I saw Keith Jarret's trio about 10 years ago or so and the bass player, either Dave Holland or Charlie Haden, don't recall which, playing upright bass with a pickup and a Cello, I'm not kidding, a Cello amplifier driving his bass bin. Too bad the PA system sucked, it was some huge horn loaded VOT type thing. I was lucky to have a front row seat and so most of the sound was direct from the musicians.
High-End equipment for music peformance?
I recently purchased a great DVD, "Calle 54", which is a chronicle of some of the best Latin Jazz musicians alive today. While I highly recommend this DVD (although the sound quality isn't the best), I was intrigued by one player in particular. Michel Camilo's performance included two other players: Horatio "El Negro" Hernandez on drums, and Anthony Jackson on bass. I noticed something familiar sitting behind Jackson, who plays a beautiful custom contrabass guitar. Much to my surprise, it was a Krell FPB 650mc monoblock! He was using the Krell amp to power his bass cabinet! How often have you heard of performers using high-end audio equipment onstage? It seems that all top musicians would want only the best for their performances.