BIG BAND Go!!! Orange Colored Sky Josephs BassView Aug 2nd 2026
NEW LIVE 70’s Horn Band and Joseph’s BassView!!!”
A Chicago tune on August 2nd 2026, with the Jazz Derelicts Horn Band.
Song: “Orange Colored Sky”
By: Natalie Cole
This is a big band tune. The chart and sound and everything about it is big band. It’s jazz, but it’s not really our thing in my opinion. ALSO, I should be playing the song better. I guess if I start to play it better, the horns will also. Elephant in the room… when the bass gets it, the horns really get it.
The bass part is written and very specific. The written bass part is the same as the Natalie Cole recording. That’s is cool, and difficult. All the bells and whistles are there. If I read the shortchanges and invent my bass lines it probably sounds better. If I follow the notes, it probably sounds desperate and weird. Thanks to the written chord changes, I can focus on good groove. Nobody is complaining. I am grateful.
Differences in my playing:
I’m not waiting to see what happens anymore. I am announcing, guiding, bossing, and demanding communication while performing. The best bands do it. They are very slick about it. We did a great job of communicating at this August 2nd 2026 performance.
Gear:
Amp:
The venue has an amp that I like to use. I plug into a direct box and also the amp. I finally took pictures and I can say that it’s an Ampeg B2-RE head. 450 watts at 4 ohms or 250 at ???
The amp head is on top of a speaker cabinet with 4 ten-inch speakers. I like that for my boomy Fender Jazz bass tendency. 4 tens should be more punch and less big low boomy speaker sub type sound. So far, band mates have no complaints.
I also plug into a direct box so that the sound guy can get a clean feed directly from my instrument.
He told me later that it sounds good and he runs the bass signal though a compressor. He also plays bass. I ask him if it gets too clicks and he says all good. I like all of that. I have the freedom to accidentally play too loud a little.
Bass:
Fender Jazz Bass Deluxe 4 String… also known as “Bread and Butter.” I use this bass for long periods of time. I modified it for longevity. Light strings, heavy-mass bridge, low action, grenade launcher with cup holders, thick strap, MAC-10s, toilet seat cover dispenser, and very useful tone knob controls.
I’ve been obsessed with quarter ever since arcades existed. I’ll probably add a quarter machine to my bass soon. :)
Music Stand AND Lights:
I purchased the stand lights for these Gaslamp performances. I don’t remember the brand name. The lights are rechargeable and they come with a long long long charging cable. It’s amazing how long it is. Black and long. Very, very long and black. Hard… to see. I don’t know what you were thinking, but the music stand has been with me for a long time. It’s very portable because it breaks down into a small manageable shape. It’s long and fits well into a former telescope bag. I recently fixed the zippers with a busted keychain. I’m surprised the stand is not broken yet.
The venue: