welcome
to www.gabass.co.uk
song
tower of babel
about
First of all hope you all like my revamped website. On each page you will hear samples from my solo c/d 'Positivity' available here and on i-Tunes plus other tracks . Let me know if you like the new look ?
Well... where shall we start ...I got into music from playing the trombone in the school orchestra, this gave me the buzz for music. It quickly dawned on me that i wanted to play bass guitar. I got my first bass at 16 and set about learning it, at that time i was interested in Soul and Funk music locked myself in my bedroom and set about practising, learning all the bass lines I could. I also took some lessons from Lawrence Canty at Goldsmith's College.
Influences at the time were pretty diverse i would listen to Louis Johnson, Larry Graham , Wille Weeks , Chuck Rainey, through to Chris Squire and Andy Fraser, (still one of my favourite players just listen to his playing on 'Mr Big' damn funky ) I would listen to anything that grooved regardless of genre.
Then one day i heard a player that sounded like no other. Jaco Pastorius truly the greatest bassist ever period ! He rewrote the book, elevating bass players to the fore as soloists in their own right, but he did it with such style and musicality .
It was an exciting time for bass players,(aah the 70's & 80's !) where once they were seen as simple background boys, they were suddenly propelled into lead hero superstars. These included players like Jaco ,Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller , and Jeff Berlin who raised the bar regarding technique.
Lots of great music influences me from George Duke with his funk/fusion style through to Weather Report and Return to Forever with their Jazz Rock style , but ultimately it has to be Stevie Wonder who has been the biggest influence on my songwriting .
I hope you enjoy the new look site !
me
lay ur hands on me
photos
george 1985
george 1983
what I gotta do
equipment
basses etc
My 2nd JD bass
shaks on stage
soundtrade bass custom built in Japan with a badass bridge
A gaggle of ga24 JD 's
Bass setup using the EVA pre amp system with GA3
GA3 the 'Yellow Pearl' bass .
EVA preamp closeup with Beringer tuner
My favourite bass GA1
Japan setup with GA2
... I have used JD custom basses since 1983 when i visited John Diggins workshop , he then set about making the first GA bass to my spec the results were my trusty GA1. This bass is my favourite and features on all Shakatak recordings, apart from the' Nightbirds' album which featured a Music Man bass , and a G&L bass which was also used on the 'Invitations' album.
On a recent visit to Japan I was introduced to Mr Kojima of BTL who makes SOUND TRADE basses , these beautiful handmade basses are a pleasure to play and Iam proud to endorse..Infact the bass I have is signed by no other than Louis Johnson himself !
I also use a custom pre amp suppied to me by Mr Hiromi Murakami of EVA SYSTEMS Japan , which enables me to use any power amp to obtain my sound . Gone are my days of requesting a particular make , any high quality amp will do. As you can bypass the amps front end and use the ERP pre amp via the send / return input to achieve your sound. Its a revelation !! I have heard a rumour that Mr Marcus Miller has one in his rack too .
Just click on the pics to get more info .
It aint over
media
video
music
contact
via babel studios
ga_gabass.co.uk
Management
Newman & Co
Regent House
1 Pratt Mews
London
NW1 0A0
020-7554-4840
Beauty Inner smile
news
gigs & studio
Hope you all like the revamped site ? I think it now has a more updated feel.
LATEST NEWS...
2010
Thanks to all the fans who came to the shows in Japan. As always you were fantastic . Big thanks to No1 fan Tak for reintroducing us with Mr Sugar Shak who made us very welcome in his new club.
This months Bass guitar magazine has an article about my equipment etc, its a great magazine for all you bassheads
Thanks for all the fans that made our Pizza Jazz gigs so much fun, it was great seeing No1 fan Andy again.
An excellent review of my CD 'Positivity' for you.. Full details via www.souljazzandfunk.com
Just received another great review of my CD 'Positivity' from a German soul site go to www.soultrainonline.de for the full review. Hit the translate button on your browser as the site is in German.
Once again thanks to all the fans who came to Maidstone to see our concerts maybe next time we will do 3 nights to satisfy all our fans who could not get tickets .
