatest bassists alive today. With five GRAMMY awards to his name and performance credits ranging from Tito Puente to Chick Corea, his impact on the music world is unquestionable. "The John Ben tez Bass Method Volume 1" is the first in a comprehensive book series forged from unique teaching methods developed over years of private instruction. "Volume 1 - Freedom In The Clave: A Rhythmic Approach To Bass Playing" is a vast collection of rhythmic independence exercises designed to strengthen a student's overall rhythmic confidence and awareness in regards to the clave, thus facilitating higher degrees of creativity and expression during performance. The book also contains five note-for-note transcriptions from various albums in Ben tez's discography to demonstrate how this master musician puts his own concepts to work in real time. Volume 1 is a highly useful, one-of-a-kind method for bassists and other inquisitive instrumentalists alike.

Author Biography

Ian Stewart was born and raised in Syracuse NY and grew up with the sounds of his father's record collection which included the likes of Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Return to Forever and Weather Report. He was also fortunate enough to begin gigging at an early age in the various bars, clubs and restaurants in the Syracuse and Rochester areas. Upon graduation Ian continued his studies at State University of New York at Purchase College were he received his BM in Jazz Studies in 2008. Here he would have the ability to study and take classes under Todd Coolman, John Faddis, Ray Vega, Charles Blenzig, Doug Weiss, Kermit Driscoll, Gerard Hecht, Pete Malinverni, Doug Munro and many other members of the Conservatory's esteemed faculty. In 2009, Ian relocated to Chicago, where he would remain until 2013. He quickly began performing around town with various acts of varying styles. It was around this time that he met pianist Darwin Noguera, and began playing with the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble and Noguera's Evolution Quartet. It was also through Noguera that Ian started to work with many different bands in the Chicago Latin Music scene. Over the next few years he would play with Angel Melendez, Salsa Con Soul, A Cor Do Brazil, Lise Gilly, Havana, Las Guitarras de España and other assorted groups in the area. In 2010, Ian began playing touring with Moonjune recording artists Marbin. He spent the next two years playing almost exclusively with the band, visiting nearly every state in the union and opening for the likes of Allan Holdsworth, Jimmy Haslip, Virgil Donati and Scott Henderson among others. After parting ways with Marbin in 2012, Ian returned to Chicago and for the next year enjoyed a busy and eclectic freelance schedule once again. During this year he began playing with composer/multi-instrumentalist Hector Silveira and began delving deeper into the world of Timba and Cuban Jazz. Since moving to NY in the spring of 2014 Ian has had the honor of performing with Gerardo Contino, Gabriela Anders, Los Hacheros, Peliroja, Keith Ward, Bobby Sanabria, Axel Laugart, Oriente Lopez, Mike Eckroth, Buyu Ambroise Conjunto Guantanamero and other New York based artists. In addition to performing, Ian is also a contributing writer to Timba.com where he covers the latest in concerts and album releases in the NYC area.