An upright, electric, extended range bassist, and anchor of the Patti Smith Group since 1996, Tony is also an in-demand producer, singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.

A pocket player and purveyor of contrapuntal motifs with a warm tone that bridges rhythm and melody, Tony’s list of credits on stage and in the studio spans an impressive array of genres and artists including Ian Hunter, Tom Verlaine, Bruce Henderson, Eric Ambel, Richard Barone, Joe Hurley, Tom Clark, Ryan Adams, Deni Bonet, and Joy Askew, to cite a very select few.

Dig Tony with Patti “This Is The Girl” https://youtu.be/r4CSux5nMMk

Dig Tony with Bruce Henderson “August” https://youtu.be/UqhlP4lA4Ic

Dig Tony with Deni “I Scream Your Name” https://youtu.be/6_nqSek7kGg

Dig Tony with Richard Barone “Gravity’s Pull” https://youtu.be/0Pq_5_99rcY

As the anchor of Ian Hunter’s finest post-Mott the Hoople / Hunter-Ronson ensemble, The Rant Band, Paul Page tethers his bandleader’s half-century canon with pocket passages that exude a passion for soul, rhythm & blues, and old-school glam.  Prowling the bandstand with a weathered Fender P, Page’s improv on “All American Alien Boy” harmonically twists, swoops, and growls, quoting a lick or two from Jaco’s masterstroke. Mr. Page has backed legends aplenty including Dion, Lou Christie, John Cale, and Gary U.S. Bonds, and waxed sides with Martin’s Folly, among others.

Dig Paul Page on Know Your Bass Player On Film – Season One : New York City 2015 Euphoria Studios https://bit.ly/32vnZ0m

 

If it were only for his inestimably copied motif in “Good Times” the late, truly great Bernard Edwards would be legend.

However his career as a producer, songwriter, recording artist, and bassist with Nile Rogers and Chic, The Power Station, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Robert Palmer, Jody Watley, and Debbie Harry to cite a select few, is equally legend.

Among the most sampled bassist ever, and an absolute master of the groove, Edwards’ immaculate tone by way of flat-wound strings on a MusicMan Stingray bass, matchless use of rhythm and space, and his indelible melodic genius continues to inspire generations of players ranging from rock, pop, hip-hop, jazz, disco, dance, funk, and rhythm and blues.

Dig “Good Times” https://youtu.be/51r5f5OdIY0

Rare is the bass player whose passages and presence are so definitive on a recording– that to hear the song or the artist without them is inconceivable.

 

Enter Graham Maby of the Joe Jackson Band. Graham is among Britain’s eminent class of players who achieved prominence during the groundbreaking U.K. punk / new wave era – a distinguished motley which includes Bruce Foxton (The Jam), Andrew Bodnar (Graham Parker & The Rumour), Norman Watt-Roy (Ian Dury & The Blockheads), Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello & the Attractions), and Harry Kakoulli and John Bentley (Squeeze).

 

A master of plying instantly recognizable motifs, Maby is most noted for his plectrum attack and sharp tone, but he’s equally adept at finger-style and slap – whatever the situation warrants. 

  

Most fans are familiar with Maby’s stellar work on Jackson’s hit albums Look Sharp (1979), I’m the Man (1979), Night and Day (1982).

 

Be sure to check out the lesser known Jumpin’ Jive (1981) and oft neglected Body and Soul (1984) collections wherein Graham brings his versatile jazz, soul, funk and show tune talents to the forefront.

 

Graham has also  anchored slabs and worked as a sideman to Ian Hunter, Darden Smith, Joan Baez, Dar Williams, Regina Spektor, Freedy Johnston, Natalie Merchant, and Marshall Crenshaw among others. 

 

Dig Graham Maby in Know Your Bass Player on Film Season One – New York 2016 https://bit.ly/3hA4QAA

 

 

 

Whenever I mentioned the slab Overnight Angels (1977) to Ian Hunter during our four or five interviews since 2000, the usual reaction was a groan, or a grimace, or a combination of thereof.

