How Low Can You Go: Anthology of the String Bass 1925-1941

Description

Product Description The first anthology ever of the string bass; a 3 CD box set in a cardboard box; 96 page book. Original recordings from 1925-1941, from the legendary archival label Dust To Digital (that previously brought the world the beyond elaborate Goodbye, Babylon and Fonotone Records boxsets). 'Not so long ago, the string bass stood tall and proud roughly the length and breadth of a poor man's pine coffin in every musical aggregation throughout the land from Bangor to Buenos Aires, from the highest high life to the lowest lowdown: From tuxedoed symphony ensembles to tipsy Calypso bands to honky-tonkers in oil field dives, from elegantly gelled tango orchestras to Jazz combos in unspeakable speak easys to methed out rockabilly trios right off some flatbed: you can be damned sure Johnny Cash wouldn't have been able to walk the line without bassist Marshall Grant keeping him honest. But somewhere along the line, the upright acoustic bass was snatched from it's hallowed place atop the sedans (special carriage) and show stages and relegated to the trash heap of history in favor of Leo Fender's sleek electric cousin, plugged in to compete with amplified guitar and drums. Now the stand up bass makes it's appearance mostly in limousine liberal Lincoln Center Jazz benefits and hardcore Bluegrass bands or as a comical Hayseed Prop in retro Hillbilly outfits. And yet in that span between the turn of the century tuba blaring from an Edison cylinder and today's synthesized bass loops heaving from every SUV on the pike, the hypnotic pull of the old school string bass remains. A musical craft handed down by calloused, bandaged fingers, it wrought a mighty saga of bottom heavy rhythms that rattled the walls of many a venue and anchored many an historic recording session. Without it, the revolutionary sound of American mongrel music of the last century would have been thin gruel indeed.' Review "Few releases are as special and fun as this new 3 CD set, which uncovers the origins of recorded upright bass." -- Greg Olwell, Bass Player Magazine, February 2007The first collection devoted solely to the giant, awkward string bass, How Low Can You Go? is a mind-blowing assemblage of bass-centric (and mostly jazz) tracks from 1925-1941. With three discs (the first two were recorded predominantly in New York City, the third in Chicago) and an impressive book of liner notes (sections are subtitled with phrases like "Basses vs. Tubas, Tubas Lose"), How Low Can You Go? is both impossibly informative and stupidly fun. -- Amanda Petrusich, Pitchfork Media, January 16, 2007"Few releases are as special and fun as this new 3 CD set, which uncovers the origins of recorded upright bass." -- Greg Olwell, Bass Player Magazine, February 2007The first collection devoted solely to the giant, awkward string bass, How Low Can You Go? is a mind-blowing assemblage of bass-centric (and mostly jazz) tracks from 1925-1941. With three discs (the first two were recorded predominantly in New York City, the third in Chicago) and an impressive book of liner notes (sections are subtitled with phrases like "Basses vs. Tubas, Tubas Lose"), How Low Can You Go? is both impossibly informative and stupidly fun. -- Amanda Petrusich, Pitchfork Media, January 16, 2007Variety and a sense of fun make 'How Low Can You Go?' a painless history lesson. -- Kevin Whitehead, Fresh Air, December 18, 2006You get no shake or quake in blues, jazz or R&B without someone swinging hard and sharp below. This delightful three-disc set salutes the mostly unknown soldiers of the bottom on 78s by Tampa Red, Jelly Roll Morton, and Bob Willis, among others. -- David Fricke, Rolling Stone, February 8, 2007 - Four Stars P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Artist Not so long ago, the string bass stood tall and proud -- roughly the length and breadth of a poor man's pine coffin -- in every musical aggregation throughout the land from Bangor to Buenos Aires, from the highest high life to the lowest lowdown: From tuxedoed symphony ensembles to tipsy calypso bands to honkytonkers in oil-field dives, from elegantly gelled tango orchestras to jazz combos in unspeakable speak-easys to methed-out rockabilly trios right off some flatbed. About the Artist The first collection devoted solely to the giant, awkward string bass, How Low Can You Go? is a mind-blowing assemblage of bass-centric (and mostly jazz) tracks from 1925-1941. With three discs (the first two were recorded predominantly in New York City, the third in Chicago) and an impressive book of liner notes (sections are subtitled with phrases like "Basses vs. Tubas, Tubas Lose"), How Low Can You Go? is both impossibly informative and stupidly fun. See more