The shows at the Pizza Jazz Club Maidstone on 26th and 27th Feb are sold out ! Our next UK shows will be at the Pizza Jazz Club London Soho on Thurs 27th thru till Sat 29th May Tel 0845-6027 017 Book early to avoid disappointment !
Still promoting my solo CD 'Positivity' with a few radio interviews around the country so look out for those !
Thanks to all the fans who turned up for our first shows of 2010 ! It was as always a great pleasure to see you all there, especially long time fan Ann Wise and the crazy couple from Birmingham who were very load and proud.
Shakatak will be playing 2 shows in Essex later this month on the 22nd and 23rd Jan at The Bardfield Centre, Great Bardfield , Essex as part of our 30 yr celebrations. Looking forward to seeing you all there. Tickets are £20 available at the box office on 01371 811291 Hurry up tickets are selling fast !!
Steve Quirk of Jazz Fm has put ' Lay Ur Hands On Me' from my solo CD 'Positivity' in his top 50 tracks of 2009 !
Just received another great review of my CD 'Positivity' from Jazz and Soul in europe .
Go to www.jazzandsoul.eu for the full review.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FANS !!
2009
Just want to wish all our Shakatak fans Happy Christmas ! Looking forward to seeing you all in 2010.
The show in Dresden was brilliant , lovely to see all our German fans in full effect.
Just received a great review by Ronald Jackson who writes for 'Smoothjazzride ' here's a snippet from the review.
" A genuine blend of smooth charisma, dirty funk, top-shelf vocals by one Debby Bracknell (a name to remember!), and instrumental mastery "
"So it goes with this sterling production by a bassist who can hold his own and then some.There are too many tunes here that qualify as favs for me, including a stomping, rhythmic groove called "Iwant U" and a nod to Herbie Hancock with the up-tempo and kicing "Herbie"
Go to www.thesmoothjazzride.com for the full review.
My album 'Positivity' is available now via i-Tunes .Those who want a physical CD I have some copies available via this website. Just click on the 'buy music' link above and you can order one via Pay Pal.
The CD comes with a lyric booklet and loads of info which makes the whole 'Positivity' experience worthwhile !! The CD's ordered here will be signed by me as a thank you for your long standing support.
Well the countdown begins ..not long to go before my album 'Positivity' is out ! Mon Oct 26th and on i-Tunes 19th Oct available to download. Still continuing to pick up plays on Starpoint , Jazz fm and Solar radio stations. A download single of 'Lay ur hands on me' with an extended 'Uplifting mix' version will be available via i-Tunes on the 12th Oct !
Got a couple of shows coming up The Cinnamon Club Altrincham Friday 9th Oct where we will see our good friend Steve 'The man' Quirk then on Friday 30th Oct in Germany where we will be appearing at Jazztage Dresden.
Just got the visuals for my album 'Positivity' which is scheduled for release on Oct 26th by Secret Records, looks fab !
'Positivity' CD by George Anderson _ www.secretrecordslimited.com
or call 0207- 388-8324 place your orders now !!! The lead track 'Lay Ur Hands On Me' is being played on Jazz FM by Steve Quirk who has now featured the track and made it his record of the week. JL on Starpoint radio has started to play selected tracks on his Saturday show..
Again the concerts in Japan were fantasic , especially the Fukuoka gigs wow what a reception we were greeted with , the applause kept going through our intro music and when we launched into Invitations we knew we had a special night.
Mr Kojima aka 'Soundtrade basses ' is making a special GA model for me which Iam looking forward to playing.
Mr Murakami aka 'EVA pre amps has made a modification to my custom rack by installing a automatic voltage regulator , which means wherever Iam in the world my rack will adjust to the correct voltage . No more fiddling about with transformers adapters etc .
Had a few promo plays with the lead trac k 'Lay Ur Hands On Me' from my solo venture which will be out very soon .Thanks to Steve Quirk and JL for championing the cause.
We fly off on the 22 July for a series of concerts in Japan , we will be playing at the Kutchan Jazz festival then moving on to the Billboard clubs in Tokyo , Osaka and Fukuoka. Rumour has it Mr Kojima who is Mr Soundtrade may have a new bass for me to try ?