 

At the London 02 Arena VIP room immediately following the final “original” Mott the Hoople gig (Martin Chambers substituted for the ailing Dale Griffin) in 2013, I met Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott and congratulated him for his tribute – on record and on stage – to Ian’s Angels by way of his Mott / British Lions / Hunter repertory ensemble Down ‘n’ Outz. He thanked me profusely, and noted that I was among the few who “got it!”

 

Though it was an album out-of-time, out-of-touch, and somewhat out-of-tune thanks to producer Roy Thomas Baker’s misdirection, the songs and bass playing on Overnight Angels are, to my ears, astonishing.

 

Rare is the player who can overplay – yet play to the song. Yet that is exactly what Rob Rawlinson achieved on this collection, which, incidentally, was only available as an import in the United States upon its release.

 

“Golden Opportunity” https://youtu.be/xOgI42s53uA

 

“Overnight Angels” https://youtu.be/HzYBO4Uw92o

 

“Wild and Free: https://youtu.be/KwFFEw5BtOo

 

“Miss Silver Dime” https://youtu.be/qzADr4fkbUQ

 

Rawlinson’s nimble fingered fretwork, which was given to strategic rapid fire grace notes, chords, harmonic extensions, and glissandos – were obviously inspired by Jaco Pastorius – who forged electric bass history on Ian’s previous album All American Alien Boy.

Ironically,  Rob once replaced Jaco on a session helmed by Roy Thomas Baker.

 

Rawlinson didn’t appropriate Jaco’s tonal character – which was custom among many players of the era who were bitten by the Pastorius bug. Instead, Rob rounded out Hunter’s ensemble, which also included Earl Slick, with a traditional Fender Precision bass resonance which held the tracks together.

 

“Shallow Crystals” https://youtu.be/7stOZSXUFU4

 

“To Love a Woman” https://youtu.be/Hb4mTJnPFrQ

 

“Justice of the Peace” https://youtu.be/PjWzp2gb-yU

 

Rawlinson, who went on to found Atomic Studios in London, also anchored sessions and gigs with Freddie Mercury, the Climax Blues Band, the Lloyd Langton Group, Rick Astley, and Alison Moyet, among others.

 

Over the years, Ian’s stance on Angels has softened, likely due to Elliott’s remake / remodel of one of rock’s most intriguing flawed gems – as he has been known to perform a track or two from this album with The Rant Band with Paul Page on bass.

 

Dig Down ‘n’ Outz interpretation of “Overnight Angels” https://youtu.be/o-lrlcmNxLY

A contemporary of the Beatles by way Liverpool ensembles such as The Big Three, which were managed by Brian Epstein on the recommendation of John Lennon, and The Merseybeats, the late John Gustafson was among the classic rock era’s most versatile and in-demand bassists / vocalists as a band member, session cat, and collaborator.

 

Gustafson excelled at plying inventive passages in a wide array of styles as evidenced by his work with the jazz-fusion incarnation of the Ian Gillan Band. John was also a groove master with Roxy Music, working the pocket on such seminal sides as Stranded (1973), Country Life (1974) and Siren (1975), including Ferry’s signature composition “Love is the Drug.”

 

An accomplished singer and solo recording artist, John was the voice of “Simon Zealotes” on the original Jesus Christ Superstar (1970) and rendered the vocals to “Watch Out for the Bat Now”  for Roger Glover’s  rock opera The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast (1974). Gustafson also anchored scores of seminal sides with Quartermass, Kevin Ayers, Ian Hunter, Rick Wakeman, Yvonne Elliman, Gordon Giltrap, Phil Manzanera, Steve Hackett, and Shawn Phillips, to cite a very, very select few.

