“The End!’ Well, it started as kind of a joke – the project was taking soooo long, I thought it was going to kill me!  It’s called ‘The End’ – as if this is going to be the last thing I ever do! Of course, the alternate meaning of that name is that ‘The End’ represents a goal…”  Donnie Nossov 

You don’t meet many humble folks in the music business however Donnie Nossov is that rare exception.

Though the name may not resonate with individuals outside the recording industry, his work as a side-man and session bassist is legend: Cher, Pat Benatar, John Waite, Lita Ford, and Genya Ravan, to reference an extremely select few. I hereby put forth the declaration that in the past forty years and counting – Donnie Nossov’s bass is being heard nonstop somewhere, anywhere on internet and broadcast radio, streaming services, via various formats including vinyl, CD, cassette and 8-track; on bandstands, and DJ turntables.

Some dude wearing a Hawaiian shirt is playing Donnie’s basslines in a classic Top 40 band right now. Another cat with a backwards oversized Ed Hardy baseball cap is sampling Donnie for the dancefloor. Tuxedoed pros on the wedding, Bar Mitzvah, corporate event circuits render Donnie Nossov basslines every day and every night amid Kosher chicken-fingers and horseradish.

And that’s not counting his work on film and television soundtracks as a composer and performer.  If there is ever a time when Donnie Nossov’s bass playing is not being heard or replicated; life as we know it on planet Earth no longer exists. Scratch that, even after humanity is destroyed – and we’re getting close – whatever life form exists will find a copy of The Graces’ Perfect View and dig Donnie’s bass parts.    

At present Mr. Nossov is the composer/ producer / bassist / multi-instrumentalist / and occasional lead vocal mastermind behind The End and their remarkable debut – Imaginary Life. “It wasn’t intentional, I didn’t say it’s time for me to make my own record – let me write all these songs…” laughs Donnie from his Los Angeles home. “I’d been writing songs for a long time – and I’d be recording them as I go.” 

Experience counts for everything in Imaginary Life. “I’ve worked with great people in my career, but it was also my coming of age period where I was steeped in all the great bands and writers of the 1960s and 70s – from Brit rock, American folk rock, blues – those influences permeate everything I do.”

Waxed at his home studio and various locales at his own deliberate pace, Nossov enlisted vocalist extraordinaire Gia Ciambotti to carry The End to the finish line. 

“One evening my wife Nancy and I were just sitting around and she asked me ‘why don’t you play me some of the songs you recorded?’  I played her five or six songs in a row and she said ‘you know, why don’t you make this into an album!’ It was kind of a cross between ‘what are you f’n crazy – and a light bulb moment! I thought, ‘yeah well they do kind of fit together…so then I started to listen to them in that context…and I came to the realization that ‘yeah I can do this.”   

Classic rock fans will dig the diversity of Imaginary Life – which, in the classic rock era, was the way things were done. Every track is unique with regard to tempo, feel, and execution, however it all hangs together perfectly. The acoustic and electric guitars meld ala Petty / Campbell, the melodies soar, the song-craft is timeless, and the rhythm section swings. And it’s a song-cycle that won’t ever sound dated as long as there is an audience for human musicians playing “real” instruments. Scratch that again, even if you remake these songs on computers, the hooks will still shine through the bleeps and boinks. Note to Beyonce, Taylor, Rihanna, Madge, Nicki – call Donnie Nossov! 

And Imaginary Life is no mere collection of tracks. Playlists be damned! Nossov’s all-important album track running order takes the listener on a journey. Tight cuts, no filler. The band and the album have a unique character – much like the artists Donnie has anchored. The End sounds like… The End!    

“The process started out with me and a basic musical idea; and building a track from the ground up. I would get a basic drum feel, throw on acoustic guitars, add bass and get it to ‘feel right’ – and then call Gia as early as possible so I could really hear the song! Largely I asked the other musicians ‘what do you hear?’ Unless I had a really specific idea, I trusted them!”  

Soulful and sensual, among Gia’s most riveting performance appears on the opening track. Notes Nossov “she came in to do the vocal on ‘Like A Drug’ and seemed distracted.  She nailed the vocal and told me she felt like she was coming down with something.  She later told me that she had bronchitis.  She was able to not think about it and connect with the song.  I think it may be the most emotional vocal on the record, for a 40 second bit!”

For the record, pun intended, Nossov’s extended posse aka “The End” is quite impressive: co-writers Lorraine Feather (acclaimed jazz writer and artist), Eddie Arkin, Chrissy Shefts, Laura B.,  Mark Aaron, Julia Goode, Risa Duff, and Gia; guitarists Gary Myrick, Storey Scheinberg, Ritchie Fliegler (“the only guitar player to have played with both Lou Reed and John Cale”), Brian Ray (Paul McCartney’s touring band), Marc Daine Dannenhirsch; keyboardists Michael Skloff, Daniel Crawford; and percussionists Dame Crawford, Rudy Richman.

Nossov would like to bring a touring version of The End onstage in select cities, however, at the moment, plans are up in the air.     

And in an age wherein most album art affords the impression of a mass transit ad, Nossov brings back depth to the format: “that’s a photograph I took in a hotel room in Paris about five years ago. I was searching for a cover when I decided to call it Imaginary Life. There’s a certain loneliness to it. If you look at the chair, it appears as if someone sat in it! But they’re not there anymore…there’s an imaginary person – and I had the ends flipped on the graphics just because I liked the way it looked.”

Even the self-producer’s chair suited Donnie Nossov quite well.  He boasts “I never had any arguments with my client!”

Imaginary Life by The End is out now and available here:

Bandcamp: https://theend4.bandcamp.com

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/album/7FN6xEbwKJq376HRXZBLKp

iTunes:  https://apple.co/2MIJvbS

Apple Music: https://apple.co/2LgHbnT

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2MplnvU

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GC2TCBF

Deezer:  https://www.deezer.com/us/album/70435312

Napster: https://us.napster.com/artist/the-end-pop/album/imaginary-life

Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/album/93397671

Facebook:  https://facebook.com/ImaginaryLife1

Photograph of Donnie Nossov and Gia Ciambotti by Christopher O’Brocto.

Coda: And on the topic of bass player royalty, Gia’s late father is another icon of the instrument: you’ve heard John Ciambotti on Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True, Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, as the bassist in celebrated Bay Area 70s ensemble Clover, and on slabs by John Prine, Nick Lowe, Norton Buffalo, Carlene Carter, and Jim Lauderdale, to cite a few.

His sound and vibe is unmistakable…and instantly identifiable!

Among the most influential contemporary bassists in the 21st Century, Joe Dart darts up and down the fretboard with flawless fluidity in the service of fun funksters Vulfpeck – who prove that bands can actually reach the masses in the post album era.

Inspired by Michael Peter Balzary, EWF’s Verdine White, Francis Rocco Prestia, and the immortal Jaco – Dart, with his treble tone dominating, is a dexterous player whose passages quote Motown / Philly soul classics whilst pushing a harmonic and rhythmic envelope or two.

Dig Dart doin’ his “Beastly Solo” https://youtu.be/I8eUyaF_RcI

And his “Beastly Solo ll” https://youtu.be/WwbVFYWNyqc

In fact all the ‘pecks are clever instrumentalists- and they support each and their frequent guest collaborators with reverence and expertise.

Iaquinto w. ’66 Fender in 1978…                           Steele w. ’66 Fender w. The Bangles     Iaquinto with S.D. Curlee in 1980….               Molly Tentarelli with S.D. Curlee in 2019

 

I have owned countless electric basses in the 48 years that I’ve been playing, which is weird, since I’m only 25 ????. 

 

When I left New York City in 1978, I sold all but one bass: a 1966 Fender Precision Bass that I bought from Manny’s Music, which is where I was working.