My album is now finished , things are moving quickly and it all should be on I-Tunes soon . Its called 'Positivity' and features a host of brilliant musicians a couple you may know Debby Bracknell and Alan Wormald . I have also discovered a fantastic male singer called Fill Straughan and a surperb keyboard player Carmine Membrino. They have added a warmth and energy that has really made this project special. THANKS GUYS !
The shows in Bulgaria went well ...very beautiful country hungry for our brand of soul-jazz-funk, the guys from Jazzfm made us very welcome.
Very busy at the momemt putting together tracks for my album which will be available soon . I suppose its been a long time coming but iam looking forward to the challenge and hopefully you will all like it . !
Thanks for all the positive comments re our new album 'Afterglow' . It was great to see the reactions to the new tunes we played which were well received.
The show at the High Barn was fantastic , thanks to all the fans who came to see us . A big thanks to Roger and Larraine for organising the event. Looking forward to seeing you all soon in London for the Pizza Jazz gigs !
What an amazing couple of gigs in Cape Town ! Its been almost 10 years since we played South Africa and when we took to the stage we were welcomed with the 'Cape Town smile ' a truly wonderful time was had by all.
Thanks to all the people who looked after us ! Hope to see you all again soon !!! See photo page for some pics .
Hope you all saw our TV appearence on 'Pop Goes the Band ' ? I watched it with true trepidation....but found it VERY entertaining especially after a few drinks !!! You all got an insight into our world warts an all !! , but didnt I look good ? There are some interesting comments on the Living TV web site too. Special thanks to Dr Nina and fitness guru Christina for rebuilding me .
In June we are back at the Pizza Express Jazz Club on the 5th.6th and 7th June for our annual residency.
On 1st May we will be appearing at High Barn, The Bardfield Centre, Great Bardfield , Essex for our album launch for the new CD "Afterglow" looking forward to seeing you all there. Tickets are £20 available at the box office on 01371 811291.
We will be appearing at the Cape Town Jazz festival on the 3rd April for 2 shows, its great to be invited to perform in one of our favourite countries again.
Shakatak are apprearing in a TV programme called "Pop Goes The Band" on Living TV, the series starts on Feb 23rd. Lookout for a leaner fitter GA !
Our new CD 'Afterglow' is now finished and will be out in Japan in February , so get your orders in.
2008
The end of 2008 saw us in Armenia for a concert date , and the pleasure of hearing some fantastic local jazz musicians. A special thanks to the wonderful people who looked after us .
The Japanese dates went very well, a big plus on this trip was the fact my two sons Luis and James came along to cheer us on ! Infact Luis was my bass lighting tech !
While i was in Japan I received a updated Pre Amp for my bass from EVA SYSTEMS which Iam pleased to report is FANTASTIC thankyou Mr Hiromi Murakami. Once again a special thanks to all our Japanese fans for their loyal support .
We are off to Japan again in November to promote the release of our 'Ultimate Hits' complilation which is a double c/d featuring all our hits and more ! The dates are Osaka 21st & 22nd November then 24th & 25th Tokyo then moving on to Fukuoka 26th & 27th November.
The 3 'sell out ' shows at the Pizza Jazz Soho were a fantastic success with all the 'London Crew in full effect.
Big thanks to all the fans who came to the gig 'up north' in Manchester at the Cimmamon club. It was a joy to play for you old and new fans alike !
The gig in Kiev was fantastic ! It was filmed for local TV and i have added pics on the Photos page. Never played there before and we were treated like rockstars, well Jazz Funk stars ! with all the attention that goes with it , press conference and intense media activity ! Also my GA1 bass has been modified by JD with lights and i must say sounded and looked amazing , thanks John !!
The Shaks are off to perform in Kiev, Ukraine on Tuesday 22 April as part of the International Jazz Festival being held there.
We return to begin writing for our new album scheduled release date end of the year.
Sat 28th June we are playing at the Midsummer Music _ Spencers Great Yeldham on stage 7pm .
After our 'sell out gig at the Cimmanon Club Manchester last year we return to the club for another gig on Fri 18th July.
