He anchored one of the most successful ensembles in the history of popular music – and one which furthered the careers of several iconic songwriters including Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams, Harry Nilsson, Hoyt Axton, and Randy Newman – to cite a very select few.

We all know Jeremiah was a bullfrog, however if you came within earshot of an AM radio in the late ‘60’s – early 70s you also know the work of late Joe Schermie by way of “One,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Eli’s Comin” “Celebrate,” “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” “Joy to the World,” “Liar,” “Old Fashioned Love Song,” “Never Been To Spain,” and “Black & White” among others.

Three Dog Night was America’s premier pop singles band of the era, knocking out 21 Top 40 hits between ‘69 and ’75.

Founding bassist Joe Schermie (nee Shermeltzer) was their soul-inspired harmonic bedrock: always in the pocket, rendering all the right notes with a diversity of rhythmic variations, and allowing space within the songs for their remarkable triumvirate of singers to shine. Joe was a true finesse player with a rock ‘n’ roll edge. Schermie’s weapon of choice was the Fender Jazz, which he customized, and affixed a fuzzy Troll doll to the headstock which he never explained!

A powerhouse live ensemble, Three Dog Night’s album tracks where equally as engaging as their singles – dig their rendition of a Beatles track which was never officially released by the Fab Four “It’s For You” from Captured Live at the LA Forum https://youtu.be/PFaIwt6nfdU

Following his dismissal from the band in ‘73 – for reasons unknown, Joe later emerged in the ensemble S.S. Fools featuring Bobby Kimball who would go on to front Toto, along with former TDN members Mike Allsup and Floyd Sneed, who were also axed, again, for reasons unknown. They waxed one slab which sank in the marketplace which was now focused on punk, disco, and hard rock.

In his later years, Joe worked in various ensembles – some with Floyd Sneed, which featured his former band’s hits, and new material. Schermie passed at age 56 in 2002 shortly after the filming of the aforementioned television show.

Joe Schermie Sound & Vision….

Three Dog Night:

BBC In Concert  1972 https://youtu.be/6SBd9ZfzzMA

“My Impersonal Life” https://youtu.be/U6IjeTXHKU8

“Eli’s Coming” https://youtu.be/K8SRD0FK2EE

“Try a Little Tenderness” https://youtu.be/eyNRMkrfyFk

Tony Senatore’s rendition of “One” https://youtu.be/JIQWQlTfDok

S.S. Fools:

American Bandstand: https://youtu.be/xAovwsPiReQ

“Whatever Happened to America” https://youtu.be/BHhQfO7pz9Y

Dig Joe and Floyd cooking fried chicken on an independent TV program entitled Food Rules https://youtu.be/yf051qxnnZ4

Bassist Fran Festa with his Joe Schermie Tribute Bass.

Check out Fran’s Joe Schermie Fans Facebook Page!  (12) Joe Schermie Fans | Facebook

An award winning first-call session cat and among the most in-demand touring bassists on the planet, it would be easier to list the artists whom Nathan Harnell East has not played with on stage and on record!

East, who prefers (and endorses) extended range Yamaha bassists, grew up to the sounds of Philadelphia and has incorporated his reverence for jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, and rock into platinum records aplenty by Eric Clapton, Fourplay, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Loggins, Michael Jackson, Daft Punk, and Herbie Hancock to cite an extremely select few.

Dig Nathan with Whitney: https://youtu.be/YohL_QJhFaw

Dig Nathan with Slowhand: https://youtu.be/–ND7U44k_M

Dig Nathan with The Eurythmics https://youtu.be/Uhpu2N4rQZM

Dig Nathan’s “Daft Funk” https://youtu.be/07GgekHHud8

An accomplished singer, cellist, educator, composer, producer, in 2014 Nate waxed his debut solo album, which, of course, featured his famous friends Stevie Wonder, Slowhand, Ray Parker Jr….the list goes on and on and on…

Courtesy of Duck Dunn Remembered Com

“I listen to the first playback, then go back into the studio and play half of what I did!” Donald “Duck” Dunn

Along with James Jamerson Jr., Carol Kaye, and many of the Wrecking Crew players of the early 1960s, Duck established the electric bass as the bedrock of popular music by way of his work in Booker T. and the MG’s and as an in-demand A list studio player.

Dunn’s style is a master course in the use of rhythm and space. Play through his transcriptions and you discover not a superfluous fill, grace note, nor rapid-fire motif. Duck let the music breathe, and by doing so you can hear the song within his bass passages.

A player whose influence is incalculable, Duck’s legendary weapon of choice was the Fender Precision outfitted with heavy gauge LaBella’s akin to his peer Jamerson – which he amplified with various Ampeg rigs, most notably the B-15, again akin to the aforementioned Motown icon. 

So what Donald “Duck” Dunn done? Booker T. & the MGs, Ray Charles, The Blues Brothers, Roy Buchanan, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, Ritchie Havens, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, Muddy Waters, Bill Withers, Neil Young, The Manhattan Transfer, The Staples Singers, Boz Scaggs, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Freddie King, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jerry Lee Lewis…to name a scant few. 