 

The bass was white that had become yellowed over the twelve years it was around, and it had a rosewood board and a beautiful tortoiseshell pick guard. Being the knucklehead I was, I stripped the paint off of it (lighter fluid, matches, and a scraper, and I caught my drapes on fire. Knucklehead). I was a huge Peter Cetera fan so I wanted my bass to look like his, which was natural with a maple neck. One of the guys I worked with at Manny’s happened to be selling an early-70’s maple Fender P-Bass neck so I bought it and installed it on my bass. Voila! It looked great and sounded even better than it did before. That was the bass I moved to L.A. with.

 

It was my only bass until I bought a back-up at the end of 1978. At that time, I was the bass player in a magnificent original band called “Hit N Run.” We were right there at the flash point of the whole “New Wave” scene in L.A., playing all the iconic clubs in town. We were mainstays at Madame Wong’s, The Starwood, The Whiskey (BEFORE they made you pay to play!), The Troubadour, The Roxy, and many more. We were always doing gigs with bands like the Bus Boys, The Motels, 20/20, The Pop, and a lot of other L.A. greats.

 

After my Fender started having issues at one of our gigs, I knew I needed a back-up bass so I went to a music store in Santa Monica and fell in love with a bass made by a company called S.D. Curlee. I had never heard of them but out of all the basses I tried, it was the winner. The bass looked like a cross between my old Gibson EB-3 and my Fender, and it had a medium-scale neck, which was very comfortable and easy to play. I bought the bass and it immediately became my go-to, leaving the Fender as the back-up.

 

I did a lot of gigs and recording sessions with that bass and it rocked! Right around this time a friend of mine had gotten into a car accident and her bass, a Music Man Sabre, was destroyed. She was playing with a couple of very cool bands and needed an instrument, so I sold her my Fender, which I had painted red, sanded back to natural, swapped out the original pickup for a DiMarzio, added a Jazz Bass pickup to, and then removed that pickup and filled the hole with wood putty. Being an old Fender, it still sounded great and was unbeatable.

 

I sold her the bass for next to nothing because she was my drummer’s girlfriend and she was a wonderful person and a fantastic bass player. Her name was Mickey Steele. She wound up becoming the bassist for the Bangles, where she used the name “Michael Steele,” and I was blown away to see her using that Fender, with its wood putty scar and everything, in the band’s first MTV video!

 

She even used it for the Bangles reunion concert years later! So there I was, with my S.D. Curlee and my new back-up bass, a modified Gibson G-3 (which we don’t need to talk about). Long story short, I sold the S.D. Curlee to my friend, Franklin Odel and he used it in his studio and that was that.

 

The Fender got famous with the Bangles and the Curlee had a new home. Life happened, years passed, etc., etc. Fast forward to today, February 3rd, 2019. I see a post from the daughter of the lead singer of Hit N Run, whose name is Linda Stevens. Her daughter, Molly Tentarelli, who is a phenomenally talented singer-songwriter, is sitting and playing an S.D. Curlee bass which looks exactly like the one I had. After several back-and-forth posts, I find out that it is, in fact, my old S.D. Curlee Bass.

 

Linda got it from Franklin and now Molly has it. Me = Mind Blown!!! After four decades, it does my heart and soul good to know that this beautiful bass that was an important part of my life and that I made so much great music with, is alive and well and in the family, so to speak.

 

Thank you, Franklin Odel, Linda Stevens, and Molly Tentarelli for making my day. My face hurts from smiling so much. And everyone needs to check out Molly Tentarelli on Facebook and make sure you buy her music, which is fantastic!  

 

 

 

He is from the “First Family” of American jazz.

Chris Brubeck, son of Dave, is a Grammy nominated composer, multi-instrumentalist (electric bass, trombone, piano), recording artist who has worked stages and studios with a remarkable array of artists spanning The Brubeck Brothers, Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Gerry Mulligan, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Stephane Grappelli, Patti LaBelle, Larry Coryell, and Bobby Womack to cite a very select few!

Plying his craft on a fretless Rickenbacker – Brubeck is a multi-genre master who was quoted in Bass Player opining that “composing is selective improvisation!”

