bass player with herbie hancock Archives

Bill Laswell (Material)

By Tom Semioli

Visionary, sound conceptualist, innovator…

Producer, recording artist, label head, composer – and a bass player, Bill Laswell is a giant of American music. Spanning pop, new wave, no wave, punk, dub, avant-garde, jazz, rock, reggae, electronica, techno – and permutations thereof, there is nary a genre Laswell has not excelled in.

Laswell’s innovative production and collaborative efforts are the stuff of legend. His short list (pun intended) of credits include: Mick Jagger, Yoko Ono, Iggy Pop, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Bootsy Collins, Nine Inch Nails, Motorhead, Peter Gabriel, Blur, The Ramones, George Clinton, Pharaoh Sanders, The Dalai Lama, Matisyahu, Angelique Kidjo, DJ Krush, Sting, The Last Poets, Afrika Bambaataa, Julian Schnabel, Whitney Houston, Manu Dibango, Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, PiL, Ginger Baker, Tony Williams, Steve Vai, William S. Burroughs, Miles Davis, Carlos Santana, and Bob Marley, to cite a select few.

Akin to his peer bassists Jah Wobble, Jonas Helborg, and such luminaries as Bootsy, Jaco, Jamerson, Marcus Miller…. Laswell’s rhythmic and tonal vocabulary has expanded the language of the instrument.

As a bassist his seminal works include his “avant-funk” ensemble Material, progressive dub collective Method of Defiance, Massacre with Fred Firth and Charles Hayward, and Last Exit with Sonny Sharrock among others.

Bill Laswell Sound and Vision

“Beyond the Zero” https://youtu.be/ddjMHMuOE7Y

“Golden Spiral” https://youtu.be/XYixWnmv0YE

“Dread Iternal” https://youtu.be/aIzFfMslCQo

“Lightening Teleportation” https://youtu.be/ZlvrMBxM-jE

Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon)

By Thomas Semioli

If you were a working bass player in 1986 – which I was, then you were especially blown away by Paul Simon’s Graceland – which was a showcase for the fretless mastery of Bakithi Kumalo. Great songs make for great bass lines, and the compositions and melodies for which Mr. Simon is mostly credited for are an astonishing meld of American pop and South African music.

The bass solo many of us attempted to transcribe from the hit single/video https://youtu.be/uq-gYOrU8bA “You Can Call Me Al” [Note the Leo Quan bridge on Paul’s Fender P bass in the clip with Chevy) is actually a studio splice: the opening motif was recorded as is, and the closing phrase is actually the opening motif in reverse.

Born into a musical family in Soweto, Johannesburg, Bakithi nailed his first gig at the age of 7, subbing for his bass playing uncle. A top session player since the 1970s, Kumalo incorporates elements of African and old-school rhythm and blues in his passages. Bakithi’s bass heroes include Jaco, James Jamerson, and Alphonso Johnson.

Aide from my chimin’ about Bakithi and rhymin’ Simon, Kumalo has an impressive catalog of solo releases and collaborations with Joan Baez, Cyndi Lauper, Herbie Hancock, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Randy Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., and Mickey Hart.

Bakithi Sound & Vision:

With Paul Simon:

“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” live https://youtu.be/Fmf9ZJ_Yn0A

“Boy in the Bubble” https://youtu.be/Hk7MCvCHNQA

Solo Bakithi

“Step On the Bassline” https://youtu.be/l91Q_J57Y00

“Masala: https://youtu.be/jWyoTz9H-NI

Ron Carter (Miles Davis) VIDEO INTERVIEW

Courtesy of Ron Carter Net

“I think that the bassist is the quarterback in any group, and he must find a sound that he is willing to be responsible for…” Ron Carter

Ronald Levin Carter is the most recorded jazz bassist ever with over 2,500 albums to his credit. His rich tone, soulful rhythmic phrasing, and harmonic flexibility, which draws from classical, jazz, and rhythm & blues, along with his extensive body of work as a leader, collaborator, and sideman on CTI, Milestone, Blue Note, Impulse, and Prestige, among many other imprints, is, in a word – unmatched!

Carter’s enormous contributions to recordings by Miles Davis, George Benson, Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Joe Henderson, Gil Scott-Heron, Herbert Laws, A Tribe Called Quest, Tony Williams, Wes Montgomery, Donald Byrd, Jim Hall, Roberta Flack, Bill Frisell, and Kenny Burrell, to cite a very, very few, are all worthy of exploration.

Ron Carter’s tenure with Miles Davis is likely his most recognizable work. Ron propelled Miles second greatest quintet which spanned the hard bop of E.S.P. (1965) to the fusion filled Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968). As told to this writer along with David C. Gross “Miles may have been the bandleader…but I led the band!”

An educator, and revered and prolific composer, if you had to bestow the title of the world’s greatest living bassist …look no further than Ron Carter.

