By Tom Pendleton – May 2019

Today I have owned my 1974 Jazz bass forty-four years. I had it as a kid, as a father, and now a grandfather, it always reminds me how wonderful my mother was.

I cut grass all summer to buy my first bass and started playing commercially at 14. Played regularly in a couple of bands and in my high school jazz band. I saved up money from my gigs and bought my second bass and a bigger amp. Unfortunately, our house was broken into and that bass was stolen.

I was devastated and absolutely miserable. I had no idea what I would do.

I went to school on 9th of May 1975 and walked into the band director’s office. I was shocked to find my mother there with the band director. On the floor in front of them, in a case, was a brand-new Fender Jazz.

I was informed that it was mine… I couldn’t believe it. We lived modestly, so I know it was a great sacrifice. It was the Bass I wanted. How she knew that I will never know, but that just attests to how special she was.

Although it doesn’t get the play it deserves, no other bass I own will ever be cherished as much. It’s a simple reminder of how very wonderful my mother was.

R.I.P. Mom

A bassist, composer, poet, author, performing and recording artist – amid other endeavors, Amy Madden is a fixture on the New York City rock scene. She is among the most respected and in-demand local bass players around – and it’s been that way for decades and counting! Her miles long list of credits and associations on stage and on record are exhaustive: Joey Kelly, Alan Merrill, Jon Paris, John Lee Hooker, The Shivers, Adam Bomb, Ricky Byrd, Dave Donen, Jimmy McElligott, Johnny Winter, Elektrik Skin, The Gift, Bobby Keys, Jimmie Johnson, Johnny Thunders, Dweezil Zappa, John Campbell, Zonder Kennedy, Bill Dicey, Steve Holley, Simon Kirke, Hiram Bullock, Charles Roth, Steve Conte, Rob Stoner, and Paul Butterfield….to cite a very, very select few. She never stops playing – and when you hear her stories, you’ll know why…

Dig Amy Madden Know Your Bass Player on Film Season Deux https://bit.ly/31BAxDZ

Akin to nearly all their 1990s Brit pop peers, Suede unabashedly borrowed from Beatles to Bowie – however these lads soared to the top of the UK charts repeatedly, even after their resident guitar hero Bernard Butler split after their sophomore slab. Amid all the gossip and tabloid nonsense which pervaded in the music press, Suede had the substance to back up the sizzle.

Bassist Matthew David Osman does his classic Macca homework diligently, working a vintage Rickenbacker and rendering upper register melodies aplenty to underpin Brett Anderson’s tortured croon.

Great songs make for great bass lines, and Suede is in no short supply of either. Osman’s unassuming stage presence belies his talent for driving the engine that has kept this band relevant whilst many of the era have faded into nostalgia…

Mat Osman Sound & Vision…

“Beautiful Ones” https://youtu.be/xqovGKdgAXY    

“Trash” https://youtu.be/-PdKGDMhau4

“Animal Nitrate” https://youtu.be/i7mEB2wnDLQ

Suede live at the Royal Albert Hall: https://youtu.be/2B8bYtpYLTo

By Thomas Semioli

They were extraordinary: they wrote everything, they played like motherfuckers, they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them. — David Bowie

She anchored what is arguably the first all-female rock ensemble to garner commercial and critical success and prove once and for all that girls could rock just as hard and funky, if not more so, than the boys.

An accomplished vocalist, Jean Millington’s pocket/ song player bass style exudes a decidedly soulful disposition.  Signed to Reprise in 1969 by producer Richard Perry, Fanny dispatched with the then typical girl-band “cuteness.” The Bangles and Joan Jett cite Fanny as a major influence.

Jean also did session work aplenty; that’s her on backing vocals with Babs Streisand, John Simon, and with David Bowie on “Fame” and his rendition of John Lennon’s “Across the Universe.”