Dig “Change Up” with the Brubeck Brothers https://youtu.be/uj0w_iJMAfI

Dig Chris’ Triple Play ensemble https://youtu.be/HkJ71G4Zcug

From Chris Brubeck Com:

Grammy-nominated composer Chris Brubeck continues to distinguish himself as an innovative performer and composer who is clearly tuned into the pulse of contemporary music. Respected music critic for The Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein called Chris: “a composer with a real flair for lyrical melody–a 21st Century Lenny Bernstein.”

In addition to creating an impressive body of work, including several band pieces, chamber pieces, 3 concertos for trombone, a trombone quartet, and several concertos for stringed instruments and other ensembles, Chris maintains a demanding touring and recording schedule playing bass and trombone with his two groups: the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, with brother Dan on drums, Chuck Lamb on piano and Mike DeMicco on guitar (www.brubeckbrothers.com); and Triple Play, an acoustic jazz-funk-blues-Americana trio with Joel Brown on guitar and Peter Madcat Ruth on harmonica and Chris on bass, trombone and piano (www.chrisbrubeckstripleplay.com.)

Additionally, Chris performs as a soloist playing his trombone concertos with orchestras and has served as Artist in Residence with orchestras and colleges in America, coaching, lecturing, and performing with students and faculty. Once a year he tours England with the group Brubecks Play Brubeck along with brothers Darius (on piano) and Dan as well as British saxophonist Dave O’Higgins. Chris had been a long-standing member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, writing arrangements and touring and recording with his father’s group for over 20 years.

Dave and Chris co-wrote the orchestral piece “Ansel Adams: America” which has received dozens of performances and in 2013 was a Grammy finalist for Best Instrumental Composition.

Photo by Big Solid Silver 60

 

 

When you’re a bass player who plays in a great band that writes great songs with a great singer, you play to the song!  Which is exactly what Mike Hogan did during his tenure with The Cranberries, working the pocket and flexing his harmonic chops when necessary.

 

Dig Mike’s pulse beneath their final single “All Over Now.” https://bit.ly/2HbbAHh

 

 

Sometimes the songs are so doggone good that the doghouse plays itself.  Skip Ward works the pocket on upright in the service of urban / urbane Americana songstress Emily Duff who waxes oh-so-poetic over our collective human condition throughout Maybe in the Morning .

Cut at FAME Studios, you can feel the history of this iconic locale in the grooves and melodies as rendered by Duff, Ward, drummer Kenny Soule, guitarist Scott Aldrich and session legend Clayton Ivey.

Dig Ward’s rhythm & blues and jazz flavored motifs which afford the Duff ensemble a definitive swingin’ disposition.

And they’re even better on stage….

Dig Emily and Skip on the title track https://youtu.be/Zkquk5FhONQ

Dig the live version of “Picture Me Gone” https://youtu.be/jxVFT569tCM

Dig Skip’s groove on “Hypmotizing Chickenz” https://youtu.be/PWGRr9tUSSI

By Jeff Ganz 

 

In the category of “Bassists That Deserve More Recognition”, the first one that comes to mind is Bobby Lichtig.

 

Bobby is probably best known for his fine bass playing on Seals & Crofts’ biggest hits, but was also an accomplished woodwind player and songwriter. Bobby was also my first cousin, whom I admired my whole life, hoping to model my career after his.

 

Bobby’s bass sound, both live and on record, was the epitome of what a superb musician could do with a Fender Precision Bass. Later in his career, Bobby had one of the first and one of the best B.C. Rich basses I ever saw or heard, certainly in his hands. Bobby first came to the public eye as a member of The Last Ritual, recording an album for Capitol Records in 1969. He joined Seals & Crofts as their sole accompanist on bass and flute in time for their second album Year Of Sunday, released in 1971.

 

Bobby’s bass playing on “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl” are textbook examples of how to be a distinctive and sensitive accompanist. In 1975, Bobby joined the L.A. based super group Bonaroo; they did one album for Warner Brothers Records. There are three particular moments I remember fondly with Bobby. The first one was in 1972 when he stopped by my parents’ house – on his way to play with Seals & Crofts at Carnegie Hall! The second was in 1991 at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, California when he came to see me playing with Johnny Winter.