Pizza Expresss Dean St Soho from the 25th to 27th July book early !! Hope to see all our London fans there .
2007
Thanks to all our japanese fans who made our tour of the new 'Billbord Clubs' a delight special thanks to Mr Murakami from EVA for the use of his fantastic ERP/Pre-Amp which Iam proud to endorse, as used by Marcus Miller !! Pictures on the Equipment page.
We are in Japan for a series of gigs from 16th -17th Nov Tokyo , 19th -20th Nov Osaka then 21st-22nd Nov Fukuoka ! This will be our second visit this year !! These gigs will be at the new Billboard venues which had 'Steely Dan' as the first act to perform there.
A great night was had at the 'sell out' gig at the Cinnamon club , thanks to Steve Quirk for organising the gig !! It took us back to the days of the 'Star and Garter' all over again !
Thanks for all the fans that turned up for the gig in Wigan it was nice to see you all there having fun , and a nice shout to the guy who gave me a DVD of my Bass Solo from Pizza Express in 2005 ....i may add it on here !!
Our next gig is on the 27th July in Manchester at the Cinnamon club in Altricham , its part of our northern tour , so see you there !!
The gig at the Spice House has been cancelled , hopefully it will be rescheduled for later in the year !! The next gig in England will be at the Wigan Jazz Festival on 19th July at the Tetley Lounge, JJB Stadium Box office is on 01942 825677.
Wow the gig at Pizza express maidstone was fantasic , i had to tell the audience to BEQUIET !! a few times , well i did shout .....no one shouted back lol...they all obeyed me !! Thanks to mega shak fan Anne Wise for turning up it was nice to see you again , and of course our man Andy for making it a nite to remember !!!
A great time was had in Japan the gigs went very well and the new tracks ...yes we have a new album called 'Emotionally blue' available via our website at www.shakatak.com All our fans turned up and continue to amaze us with their warmth and generousity ...thanks xx
Thanks to all the Shak fans who came to the Pizza Express Jazz club for our recent gigs , we had a great time and it was nice seeing all the Shak fans old and new !! We played a mixture of stuff with some twists , just to keep things fresh for us ....its great to know that the new songs went down very well ! Special thanks to a new Shak fan Marcus age 15 into all things bass , keep on slapping !
Shakatak will be appearing at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Maidstone, Kent on Friday 27th April.
gigs
May 8th Bratislavia
May 21st Rome
May 27th -29th Pizza Jazz Club London Tel 0845-6027 for tickets.
www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk
July 6th-13th Japan
July 16th Manchester Cinnamon Club
July 17th Tamworth Castle
smooth operator
shop
my cd 'Positivity '
My CD 'Positivity' is available via I-Tunes , but those of you who would prefer a real cd , 'Positivity' can be purchased here. All orders via my site will be signed by myself !
The song 'Lay ur hands on me ' is a former 'record of the week' on the Steve Quike show on 'Jazz fm' The c/d has had a number of rave reviews here's a snippet from Smooth Jazz ride .
Just click on the PayPal link the price is £11.95 inc p&p.
The cd comes signed with a 8 page booklet of info and lyrics
a nice addition to your Shakatak collection !
Buy Now
herbie
links
on the web
News about smooth jazz _ www.thesmoothjazzride.com
Secret Records _ www.secretrecordslimited.com
Roger's website is _www.rogerodell.co.uk
Bill's website is _www.billsharpe.com.
Shakatak website is _www.shakatak.com.
Debby Bracknell's website is _www.debbyb.co.uk.
Fil Straughan's website is _
www.filstraughan.com
JD Basses website is _www.jaydeecustomguitars.co.uk
Slapbass solos _ slapbasssolos.blogspot.com
Mick Shippen photos _
www.mickshippen.com
Eva Systems Pre Amps Japan _ www.ashail-net
moments
tuition
Iam often asked if I give lessons and the answer is yes !
Iam based in the London area and the lessons take place in my music studio on a informal one to one basis and can be tailored to suit your needs.
So If you would like more info just email me via the contact form below.
in my studio
pastel shade
george
anderson
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