His crisp plectrum tone and deftly articulated passages anchored one of rock’s most influential ensembles: The Smiths.  Though Moz and Marr garnered the glam and glory, the rhythm section of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke added a swing element to their slabs ‘n’ singles which afforded the Mancunian lads a unique rhythmic identity.

Andy braided Morrissey’s tuxedoed tenor croon with the sus-chord sorcery of Johnny Marr with pocket grooves punctuated with fluid counter-melodic passages, double-stops, chords and soulful rhythms. 

Dig Andy on “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” with many of the above referenced assets on one track!

A producer, writer, collaborator, bandmember, among Rourke’s post Smiths endeavors included waxing tracks and/or stage work with The Pretenders, Badly Drawn Boy, Ian Brown, Blitz Vega, Free3bass (with Mani and Peter Hook), D.A.R.K with the late Dolores O’Riordan and Ole Koretsky, and various stints as a DJ and radio host.  Andy also composed for television (Anthony Bourdain) and film.

His main weapon of choice was the Fender Precision, along with old reliable Peavey Mark III bass head.

Andy Rourke Sound & Vision…

Andy with D.A.R.K. “Curvy” https://youtu.be/YWo-tNkHnOE

Andy with Mike and Moz “Last of the Famous International Playboys” https://youtu.be/Bk1wUKoXL20

Andy with Free3bass: https://youtu.be/SMiKVwInp7g

Classically trained at New York University, flautist/bassist Andy Kulberg anchored one of rock’s most influential ensembles; Blues Project. Composer of “Flute Thing” Andy was among the first wave of electric rock bassists who drew from jazz, blues, and folk in an improvisational rock context. Following Blues Project, Andy formed Seatrain, which broke ground in rock roots music including a fine self-titled sophomore slab produced by George Martin.    

Andy Kulberg Sound and Vision:

With Blues Project:

“Flute Thing” https://youtu.be/ERxBkzoYIp8

“Steve’s Song” https://youtu.be/HeYLMC7W6ZE

“I Can’t Keep from Crying” https://youtu.be/1Uxalc0o10s

With Seatrain:

“Willin’ https://youtu.be/iV9C8jlhOmY

By Tom Semioli

Aside from his highly acclaimed tenure in Ride as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist – Andy Bell helmed the bass chair for Oasis following Guigsy’s sack, and later, for Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye.

Essentially a riff and roots player, Bell kept his head down, avoided conflict, collected his cheques, and was the only member of the brothers Gallagher gang that composed songs that didn’t sound as if they were lifted from Lennon outtakes such as “The Nature of Reality,” “Turn Up the Sun,” and “Keep the Dream Alive”  among others.  

Andy Bell Sound and Vision with Oasis:  

“The Nature of Reality” https://youtu.be/N_7gFLkzT6g

“Turn Up the Sun” https://youtu.be/V_Pxz8keRww

“Keep the Dream Alive” https://youtu.be/neoqgelvmu4

By Tom Semioli

Known primarily as the band that launched Van Morrison’s career, Them morphed into a groovy, psychedelic blues pop band following the Belfast Cowboy’s departure in 1966.

Bassist Alan Henderson, who kept a version of Them in business well into the 1980s, allegedly was the only bona fide band member aside from Van to play on their early slabs with the others being replaced by seasoned session cats. Henderson was a flexible bassist, rocking the pocket with soulful passages distinctive of the era. 

Alan Henderson Sound & Vision with Them

“Mystic Eyes” and “Gloria” live https://youtu.be/3Z3ITXYVPI0

“Square Room” https://youtu.be/n-9l0JnwoLw

When I look up to the sky, I see your eyes a funny kind of yellow, I rush home to bed I soak my head, I see your face underneath my pillow, I wake next morning, tired, still yawning see your face come peeping through my window, pictures of matchstick men and you….

A founding member of one of Britain’s most enduring ensembles, dare I say “institution” – bassist Alan Lancaster anchored Status Quo from its early psychedelic yearnings to its establishment as a premiere rhythm & blues boogie outfit. 

