By Thomas Semioli

 

Gone at Last, Mind Games, Sweet Disposition, Stranded in a Limousine….  Live from New York, it’s Gordon Edwards!

 

He was the bassist who helped forge the soundtrack of the Big Apple in the 1970s wherein jazz, funk, punk, rock, disco and reggae created a magical musical brew.

 

The Bronx was burning uptown, CBGB was forging new waves downtown, and the beautiful people were boogieing in mid-town Studio 54 as Gordon Edwards grooved mightily with passages that percolated with the rhythm of the streets.

 

Edwards was surprise choice for John Lennon’s Mind Games (1973) as the ex-Beatle usually favored unadorned accompaniment from his bassists. Gordon contributed a funky undertow to one of Lennon’s most under-appreciated collections. 

 

A first call session cat, Gordon was a founding member of Stuff, a highly sought-after ensemble comprised of studio legends at the peak of their collective and individual powers: Richard Tee (keyboards), Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree (guitars), and drummers Chris Parker and Steve Gadd. Stuff and Edwards were everywhere in that halcyon era – in the clubs, touring, and recording under their own name and backing such artists as Paul Simon, Phoebe Snow, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Leon Thomas, Joe Cocker, Carla Bley, Donny Hathaway, and Aretha Franklin, among many others.

 

 

Gordon was the bassist on the infamous SNL episode wherein John Belushi spoofed Joe Cocker! https://youtu.be/aZsOyO_lXD8

 

 

Gordon Edwards Sound & Vision…

 

 

Stuff live at Montreux in 1976: https://youtu.be/MZcTP3-ARFQ

 

Joe Cocker:

 

“The Jealous Kind” https://youtu.be/F-FaZTyLkq4

 

“I Broke Down” https://youtu.be/c7MMhIbrPB8

 

“The Man In Me” https://youtu.be/hHwK_RWrHcs

 

John Lennon:

 

“Mind Games” https://youtu.be/QLeObvcUii4

 

“Intuition” https://youtu.be/7KI0nVS2BtU

 

“Only People” https://youtu.be/-SVbqK01ImM

 

Paul Simon:

 

“Tenderness” https://youtu.be/WNcmOBVvuxs

 

“Gone At Last” https://youtu.be/wT_zVoA6mYE

 

“Stranded in a Limousine” https://youtu.be/xVvbxAIrT-Y

 

Daryl Hall & John Oates: “Las Vegas Turnaround” https://youtu.be/up0qIJlETO4

 

Aretha Franklin: “With Everything I Feel in Me” https://youtu.be/37_c2VzXsfI

 

Grover Washington: “No Tears in the End” https://youtu.be/ZApAWvaZoZw

 

Donny Hathaway: “Magdalena” https://youtu.be/M-fPEiFxLt8

 

Carla Bley: “Song Sung Long” https://youtu.be/_VvfhAoaGC4

 

Phoebe Snow: “Sweet Disposition” https://youtu.be/PhxryBBwN4g

 

Leon Thomas: “Let’s Go  Down to Lucy” https://youtu.be/1BnHNeUauww

 

 

Courtesy of Klaus Voormann Com

By Thomas Semioli

… There’s somebody on bass who many people have heard about, but they’ve never actually seen him – Klaus Voormann…”

 

George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh introduction of his friend, musical colleague, former Manfred Mann member, and acclaimed graphic artist who designed album covers for the Beatles’ Revolver and Anthology series, and the Bee Gees, among others – was a welcome revelation.

 

Klaus’ body of work on the Beatles’ extensive solo cannon and as a sideman was an exercise in musical diversity – he worked the pocket and served as a melodic catalyst – always in service of the song.

 

A first- call studio bassist for Lennon, Harrison, Star; B.B. King, Donovan, Harry Nilsson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, Dion, Maria Muldaur, Sir Paul, Dr. John, Van Dyke Parks, Carly Simon, and Peter Frampton, to cite a select few – Klaus’ lone solo slab aptly entitled A Sideman’s Journey, features Voormann’s famous friends paying musical homage to this gifted musician and artist. 

 

An integral member of the Fab Four’s inner circle beginning in their Hamburg days at the dawn of the 1960s, Voormann moved to London at the behest of George as Beatlemania took off. He became a member of Manfred Mann in 1966, then gravitated to session work until his retirement from music in 1989. Klaus’ “accidental” intro for Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” is among the most recognizable bass lines in the history of pop music.

 

Klaus main weapon of choice was his custom painted Fender Precision.

 

Klaus Voorman Sound & Vision….

 

Manfred Mann “The Mighty Quinn” https://youtu.be/kMRWPu1LCXw

 

George Harrison “Give Me Love” https://youtu.be/LYW9cjcO_SY

 

John Lennon “How Do You Sleep”  Outtakes https://youtu.be/FoJQAyrUHhA

 

John Lennon “Instant Karma” https://youtu.be/NVoeNxWxjdA

 

Ringo Star “Photograph” https://youtu.be/nevdSt_2PIM

 

“Your So Vain” https://youtu.be/cleCtBP0o5Y

 

Harry Nilsson “Spaceman” https://youtu.be/-yK5vUFBshM

 

Dig Tony Senatore’s renditions of these Klaus classics!

 

George Harrison’s “The Art of Dying” https://youtu.be/DKPRhk4zap8

 

John Lennon’s “Crippled Inside” https://youtu.be/k0uFU2lPAGA

 

John Lennon’s “Gimmie Some Truth” https://youtu.be/k0uFU2lPAGA

 

George Harrison “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long” https://youtu.be/nvh3XJlfv9w

 

George Harrison “I’d Have You Anytime” https://youtu.be/HRE8DtzfZo8