Nick Rosaci’s transcription book Soul Fingers: The Music & Life of Legendary Bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn – is essential reading for all bassists who work in a pop, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, rock context.

Every track Duck cut is worthy of exploration – so rather than choose one of his more popular passages, dig this somewhat obscure Slowhand recording “The Shape You’re In” https://youtu.be/yFVXxxvkFiU

Tony Senatore’s Booker T. medley with some of Duck’s classic passages: https://youtu.be/6KdK2KyZlAg

Kenny Aaronson, Tom Semioli in the Duck Dunn shed!

Courtesy of Thin Lizzy Co UK

There is no Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame vast enough to accommodate the legacy of the late, great Philip Parris Lynott. The creative genius behind Thin Lizzy and one of the most influential rock artists of all time, Phil is beloved, revered, and emulated by indie and alternative rockers, punks, folkies, and metal heads alike.  

Pounding out root note passages on top of the beat with his instrument positioned ergonomically chest high, this Dublin by-way-of Birmingham working-class poet bared his restless romantic soul in compositions and performances that were reflective, cocksure, cavalier … and jubilant – all in the span of a five minute pop song.

Detailing the blue-collar blues (and triumphs) of the proletariat and its fringe characters, Phil’s artistry evokes comparison to such acknowledged poets including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, and Joni Mitchell. His unique style of conversational vocal phrasing – half sung / half spoken – afforded his witty libretto a cinematic quality.

Phil’s weapons of choice included his signature black Fender Precision bass, Rickenbacker, and in his later years, an Ibanez Roadster.

Phil Lynott Sound & Vision …

 “Sarah” https://youtu.be/sEmkIxOolxc

“The Boys Are Back in Town” https://youtu.be/SGZqDzb__bw

“Whisky In the Jar” https://youtu.be/6WDSY8Kaf6o

“Bad Reputation” https://youtu.be/gqSzDJGFCgI

“Jailbreak” https://youtu.be/dMko8DlY9IA

“Cowboy Song” https://youtu.be/fMdmjoAB-5Q

“Old Town” https://youtu.be/d2OcIqwmSaY

By Thomas Semioli

“I’m not a star. I’ll never be a Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley or a Ray Charles. I’m just an imitator, man. I’m doing a very bad imitation on the bass of Jerry Jemmott, Bernard Odum, Jim Fielder, Jimmy Blanton, Igor Stravinsky, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, James Brown, Charlie Parker… the cats, man. I’m just backing up the cats…” Jaco Pastorius

You can divide the history of the bass into two categories: Before Jaco. After Jaco. As a student at the University of Miami in the late 1970s – a time when the electric bass was not considered a legitimate instrument by the jazz establishment (aka “the jazz police”), in the many instances when we were confronted by such ignorance –  we simple responded to the misbegotten taunts with one word, one name: Jaco!  

Jaco’s influence is, in a word, incalculable. Drawing on his deep reference for Cuban music (especially percussionists), jazz, rhythm & blues, Frank Sinatra, big-band, funk, rock, pop, soul, and every permutation thereof, Jaco brought an exciting, fresh voice to the instrument akin to his artistic peers Jimi Hendrix and Charlie Parker, to reference two.

On the technical side, Jaco’s virtuoso application of harmonics, chords, advanced harmonies, and lyrical improvisations all coaxed from a battered fretless Fender Jazz – known as the “Bass of Doom,” shook the foundation of popular music. His unique tone shattered the long-held tenets of what a bass should sound like. The full possibilities of the electric bass which Jaco pioneered are still being explored today by players of all generations. On stage, he was a master showman.

Jaco’s work with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Ian Hunter, and as a solo artist and collaborator  remains watershed, and continues to inspire scores of players.   

Kudos to film makers Paul Marchand, Stephen Kijak and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo for telling Jaco’s story with the grace, dignity, and respect he so richly deserves: Jaco  – Passion Pictures / 2014.    

Jaco Pastorius Sound & Vision…

Jaco and Joni: “Shadows & Light”  https://youtu.be/bLKb9Ms68ME

Ian Hunter “All American Alien Boy” https://youtu.be/i9y7IIjS3Kk

From Rock ‘n’ Roll Sweepstakes: Ian Hunter – The Authorized Biography Volume Two by Campbell Devine (Omnibus Press). Tom Semioli, who runs the US website KNOW YOUR BASS PLAYER describes the record that introduced (Jaco) Pastorius to rock audiences as “…an overlooked masterpiece. Jaco’s bold motifs beautified Hunter’s intense, introspective, observational verses and melodies. Unlike his time with Joni, Jaco didn’t dare outmaneuver Hunter. An undeniably captivating marriage of jazz, rock and poetry, no album (All American Alien Boy / 1976 / Columbia Records) sounded like this before, and no album has sounded like it since….”

