While many “alternative rock” era bassists of the 1990s were simply functional players who replicated the lower register of a rhythm guitarist;  Live’s Patrick Dahlheimer  incorporated melodic, pocket and pop/ slap style passages (ala Flea in some instances) which embellished Ed Kowalczyk’s mighty croon and Chad Taylor’s super-sonic guitar sloggery!

On such staples including “Operation Spirit,” “Pain Lies on the Riverside,” and “Selling the Drama” Dahlheimer’s heavy hooks helped distinguished this ensemble from many their combat-boot, skate-tee peers!

In addition to Live, Patrick anchors The Gracious Few with Live bandmates Chad Taylor and Chad Gracey and Candlebox alumnae Sean Hennesy and Kevin Martin.

Dig Patrick’s slap funk passage on “Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)” from Mental Jewelryhttps://youtu.be/1w2jG43Z6v0 Courtesy of Live YouTube page…

As the voice, songwriter, and bassist for Concrete Blonde, Vowel Movement, and Pretty & Twisted, Johnette Napolitano is that rare artist who melds pop melody with cinematic imagery in her libretto parallel to such iconic writers as Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Lou Reed, and Patti Smith; all of whom she cites as influences.

Nowadays Johnette composes for films and continues her career as a fine artist.

Johnette Napolitano Sound & Vision…

Concrete Blonde’s “Joey” https://youtu.be/OdpTcvSn8HQ

Pretty & Twisted’s “Ride” https://youtu.be/FOPJs0TTjhg

Johnette crooning “Someday” with Will Lee on bass https://youtu.be/kEbOm_QyUr4

Concrete Blonde “Heal It Up” from the Jon Stewart Show https://youtu.be/QcJjaL2sL9w

Running Scarred – A Conversation with Johnette Napolitano – Amplifier Magazine, Tom Semioli – April 2007

“In his diaries, I loved the way Eno described Japanese painters who took all day to prepare, grind ink, and select brushes to be ready for one stroke. So that’s what I did for my first record.”

Known to the rock ‘n’ roll masses as Concrete Blonde’s singer – songwriter – bassist, Johnette Napolitano’s moment has arrived. Though she has participated in highly acclaimed side-projects (Pretty & Twisted, Vowel Movement, The Heads) composed for films Wicker Park, Dead Science and Underworld, and dabbled in electronic music (Sketchbook and Sketchbook 2), Ms. Napolitano makes her long awaited solo debut with a decidedly kaleidoscopic collection entitled Scarred.

“Before Concrete Blonde, I was a ten-year-old kid playing guitar on my bed. Call it midlife or whatever, but I need to get back to her and really be that person again.”

Melding folk, techno, garage rock, and punk, Scarred also emerges as a showcase for the talents of Napolitano’s collaborators Will Crewdson and Sultan Ahmed of Catfish Star, whom she met in London fifteen years ago.  Recalls Johnette “Will actually recognized me in a record store! I was so flattered.  We stayed in touch on and off over the years.  Then, about a year ago, he sent me tracks and I just fell in love with them. The songs just wrote themselves.

Napolitano composed “Save Me” during the horror that was Hurricane Katrina. “I couldn’t sleep for a week and just wrote to Will’s tracks. Later we went into a Hollywood studio and the first vocal I laid down as ‘Like a Wave.’ I knew in a minute that it was special, and so did everyone there.” Also on board for Johnette’s bow was ex-Concrete Blonde guitarist Jim Mankey, who served as engineer and guiding light.  “Jim has a lot of respect for Will’s playing and sensibility for guitars…and, in turn, Will has tremendous respect for Jim as well, so the back-and-forth between them was amazing.”

Despite the fact that Scarred was recorded in different studios over an extended period of time, Mankey’s telekinetic knob-twiddling along with Napolitano’s penchant for working quickly made for a cohesive song-cycle. “After every mix, Jim would comment about a lyric or a vocal he liked and that made me feel confident. We even kept a few of the rough board mixes – I’m a firm believer of walking out of the studio with something you can live with the rest of your life…”

Among two pleasant surprises on Scarred are two unlikely covers: Coldplay’s “The Scientist” and the Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”

“Danny Lohner and I worked on the Underworld soundtrack. He received the call for us to cover “The Scientist” for Wicker Park. We weren’t that enthusiastic about it because we’re both writers and we would rather have composed something, but of course, we did it. I drove around in my truck listening to the song for a couple of days since I’m a bit of a method actor when it comes to delivering a vocal. I was damn depressed for days!”

“All Tomorrow’s Parties” was Will’s idea. I’d worked on a song for an Australian film Candy,  which had a Nico temp track ”Wedding Theme” which they couldn’t clear, so they called me in to replace it, which I did.  I’m constantly online with Will and as soon as I told him about it he came up with the Velvet’s song. We did it on one take! Even my die-hard Nico friends love it!”

He is one of the most soulful cats on the upright, and he swings like a mofo on electric! 

As a bandleader, collaborator, and sideman, Christian McBride is among the most in-demand players on the planet.  McBride’s expansive session and stage credits testimony to his multi-genre virtuosity; George Duke, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Sir Paul, Joe Henderson, Bruce Hornsby, James Brown, Joshua Redman, Sonny Rollins, Queen Latifah, Roy Haynes, Joe Lovano, Sting, Pat Methany, David Sanborn, and Diana Kral – just to cite a select few. 

An educator, radio host, and multiple Grammy Award winner, to my ears, Christian’s most signature work as a leader (so far)  is his sprawling Live At Tonic (2005) triple disc set wherein McBride and his partners, including DJ Logic, traverse funk to post-bop to hip-hop to rhythm and blues, to classic fusion.  

Christian McBride Sound & Vision 

JAZZ HOUSE KIDS Spring Gala Celebrates “The 60th Anniversary of the Most Influential Year in Jazz” with Christian McBride – Tom Semioli co-producer / writer https://youtu.be/iZAAVN1A9MM

Dig Christian’s rendition of the National Anthem on a Fender Jazz at Madison Square Garden before a New York Knicks game: https://youtu.be/Iu71RNL5ZZ4

“Fried Pies” https://youtu.be/Dhsi_p-KSG4

A Christian McBride Situation live https://youtu.be/wsCI8Kbp8G0