a liminal space...

‘The New Face Of Jazz’ released and now shipping

I am extremely humbled and honored to have an interview and profile included in the pages of jazz author and educator, Cicily Janus‘ latest book, The New Face Of Jazz, on Billboard Books. The New Face Of Jazz is an intimate, illustrated guide to the artists, venues, and festivals of today’s jazz scene. This book celebrates the living legends, current stars, and faces of tomorrow as they continue to innovate and expand the boundaries of this great musical legacy. In their own words, artists such as McCoy Tyner, Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Terence Blanchard, Charlie Hunter, Nicholas Payton, George Benson, Maria Schneider, Christian McBride, Randy Brecker, Jean-Luc Ponty, Joe Lovano, Lee Ritenour, and more than 100 others (including myself) share intimately about their beginnings, musical training, inspiration, and hard-earned lessons, creating a fascinating mosaic of the current jazz community. Photographer Ned Radinsky contributes 40 amazing black-and-white portraits of some of these musicians doing what they do best—playing. An appendix offers resources for jazz education; an exclusive reading list; and the lowdown on those organizations and societies doing their part to promote jazz as a living, breathing art form. With an introductory word from Wynton Marsalis, a foreword by Marcus Miller, and an afterword by Sonny Rollins, The New Face Of Jazz is an unprecedented window onto today’s world of jazz, for everyone from the devotee to the new listener. You can now order online directly via any of the following retailers:

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

Borders.com

This Friday 6/18: Adam Nitti, Keith Carlock, Mike Whittaker, Tom Hemby, and Jeffrey Scot Wills

If you’re in the Nashville area this Friday, June 18th, you won’t want to miss our Summer NAMM Bash, featuring the Adam Nitti Band at 3rd & Lindsley. Joining me will be Keith Carlock (drums), Mike Whittaker (keys), Tom Hemby (guitar), & Jeffrey Scot Wills (sax).

Also appearing: Kira Small featuring Bryan Beller, and Doug Johns Duo, so it’s going to be an incredible night of music!

Doors open at 6pm, with music starting at 7pm. You’ll want to get there early to reserve a good seat!

3rd & Lindsley
818 3rd Avenue South
Nashville

My Summer NAMM Events This Week

It’s Summer NAMM-mania this week in Nashville! I’ll be appearing at 3 different events this week as music instrument and equipment manufacturers and vendors from all over the world converge on Music City for the 2010 Summer NAMM Show at the Nashville Convention Center.

I’m super excited to be a part of three performances this week:

Thursday, June 17th @ 8pm:
Low Notes For Nashville Benefit Concert
Douglas Corner
2106 8th Ave S, Nashville, TN, 37204
This an all-star show to benefit Low Notes For Nashville, a bassist-led relief effort for Nashville’s recent flood victims. The event’s featured performer will be the incredible Steve Bailey. I’ll also be performing a couple of tunes accompanied by Derico Watson on drums, Mike Whittaker on keys, and Tom Hemby on guitar. Also appearing: Motown legend Bob Babbit, Bryan Beller, Sean O’Brien Smith, Vail Johnson, Roy Vogt, and many others. We also have some ’surprise special guests’ appearing that you DEFINITELY won’t want to miss!!! Tickets for this amazing night of earth-shuddering lows are only $15 at the door.

Friday, June 18th @ 7pm:
Adam Nitti Band, featuring Keith Carlock, Mike Whittaker, Jeffrey Scot Wills, and Tom Hemby
3rd & Lindsley
818 3rd Ave S, Nashville, TN, 37210
It’s our Summer NAMM Concert Bash, featuring Keith Carlock (drums), Mike Whittaker (keys), Tom Hemby (guitar), & Jeffrey Scot Wills (sax). Also appearing: Kira Small featuring Bryan Beller, and Doug Johns Duo! Doors open at 6pm. Come out and enjoy some fantastic contemporary jazz and funk with us at 3rd & Lindsley!

Saturday, June 19th @ 8pm:
All Star Guitar Night, featuring Muriel Anderson, Alex Skolnick, Joe Dalton, James Burton, and many others
The Wildhorse Saloon
120 2nd Ave N, Nashville, TN, 37201
Starring Muriel Anderson, James Burton, Tierra Negra, Reeves Gabrels, harp guitarists Stephen Bennett and Andy Wahlberg, Brent Mason, Alex Skolnick, Joe Dalton, as well as surprise guests and the Yamaha rhythm section featuring Eddie Bayers and Adam Nitti. Benefiting the Music for Life Alliance, All Star Guitar Night features an amazing line-up of the world’s top acoustic and electric guitar players, all of whom donate their time and talent to support the cause! Join us for an unforgettable evening of acoustic and electric guitar music, plus our popular silent auction featuring an amazing array of guitars being auctioned off during the evening to help us put musical instruments into the hands of kids across America!

