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The legend is back! Marcus Miller occupies a rare place in modern music… equally celebrated as a player, composer, producer, arranger, bandleader, film scorer, and one of the defining bass voices of the past half-century.

Joe Principe from Rise Against feels like one of those bass players who was built by the scene before he ever fully understood the instrument. Growing up outside Chicago, Joe came into music through skateboarding, Thrasher, stolen glimpses of punk culture, and the kind of all-ages shows that could change the wiring of a kid’s life. Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Descendents, Anthrax, DRI… it all fed the same fire.

In this conversation, Leo takes us back to a time when electric basses were rare, when you might lose your chance to buy one simply because there was only a single instrument in the shop, and when learning meant hearing a song once on the radio and figuring it out by instinct. He talks about moving from guitar to bass almost by accident, chasing the tone of upright players like Bill Black, and discovering his voice by pushing the amplifier as much as the instrument itself.

Eric Revis doesn’t just play the bass… he interrogates it. Born in California and now one of the most respected voices in modern jazz, Eric’s journey into the instrument began like many others... through curiosity, records, and a gravitational pull toward the low end, but quickly evolved into something far more intentional. This conversation was recorded during the Montreal International Jazz Festival, where Eric was in town performing with Branford Marsalis… a fitting backdrop for a discussion rooted in tradition, evolution, and what it really means to play this music at the highest level.

Garry Gary Beers joins the Groove podcast with Mitch Joel to discuss the groove behind INXS. He shares stories about discovering bass after losing a bet, influences like John Paul Jones and Paul McCartney, the band’s early pub days, and the rhythm section that powered INXS.

Riccardo Oliva is one of those modern bass players who feels less like a specialist and more like a musical system… a player, composer, producer and thinker whose instincts move freely between groove, harmony, texture and technology. Born in Palermo and now based in Milan, Riccardo’s path to the bass began unusually wide… first as a drummer, then through piano, and eventually to electric bass as the instrument that best translated what he was already hearing (but he was very young when this happened). Rooted in jazz-fusion but fluent in electronic music, rock and contemporary composition, his playing reflects a generation raised on both Weather Report and YouTube… equal parts lineage and restless curiosity. Many listeners first encountered Riccardo through his work with the ever-hot and exciting guitarist, Matteo Mancuso, where his six-string bass doesn’t just support the music, it actively converses with it… shaping harmony, filling space and making this wild trio sound far larger than it should. This conversation was recorded this past summer during the Montreal International Jazz Festival

For many of us, Billy was the first bassist who quietly gave us permission to think differently about the instrument (he was for me)… to hear it not just as support, but as architecture, conversation, and emotion. We dig into his newest project, The Fell, where that same restless curiosity is being funneled into something collaborative and deliberately unpolished. It’s a reminder that legacy doesn’t mean standing still. This marks Billy’s second appearance on the podcast. He was the very first guest we ever recorded live at NAMM back in 2018. This isn’t just a discussion about bass technique or career highlights… it’s a reflection on how one player’s values helped reshape an instrument, and how that ripple continues to move through almost every bassist who ever stopped, rewound the tape, and thought: “Wait… you can do that?”

Billy Sherwood’s story has always felt like one of those rare musical journeys where destiny, discipline, and sheer curiosity collide. Raised in a profoundly musical family in Las Vegas, Billy grew up surrounded by harmony, arrangement, and the idea that music was both craft and conversation. By his teens he was already writing, engineering, and producing, eventually forming the band Lodgic before joining World Trade, where his progressive instincts fully took shape. His connection to Yes began long before he officially joined the lineup in the mid-90s: he co-produced and performed on albums like Talk, Open Your Eyes, and The Ladder, becoming a trusted creative partner to Chris Squire. After Squire’s passing in 2015, Billy stepped into the role of bassist at Chris’s personal request (an emotional and technical mantle he continues to carry with extraordinary grace). He has now spent decades in and around the Yes universe, contributing bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards, and production across albums and tours, all while releasing an astonishing catalogue of solo material and collaborations. In our conversation, Billy reflects on how Squire’s influence shaped not only his playing but his entire approach to composition and sonic architecture. He talks about the internal chemistry that keeps Yes moving forward, the brotherhood that sustains the band after so many eras, and the weight (and privilege) of performing foundational works like Fragile for a new generation. We also explore how he maintains his own creative identity amid the legacy, and why he continues to write constantly, even when the ideas don’t yet have a home. If you’ve ever wondered what it means to honor the past while still pushing into the unknown, Billy’s perspective is a masterclass in that balance.   More at NoTreble.com

There’s something quietly brilliant about Alex Frank. Maybe it’s his ability to make a bass line feel cinematic without ever getting in the way. Maybe it’s his rare balance of humility and mastery. Or maybe it’s the way he’s managed to build a career that bridges jazz, film and pop... all without losing the soul of the instrument. In this conversation, Alex takes us through that journey, from his early exposure to the sounds of Los Angeles - a city he’s made both muse and stage - to playing alongside icons like Jeff Goldblum, Michael Bublé, and Diana Krall.