Among Alan’s tools of the trade was the mighty Fender Mustang. Lancaster, who was also a vocalist and composer, departed the band in 1985 to work on a myriad of musical projects, which also include occasional reunions with his former Quo comrades. He last performed with the band in 2015.    

Status Quo Co UK: During Alan’s time with the band, Quo opened Live Aid, sold countless tens of millions of records, appeared on Top Of The Pops dozens of times, and had around 30 hit singles and 30 hit albums, two thirds of which went Top 10, with five reaching Number One. That was just his UK track record – but the pattern was repeated in numerous territories worldwide as Quo became one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

Alan Lancaster Sound & Vision…

By Tom Semioli

Go figure why one of rock’s great regional bands, Boston’s Barry and the Remains, or simply The Remains failed to reach lasting national attention despite appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and opening for The Beatles’ final 1966 American trek. Immortalized in Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era and the documentary America’s Lost Band, The Remains’ bassist Vern Miller was a no frills pocket player with a rhythm and blues approach.

After their ’66 split, The Remains reunited for one more slab in 2002, a benefit tribute single to Red Sox hurler Bill Monbouquette, and assorted garage rock fests such as Cave Stomp among others.  The archival A Session with The Remains may just be rock’s greatest live collection!

A composer, producer, musical director (“All Good Things”), educator (Maplewood-South Orange Public School system) Vern’s post-Remains career includes composing the theme song for the 1995 NJEA Martin Luther King Conference on Human Rights, and several local radio jingles in the greater New York area.

Dig Vern and The Remains…

“Why Do I Cry” https://youtu.be/VQH8ny0DuCM

“Heart” https://youtu.be/_Xq8gBBxgUU

“Don’t Look Back” https://youtu.be/t-ne_H5HL88

By Thomas Semioli 

Detroit keeps producing more great musicians than any other place on Earth, and that’s a true story… Ralphe Armstrong

A student of James Jamerson and Ron Carter, and classically trained at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy, Ralphe Armstrong succeeded Rick Laird in the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1974 at the age of 16 – a gig that Jaco Pastorious had also auditioned for.

An upright player, solo recording artist, and among the early proponents of the fretless, Ralphe went on to work with Herbie Hancock, Jean Luc-Ponty, Santana, Aretha Franklin, Lenny White, Earl Klugh, Narada Michael Walden, Eddie Harris and as a studio cat on sessions produced by George Martin, among others. Armstrong’s weapons of choice in this era was the Gibson Ripper, G-3, RD Artist, and Victory.

After a brief break from the biz to raise a family, Ralphe was back on the bandstand and recording studio with Sting, Roger Daltrey, and Eminem’s ensemble D-12. In addition to gigs and sessions, Ralphe is currently an educator at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio.

Ralphe Armstrong Sound & Vision…

Mahvishnu Orchestra “Smile of the Beyond” https://youtu.be/IjM-UQ0zVUU

Jean-Luc “Egocentric Molecules” https://youtu.be/bFQyqJNwFI8

Lenny White https://youtu.be/CxPe0ucLjro  

Aretha “Wonderful” https://youtu.be/S9X3IAYzh48

KYBP Adjunct Professor Tony Senatore’s rendition of “Mirage” replete with a comedic preamble, as played on Ralphe’s fretless bass: https://youtu.be/uFR32Zx6MDQ

By Thomas Semioli 

He grabbed the bass chair for one memorable song for Led Zeppelin at their infamous Live Aid ‘85 debacle, and is among the most prolific and versatile pocket / melodic studio cats / sidemen of his generation…however his name is known primarily to those in the know and liner notes devotees…

British session ace Paul Martinez anchored a trio of Robert Plant slabs including the ex-Zep singer’s engaging Honeydrippers retro outfit, along with the sole studio release of Paice Ashton Lord, and seminal sides by such artists as Cat Stevens, Dakota Staton, Bernard Purdie, Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, George Harrison, Maggie Bell, Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Page, Phil Collins, Neil Innes, and Dave Edmunds to cite a select few. 