Weather Report:

“Teen Town” https://youtu.be/a3113eNj4IA

“Birdland”  https://youtu.be/SvhmaNlLgRM

Jaco:

“Donna Lee”  https://youtu.be/dGbCxcuNjBU

“Portrait of Tracy” https://youtu.be/IqndXUPBjIo

Courtesy Paul Jackson Com

By Thomas Semioli

A giant of the instrument, Paul Jackson’s tenure as anchor of Herbie Hancock’s groundbreaking Headhunters ensembles brought jazz fusion and funk to the masses, and continues to influence generations of bass players and hip-hop artists who have endlessly sampled his work.

A master of rhythm and space, Jackson’s “economic” approach was founded on repetitive lower-register motifs punctuated with tuneful upper-register fills which complimented Herbie’s melodies and the grooves forged by drummers Harvey Mason and Mike Clark.

A Grammy Award nominated composer, solo recording artist, and in-demand session player/collaborator with artists including Santana, Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Al Di Meola, the Oakland Symphony, and the Pointer Sisters – to cite a very select few – Paul Jackson was also an acclaimed educator and founder of Jazz for Kids.

Paul Jackson Sound & Vision…

Herbie Hancock “Palm Grease” https://youtu.be/sRn7WlikdUA     

Paul on the tracks he composed with Herbie:

“Chameleon” https://youtu.be/WYRrIBqKsJ4

“Hang Up Your Hang-Ups” https://youtu.be/d7kRlufrZJo

“Spider” https://youtu.be/HQPdVhYZgR0

Mike Clark / Paul Jackson Funk Tutorial Part One: https://youtu.be/i-3v0NN3FNo

Paul Jackson Trio “Everything” https://youtu.be/grQBpNRIAY0

Santana: “Give Me Love”  https://youtu.be/0MGBQffSVSY

Pointer Sisters “Chainey Do” https://youtu.be/xhmp3J79CNI

By Thomas Semioli

I find that the best bass players are as supportive when we’re off duty as when we’re in the studio and/or on the bandstand. Witness the life of Charlie Haden. A master soloist, accompanist, and composer who drew his inspiration from country to classical to world music (which he helped create), Charlie Haden’s historic tenure with Ornette Coleman, and genre defying collaborations with artists ranging from Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Art Pepper, Beck, Abbey Lincoln, Alice Coltrane, John Scofield, Yoko Ono, Michael Brecker, and Paul Motian to cite a very few, continue to expand the language of jazz and improvised music.

The Liberation Music Orchestra, under the direction Charlie Haden and Carla Bley provided a musical platform to challenge militarism, apartheid, conflicts against military dictatorships funded by hegemonic governments, oppression of indigenous peoples, racism, sexism, violations of civil rights, environmental irresponsibility, and economic injustice, among many other issues that do not have a strong voice in a mainstream American culture obsessed with celebrity.

A musical giant who spoke truth to power through his artistry regardless of the consequences- Mr. Haden said of his Liberation Music Orchestra “I always dreamed of a world without cruelty and greed, of a humanity with the same creative brilliance of our solar system, of an America worthy of the dreams of Martin Luther King, and the majesty of the Statue of Liberty. This music is dedicated to those who still dream of a society with compassion, deep creative intelligence, and a respect for the preciousness of life for our children, and for our future.”

Dig Charlie Haden and Keith Jarrett https://youtu.be/m9B24FrCOaQ

KYBP Adjunct Professor Tony Senatore’s Rendition of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” https://youtu.be/2MraS5gK0SM

Courtesy of Black Sabbath Com Deadland Ritual Courtesy of Geezer Butler Com

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By Thomas Semioli

He is a true giant of the instrument who accomplished so much at a young age, it’s remarkable to consider that after departing Free at the age of 21, he hardly played bass anymore save for a brief stint in a short-lived collective with Chris Spedding, and with various ensembles to support his sporadic solo work and other one-off projects. 

This remarkably articulate and instantly identifiable bassist composed the seminal guitar anthem “All Right Now,” and penned hits for Robert Palmer (“Every Kind of People”), among others.

Andy Fraser worked his Gibson EB-3 like Miles Davis played trumpet – every note had a purpose, and he possessed a signature sound that was both gritty and sweet – depending on the musical situation.

Phrasing akin to tuba and an upright, Fraser was an absolute master of rhythm and space – utilizing whole notes, quarter notes, and rests to their maximum effectiveness and drama.

Classically trained, Andy was on the bandstand with John Mayall at the age of 15.

Andy Fraser Sound & Vision

With Free…

“Mr. Big” https://youtu.be/Ai-4zRRnD4k

“All Right Now” https://youtu.be/5wiF6b4rxno

“Be My Friend” https://youtu.be/XvDNS_x3BTo

Andy solo…

“Beautiful” https://youtu.be/bGmR10TYQ2w

“Healing Hands” https://youtu.be/lv_SruC9UzQ