Dig Jean on “You’re The One” https://youtu.be/Q80UWYkKNzk

Dig Jean with Fanny live in ‘72 https://youtu.be/Zcb1HpH42N8

Bach to the Future: Tony Senatore, Steve Swallow, Rob Stoner Reflect on Johann  

In Season Deux of Know Your Bass Player on Film, Rob Stoner comments on Johann Sebastian Bach’s importance to modern day bassists.

“Bach’s left hand is were bass started….” https://youtu.be/eTGeRO3aqSA

From Tony Senatore:

Johann Sebastian Bach might seem an unlikely role model for aspiring bass players, but his influence looms large for many. Jack Bruce considered Bach “the ultimate in bass players” and asserted that bassists could learn everything that there is to know in conventional harmony from listening to him. When reflecting on my earliest experiences as a bassist, Bach’s Six Suites For Violincello Solo as well as Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin were integral in developing my overall concept.

Perhaps the best example of Bach’s influence on bass guitar is Glenn Cornick’s work on Jethro Tull’s Stand Up (1969). The third track on side one of this seminal record was Ian Anderson’s arrangement of J. S. Bach’s “Bouree.” Cornick’s solo over the changes of “Bouree” was radical and revolutionary for the time.

I recently learned the track for a video featured on Know Your Bass Player, and noted some similarities between Cornick and Steve Swallow, both tonally as well as stylistically.

I asked Steve if Bach factored into his approach as a bassist, and if he was aware of Cornick, since they were contemporaries.

Steve conveyed that neither Jethro Tull nor Glenn Cornick provided any influence or inspiration, but that he shared Cornick’s “clear fondness for Bach.”

He continued,” I consider Bach the ultimate source of contrapuntal bass lines, and the Cello Suites the one essential bass text.  I know the ‘Bouree’ Tull played, and I used it as lesson material when I taught in the mid-70s at Berklee, and I appreciate that Glenn nailed it without pretense, as a bass player should.”

A master of the “heavy” groove with a “no frills,” soulful rhythmic approach – Glenn Letsch has been called upon to wax sides and anchor ensembles led by guitar legends Ronnie Montrose and Robin Trower along with such artists as Gregg Allman, Neil Schon and Jonathan Cain, among others, for a few generations and counting.

An author (Bass Lessons with the Greats, Bass Masters Class, Bass for Beginners, R & B Bass, Country Bass, James Brown Bass, among others), educator (Diablo Valley College, Bass Guitar-The Lowdown with Glen Letsch),  private instructor, recording artist, session cat, sideman, bandleader – Glenn cites James Jameson, Greg Ridley as his primary influences as a bass player, and Jonathan Cain as a profound mentor as a musician.

Notes John Wardlaw in a Ronnie Montrose fan-site interview with Glenn:  I’d have to say I learned the most playing and recording with Jonathan Cain (keyboardist and songwriter for Journey). His knowledge of music and his feel for the right thing put him on a very special level. It’s not so much that he overtly “teaches.” Rather, you learn alot by paying very close attention to – his songwriting method, his song arrangements, and his
quest for “reasonable perfection” in the studio (he recognizes when we’ve got the rippin’ take, and knows when to stop). Jonathan is successful because he knows what he’s doing. Additionally, he always writes tremendous and often times, involved bass lines on his demos. He expects you to match those parts note for note. And then, if you can, beat them. So, he always encourages excellence AND creativity. If you have something you want to say on your instrument, and it’s right, he’s always ready for it.

Dig Glenn workin’ the pocket with Jonathan Cain “Waiting on the Wind” https://youtu.be/EbaptGeuO5k

Dig Glenn live with Gamma “Ready for Action” https://youtu.be/WDVXmex8fjE

Dig Glenn tearin’ it up on “Bernadette with Glenn” Letsch & Friends: https://youtu.be/55uBfFuBC1U

Dig Glenn workin’ the Jamerson pocket again on his rendition of “What’s Goin’ On” https://youtu.be/XjPZXmmvD9U

Dig Glenn with Robin Trower The Playful Heart https://youtu.be/gF8podHnYNc

For all things Glenn Letsch – dig www.GlennLetsch.Com