Whilst a member of Plant’s touring/studio band, Paul joined Led Zeppelin on stage at Live Aid 1985 in Philadelphia when Jonsey moved to keyboards for “Stairway to Heaven.” (I won’t dare post the video link lest Zep’s lawyers dispose of me….)

Dig Paul with Robert, Phil, and Dave Edmonds “Philadelphia Baby” https://youtu.be/fHSZRWtSRvg

Dig Paul with Bernard Purdie “Day Dreamin” https://youtu.be/jUPNPAodSug

Dig Paul with Robert Plant “Burning Down One Side” https://youtu.be/n_7abjQe3J0

Dig Paul and Robert on Top of the Pops “Big Log” https://youtu.be/G9PeHWXBwKc

Dig Paul live with Paice, Ashton Lord “Remember the Good Times” https://youtu.be/QJVodufFxuc

Dig Paul with Cat “The Hurt” https://youtu.be/-T5hQZ_nfWE

Dig Paul with the Honeydrippers “Good Rockin’ Until Midnight” https://youtu.be/4vRUnT-TeRg

By Thomas Semioli 

He is an icon of the instrument, and nearly competed in the Olympics as a free style swimmer!

A protégé who studied at the Prague Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, Miroslav Vitous arrived in New York City in 1967 and immediately found himself on the bandstand and recording studio with Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Herbie Mann, among others.

Akin to many young jazz players in the late 60s, Vitous was open to electrified rock and rhythm & blues influences, which landed him a gig with Weather Report in 1971. As the anchor of Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter’s watershed ensemble, Vitous waxed slabs which are considered among the most influential jazz fusion history: Weather Report (1971), I Sing The Body Electric (1972) , Sweetnighter (1973) which also featured Andrew White on bass, and Mysterious Traveler (1974) which also featured Alphonso Johnson on electric.

Inspired by his native Czech folk music, along with such players as Scott LaFaro, Ron Carter, and Gary Peacock, Miroslav is a  prolific solo recording artist, band member, collaborator, academic, and educator – among other titles, whose curricula vitae spans post-bop, fusion, avant-garde, big band and permutations thereof.

Among the more adventurous releases under his own name includes Universal Syncopations (2006) wherein Vitous bases his compositions on “symphonic samples” which he accrued over a seven-year period.

Vitous also leads a Weather Report repertory ensemble which continues the sonic, harmonic, and rhythmic explorations of the famed collective.

Dig Miroslav…

Weather Report Live 1971: https://youtu.be/iRJC5WeeNSI

“Synthesizers Dance” https://youtu.be/7RmXGzTUyOQ 

Project Q Live 2013 https://youtu.be/gLcBOwvBn1s

Chick Corea “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” https://youtu.be/eVeGH6JC-eE

From Universal Syncopations ll:

“Universal Evolution” https://youtu.be/yNoSADkgHLo

“Solar Giant” https://youtu.be/TE0B6iTAhiU

You think it’s easy to play bass with capes, drapes, nipped-in waists, high-collars, lace, and billowing frocks?

As bassist for the UK hit-making New Romantic movement ensemble Spandau Ballet, Martin John Kemp mastered his instrument in a matter of months and has anchored the Islington ensemble throughout its entire on-and-off career since 1980.

With a crisp tone abetted with flange, chorus, and delay that slices through Spandau’s hooky synth laden compositions, Kemp is an under-rated groove master who references soul, old school rhythm & blues, and funk. Martin is also an accomplished actor and director, appearing such programs as BBC East Enders, among numerous other roles.

Millions also know him as the co-host of the immensely popular podcast Rockonteurs with fellow bassist extraordinaire Guy Pratt. 

Martin Kemp Sound & Vision with Spandau Ballet (a moniker suggested by writer Robert Elms who saw it scrawled across a wall in downtown Berlin…)  

“Only When You Leave” from Live Aid ‘85 https://youtu.be/PX1kr7Oyzw8

“Through the Barricades” https://youtu.be/yn7HXmzxqV8

“True” https://youtu.be/bCkevvj_J2g

“Gold” https://youtu.be/ntG50eXbBtc