Bassists Bond for Benefit

Bassists mount Nashville relief concert

May 26, 2010 – NASHVILLE, TN – Low Notes For Nashville announced today it will host a benefit concert to raise funds for their relief efforts. Iconic bassist Steve Bailey will headline the event, which will also include performances by many top bassists from around the world. The concert will take place 8:00 p.m., Thursday, June 17, at Douglas Corner (2106 8th Ave. South).

Created less than three weeks ago by Nashville bassist Sean O’Bryan Smith and his close friend Lane Baldwin (Lane on Bass), the charity has gathered an amazing team of professional bassists from around the world to offer relief to fellow musicians devastated by the recent Nashville flood.. While their web site offers numerous ways for visitors to get involved, the benefit concert is the organization’s highest profile event to date.

The show will be hosted by Smith, Baldwin, and Dave Pomeroy, an iconic bassist and writer, now president of the Nashville Musicians Association. All three will perform, and Baldwin will MC the event.

More players are signing up for the concert daily. To date, the concert will feature performances by numerous top bassists, including Vail Johnson, Roy Vogt, Bryan Beller, Adam Nitti, Doug Johns, and legendary player Bob Babbitt.

“You can expect to hear more top bassists on this bill than almost anywhere else,” said Smith. “We’re reaching out to everyone we know to invite their participation.”

Those interested can keep up to date on all Low Notes For Nashville activities by visiting the group’s web site (www.LowNotesForNashville.org). The charity also has a pair of official Twitter streams and a Facebook Fan Page. More than fifty top bassists and over a dozen music industry manufacturers have joined the joined the cause, making monetary and gear donations to help Nashville musicians in need.

“For Sean and I, this is an excellent opportunity to combine our call to serve others with our desire to strengthen the bonds in the bass community,” said Baldwin. “We’re thrilled that so many top players and companies have joined our efforts, and the concert is going to be one huge bass-centric party.”

The concert will be held Thursday, June 17, at Douglas Corner. The event will begin at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are only $15 per person and will be available at the door. Space is limited so it’s best to arrive early.

Low Notes For Nashville is a community of bassists from around the world committed to providing relief to Nashville musicians devastated  by the recent flood. For more information, visit www.LowNotesForNashville.org.

Modern Drummer ‘Liminal’ Review

We’re just now getting a copy of the issue, but the March, 2010 issue of Modern Drummer features a review of my ‘Liminal’ CD. Special thanks to drummer-extraordinaire Mike Haid for his time and contribution.

New ‘Liminal’ Review at ForBassPlayersOnly.com

www.ForBassPlayersOnly.com just published a review of my ‘Liminal’ CD. ForBassPlayersOnly is a fantastic site dedicated to bass players and all things revolving around the low end. Special thanks to Jon Liebman for putting this together!

You can view an excerpt, below. To read the full review click HERE.

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“Adam Nitti has always played the bass with a lot of energy.  His performance on Liminal, his latest CD release, is no exception.  Surrounding himself with a first-rate band, including Mike Whittaker on keyboards, Shane Theriot on guitar, Marcus Finnie on drums and Jeff Coffin on tenor sax, Nitti’s newest effort is outstanding on many levels. First off is the fact that Nitti not only produced the album, but also composed and arranged all the tunes, which he performs using a combination of 5- and 6-string basses.  Careful not to make Liminal “just another bass record,” Adam takes an unselfish approach, giving plenty of room to the other band members to stretch out, treating everyone with equal importance…”
—

See the rest of the review HERE.

New Interview at ForBassPlayersOnly.com

I have a brand new interview that was just published on the ForBassPlayersOnly.com website. Conducted by website founder Jon Liebman, I cover such topics as my new ‘Liminal” CD, my tapping technique, how I got started in music, and my involvement in online music education. Click HERE to check it out!

New Bass Player Magazine interview on YouTube

Earlier this year, Bryan Beller did a video interview with me for Bass Player Magazine to accompany my interview in the June issue. All 4 segments of the video interview are now online at YouTube. Check them out HERE.

part 1 of 4

part 2 of 4

part 3 of 4

part 4 of 4

Adam Nitti Bass Musician Magazine Cover Story

Adam is featured on the cover of the February/March issue of Bass Musician Magazine. In his interview with magazine founder Jake Kot, he talks about his brand new album, current projects, and how his music has evolved throughout his career. Be sure to check it out at:

http://www.bass-musician-magazine.com

Bass Musician Magazine is an online publication dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in musicianship on the bass guitar. It features articles on the most influential players (well-known and lesser-known) of our day. The publication’s regular columns cover a vast amount of musical territory with a diverse look at any and all pertinent info that will help bassists to find “their own voice”.

Adam is also a staff writer for the online publication. In this latest issue, Adam talks about how to get a great bass tone in the recording environment.

Special thanks to Jake Kot, Valery Amador, and Damian Erskine for bringing all of this together.

Adam back in the pages of Bass Player Magazine

The latest issue (December) of Bass Player Magazine marks my return to the magazine as a regular columnist… After a long hiatus, I am back writing for the magazine again, and the latest issue features an article I wrote about alternate fingering and string crossing. If you are trying to break through some technical barriers in your playing, check this one out!