Ron Carter Sound & Vision:

Miles Davis:

“Eighty One” https://youtu.be/WN-hXbeI6vQ

“Four” https://youtu.be/Ce2S2LkTjKI

“E.S.P.” https://youtu.be/lRhqn21-xeg

“Filles De Kilimanjaro” https://youtu.be/7hBJ4664bNQ

Roberta Flack: “Compared to What” https://youtu.be/wDUk9Lsy_yQ

Herbie Hancock / Tony Williams / Ron Carter: “Third Plane” https://youtu.be/9hKFkCtiFZs

Tribe Called Quest “Verses from the Abstract” https://youtu.be/FGB6pWGI_kE

Jerry Jemmott (King Kurtis, Aretha Franklin)

By Thomas Semioli

“Jerry never does anything just because it’s right to do, he likes to do it because it feels good…” B.B. King.

A true giant of the instrument – Jaco Pastorius cited Jerry Jemmott aka “The Groovemaster” as his favorite player and mentor. And when you hear (and feel) Jerry’s bass artistry on scores of tracks, you can obviously understand why. A disciple of Paul Chambers and Charles Mingus – Jemmott owns “the pocket.” Greatly inspired by Paul Chambers, Jerry often stretches the harmonic and rhythmic boundaries akin to his mentor.

Along with James Jamerson, Duck Dunn, Carol Kaye, and Chuck Rainey – Jerry Jemmott played a major role in establishing the electric bass in the studio and on the bandstand.

Jemmott was among Atlantic Records’ most prodigious session cats during their golden era – appearing on such landmark recordings by Aretha Franklin (Soul ’69, Aretha Now!, Live at the Fillmore), The Rascals (Freedom Suite, Peaceful World), King Curtis (Live at the Fillmore, Everybody’s Talkin’), and Roberta Flack, plus numerous sides by George Benson (The Other Side of Abbey Road, Tell It Like It Is), Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Gil Scott-Heron, Janis Ian, Herbie Hancock, Wilson Pickett and Herbie Mann to cite a very, very select few.

Jerry is also a prolific solo recording artist, waxing sides which meld blues, funk, soul, and reggae under his name and the moniker Jerry Jemmott & Souler Energy.

Bass Player cited Jerry with a lifetime achievement award in 2001. Be sure to seek out the video Jaco Pastorius Modern Electric Bass, hosted by Jerry. Dig the way Pastorius’ heartfelt admiration and reverence for Jerry bursts forth in that historic meeting.

Jerry’s main weapon of choice during his 60s/70s heyday was the Fender Jazz.

Jerry Jemmott Sound & Vision

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” Gil Scott-Heron https://youtu.be/6043Z_WPaKU

“People Got to Be Free” The Rascals https://youtu.be/6043Z_WPaKU

“Memphis Soul Stew” King Curtis & The Kingpins: https://youtu.be/0Loy55z4GpA

“The Thrill is Gone” B.B. King https://youtu.be/kpC69qIe02E

“Ain’t Got No I Got Life” Nina Simone https://youtu.be/LKLeYot4l3I

“Tracks of My Tears” Aretha Franklin https://youtu.be/oTD7PGgEq9c

“Soul Limbo” George Benson https://youtu.be/99ppx4byI2U

“Soul Turnaround” Freddie Hubbard https://youtu.be/7Ri9OiHS1LI

Reggie McBride (Stevie Wonder, Tommy Bolin)

Aretha Franklin wanted him in her band when he was 14 years old. At 16 he was on the road with The Dramatics and James Brown. And at 19, Reggie McBride became a member of Stevie Wonder’s ensemble and played on the multiple Grammy Award winning classic Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974).

A Detroit native, McBride absorbed the music of his hometown Motown and brought his unique combination of finger playing and slap technique to seminal sides by Rare Earth, Ry Cooder, Keb Mo, Funkadelic, Herbie Hancock, Phoebe Snow, Van Morrison, Minnie Riperton, David Lindley, Rod Stewart, BB King, Elton John (21 at 33, The Fox), and Rick Springfield, among many others.

On Tommy Bolin’s Private Eyes (1976) Reggie dispatched with any semblance of rock phrasing and plied gritty funk, R&B, and reggae lines which the late guitarist soared over.

Reggie’s 2005 solo album Element is a smooth jazz diamond in the rough.

Reggie McBride Sound & Vision…

Stevie Wonder:

“You Haven’t Done Nothing” https://youtu.be/0SEGHvLElxc

“Smile Please” https://youtu.be/TZGCP0W6DCg

“Higher Ground” Live on Beat Club https://youtu.be/XV1DK9tSHio

Tommy Bolin:

“Post Toastee” https://youtu.be/A7FOTBdbPN8

“Bustin’ Out for Rosie” https://youtu.be/9ua7_JS_F8I

“Sweet Burgundy” https://youtu.be/qako94KrCV0

Rare Earth:

Reggie bass solo https://youtu.be/WG260dL1NJM