 

The third moment was in 2011, when I visited Bobby at his home in Woodland Hills, California after not seeing him for many years. It was a terrific reunion, complete with ice cream. Bobby passed away in 2012 of long-time complications from a traumatic head injury.

 

Bobby Lichtig Remembered by KYBP Readers:

 

Blake Lichtig: As his son, this made me so happy to read and thank you for writing this!!

 

Preston Bealle: I love Seals and Crofts to this day, and always noticed the tasty bass playing without being aware of who it was. I especially like the work on “Fiddle in the Sky”. Glad to find out he’s remembered here.

 

Karla: I knew Bobby waaaay back in the 60’s when he worked at the Coney Island Pub in NYC. He introduced me to Jimi Hendix first album. He was such a nice person.

 

Keith McGee: What a great discovery! I loved the bass on Seals & Crofts albums, and many years ago I discovered the name of this fine musician. So sorry for your loss, to hear of his passing. He left a great musical legacy.

 

Kenny Martel: It was late in 1963. We (“The Madisons”) had already been together for more than two years playing after school dances, Synagogue & Church dances and some local teenage night clubs. Our compliment was two guitars, drums and saxophone (no bass). Suddenly, “The Beatles” were EVERYWHERE and THEY had a bass player! So did our local competition: “The 3 Jacks!” It was obvious…one of us HAD to learn bass! Also “obvious”…neither “The Beatles,” or “The 3 Jacks” had an (obsolete) saxophone! Consequently, the necessary “assignment” fell upon our sax player……Bobby Lichtig!

 

Clark Garmen: In the mid-eighties and again in 2011, Bobby was our bass player in ‘In Transit’ with Arista and RCA Records. What a great band and bassist!

 

Rhonnie Bender: As Bobby’s sister, your article made me smile……

 

Bobby Lichtig Sound & Vision…

 

Seals & Crofts:

 

Midnight Special with Seals & Crofts “Summer Breeze” https://youtu.be/DTv0K2SUlCY

 

Live TV performance of “Diamond Girl” https://youtu.be/Vgl2sk391ds

 

Tonight Show with Johnny Carson “Hummingbird” https://youtu.be/XK_hffjACV0

 

“We May Never Pass This Way Again” https://youtu.be/8Dw8R6kIKyw

 

“Sudan Village” https://youtu.be/-0VDA6-xvG8

 

“Fiddle in the Sky” https://youtu.be/2STEkoTFm7k

 

“Year of Sunday” https://youtu.be/qYITQmUJ8eY 

 

Bonaroo:

 

“Melody Maker” https://youtu.be/rjllZ6Y-ivM

 

“Sally Ann” https://youtu.be/bV1atlfEltU

 

In Transit:

 

In Transit (1980) https://youtu.be/2oUhFLqnSHM

 

 

 

“What’s up beautiful people?”*

With all deference to Sammy Davis Jr. – he’s the hardest working cat in show business – ever! Akin to his former teacher Anthony Jackson, we refer to John Montagna as a “bass guitarist.” Yet, John is much, much more than that: his long list of credits include: composer, singer, recording artist, educator, historian, multi-instrumentalist, producer, band-leader, journalist, sideman (“Happy Together Tour,” Todd Rundgren, Micky Dolenz, The Turtles, Chuck Negron, Mark Farner, Mitch Ryder, Denny Laine, The Cowsills, Felix Cavalerie, to cite a very select few), band member (Alan Parsons Project, among others), Berklee alum, super-fan, pundit, prog prognosticator, broadcaster with bassist Jeff Ganz on “Breaking It Down,” host of a sensational seminal slab soliloquy aptly entitled “Ride Jams” rendered from his automobile to and fro gigs, and Radio418 podcaster – among other endeavors.

A multi-genre genome, a wizard a true star virtuoso of the instrument, ain’t no musical mountain too high for Montagna. “Listen to music, listen to music, listen to music…it’s good for ya!”

** * / ** John Montagna-isms

Dig John Montagna on Know Your Bass Player on Film Season Deux 2018, New York City, Euphoria Studios https://bit.ly/3b7J5FS