 

John Gustafson Sound & Vision…

 

The Merseybeats “I Think of You” https://youtu.be/xroTLNvW2D4

 

The Big Three “I Got It” https://youtu.be/X0sJ8tVsHm0

 

Jesus Christ Superstar “Poor Jerusalem” https://youtu.be/VYfAIt1spGo

 

Quartermass “One Blind Mice” https://youtu.be/dWyIoBzaPAg

 

Ian Gillan “Live at the Rainbow” 1977 https://youtu.be/p9oElP5QVpQ

 

Roxy Music “Love Is The Drug” https://youtu.be/LIMJAuKl9Ko

 

“Watch Out for the Bat” from Butterfly Ball live 1973 https://youtu.be/dhiHrtRl1bo

 

With Ray Fenwick “Tight White Shirt” on bass and vocals https://youtu.be/7r317_RwVQk

 

Ian Hunter “Lounge Lizard” https://youtu.be/lQ7Mm_TkJOE

 

Says Paul Page, Ian Hunter and The Rant Band bassist: He did the bass track on “Lounge Lizard” from the 1st IH solo album. I’m still intrigued by it whenever it pops up on the set list and I actually borrowed elements from his version when we did the MTH version for the MTH ‘74 shows. It’s just so slippery and groovy.

 

Born in Detroit, Michigan – a locale renowned for bass players, Garry W. Tallent is the longest tenured member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band – and aside from the late, great Clarence Clemons, the cat with the most soul among the Jersey collective! 

 

Garry migrated to the Jersey Shore in his teens in the 1960s, befriending “Southside” Johnny Lyon, and original E Street drummer Vini Lopez while in high school. Talent honed his chops in local bands; Little Melvin & The Invaders which featured Clarence, The Jaywalkers with Steve Van Zandt, and Glory Road with David Sancious – all central figures in the Springsteen camp.

 

A disciple of Sir Paul, Bill Wyman, Duck Dunn, and James Jamerson and an avid record collector (over 10,000 LPs and 45s) – Tallent’s talent is borne of his reverence and reference for the history of recorded music in the formats of rhythm & blues, soul, pop, British Invasion, Motown, Stax, Muscle Shoals, and Nashville traditional and contemporary country, to cite a select few.

 

Weapons of Choice: Garry was an early adopter of Leo’s MusicMan Stingray Nowadays uses a Spector NS-2J short scale on stage. In Bruce’s early years Tallent worked the Jerry Jones Longhorn and on latter day Bruce sides he has recorded with a ’63 Fender Precision and a ’63 Fender Jazz.  In the 1980s Gary turned to the fretless quite frequently – among his instruments sans metal strips included a ’65 Guild Starfire and Spector. 

 

When he is not anchoring the E Street Band, Garry is also recording artist, and an acclaimed producer: Jim Lauderdale, Steve Forbert, and The Delevantes and among his clientele. Tallent also anchored pivotal platters by Ian Hunter, Southside Johnny, Marshall Crenshaw, and Gary US Bonds. In 2019 Garry released his second solo side More Like Me.

 

 

Garry Tallent Sound & Vision:

 

With Bruce….

 

“Ghosts” https://youtu.be/Lo5QNcFioZ4

 

“Letter to You” https://youtu.be/AQyLEz0qy-g

 

“Ties That Bind” https://youtu.be/2cPjKtcQDpk

 

“Lucky Day” https://youtu.be/gO7vFDfhDHw

 

“Radio Nowhere” https://youtu.be/MtrOYsNCPmg

 

“Fire” https://youtu.be/jEKquOrJiAI

 

Garry with…

 

Gary U.S. Bonds “This Little Girl Is Mine” https://youtu.be/X90dxTyz1GU

 

Ian Hunter “Cleveland Rocks” https://youtu.be/6u9DrPx_er8

 

Southside Johnny “Better Days” https://youtu.be/bJnGv8M0v8Q

 

Garry solo …

 

“More Like Me” https://youtu.be/_wlUFPLydTk

 

“Stay Away” https://youtu.be/623Y8XYM–4