“Israel is a great country; it’s my home,” Bershadsky explains. “But it’s not the ideal place to develop a music career. It’s a small country, and big breaks are hard to come by.”
The long road to Bershadsky’s breakthrough 2007 solo release Junk began in a tough Tel Aviv neighborhood, where he acquired his first bass via smash-and-grab burglary. Next were endless hours of practice, complemented by demanding private lessons with Israeli upright player Egon Kerten. “He told me, You’re either great or you’re nothing at all, so I practiced all the time and have been for years.” Alex’s next adventure—a kamikaze mission to make it in New York City at age 20—resulted in him making ends meet by selling sneakers that fell off a truck somewhere before returning to Israel. “I burned all the bridges behind me and never looked back.”
This rebellious passion was finally directed into his music, and after sideman gigs with Israeli artists Korin Alal and Shlomit Haaron, he hit the European jazz circuit in the mid-’90s, cutting an album in Amsterdam’s Osho Center with his jazz act Return To Zero. Upon returning to Israel, he formed the fusion band Zonzee, whose first album Time Flies was a bonafide jazz hit in the Israeli market. Zonzee’s success emboldened Bershadsky for a second U.S. trip. “I did my first stint in New York, taking drugs, feeling like a king, losing the music. On my second attempt, a decade later, I returned older, wiser and in better form, and my music flourished.”
Featuring work by guitarist Mike Stern, Zonzee’s second disc Buzz was indeed tracked in his spiritual home of New York. Alex returned a third time in 2005 for a gig at the Blue Note, on behalf of the Israeli government’s Ministry Of Culture, no less.
Now back in Israel, Alex Bershadsky is teaching and working up his second album. “This time, nothing is obvious,” he says, comparing it to his first record. “The music is different; it’s coming from somewhere else, somewhere deeper—a place of appreciation.”
Tech Tiles
Nice Wood
WOOD IS THE MYSTICAL COMPONENT IN our instruments; we try to understand it, but know we never really will. Among bass builders there seem to be two camps: those who believe wood is a bass’s most integral tone-shaping component, and those who acknowledge its importance, but don’t think it makes too big a sonic difference. Nevertheless, builders seem to agree that body wood is more influential than fingerboard wood, except on fretless basses. Let’s not even get into whether or not a top laminate makes a difference. Here are six of the most common fingerboard and body woods, and the popular theories on their tone.
FINGERBOARD WOOD
(1) Unlike a lot of ebony fingerboards, this one hasn’t been dyed black. Ebony is oily, dense, hard, and rugged in fingerboards. It’s said to impart a quick attack with an overall balanced sonic profile and strong fundamental response. (2) Rosewood is dense and oily, but not as dense as ebony. These qualities are said to contribute to its warm tone. (3) Unlike ebony and rosewood, maple has very little oil content and thus requires a finish when used in a fingerboard. It’s exceptionally hard and dense like ebony, but its lack of oil emphasizes the attack and high overtones without ebony’s strength in the fundamentals.
BODY WOOD
(4) Ash (like all wood) varies greatly, but in general, luthiers choose it for its light weight, clear treble response, slightly scooped midrange, and strong lows. (5) Alder is another fairly well-balanced, lightweight wood. Compared to ash, it has a less interesting grain pattern and a more prominent midrange response. (6) Mahogany is a dense wood with an attractive grain pattern and amber coloration. Some favor it for its excellent sustain, tight and controlled lows, prominent low mids, and smooth highs. — JONATHAN HERRERA
Community Props
THE NASHVILLE MUSIC COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHER IN FEBRUARY IN SUPPORT of Chris Kent, a Music City staple whose bass credits include Toni Braxton, Larry Carlton, George Duke, Wynonna Judd, Shelby Lynne, Michael McDonald, Billy Preston, Steve Winwood, and Stevie Wonder. Recruiting megastar Vince Gill to headline the Life Through Music Benefit Concert, singer Lorrie Morgan put together the affair to benefit Kent (her band’s bassist), who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1998 and needs a bone marrow transplant. If you’d like to contribute to the cause, check out Chris’s website, ckbass.com, and consider giving to the Chris Kent Benefit Trust at SunTrust Bank. — BRIAN FOX
CHECK HIM OUT
Alex Bershadsky,
Junk [My Records,
2007]; Zonzee,
Buzz [2005]
GEAR
Basses Fretless Zon Legacy Elite Special 4-string, Zon Sonus Special 4-string, Tobias Killer B (pre-Gibson) 4-string
Strings La Bella Slappers (.040–.095 or .100)
Live Rig Eden DC210XLT 2x10 combo
Effects Radial Bassbone, Boss RC-20 Loop Station, Boss OC-2 Octave
Studio Avalon U5 DI