Courtesy of Esperanza Spalding Com
By Thomas Semioli
Every generation begets a bassist who re-writes the book on what the instrument is, where it stands in the present, and where it can go in the future. Enter Esperanza Emily Spalding in the 21st Century….
A child protégé at the age of five, she began performing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon. Spalding took up the double bass at Northwest Academy in her teens, and never looked back. By the age of 20 she was teaching at Berklee.
Championed by Gary Burton and Pat Metheny, Esperanza emerged as a solo recording artist in 2006 as she established herself as an in-demand collaborator, composer, educator, and session player. She has toured and recorded consistently since then, waxing albums which traverse classical, Latin Jazz, hip-hop, funk, pop, soul, art-rock, and permutations thereof.
A recipient of several high-profile awards (Grammys, Downbeat polls, Boston Music Awards, to cite a few…) Spalding’s crossover appeal echoes the aesthetic of Miles, Herbie Hancock, Metheny, Stanley Clarke, and Chick Corea (among others, primarily in the 1970s) who brought the art-form of jazz to a wide audience. Perhaps as a child of the 1990s, an era wherein genres collided at the dawn of the digital age, the idea of “jazz” as stand-alone musical platform was obsolete. When I meet Esperanza, I’ll ask her!
Among Esperanza’s most visible weapon of choice is the Fender Fretless Jaco Pastorius Jazz bass.
Esperanza Spalding Sound & Vision…
“Move Many Joints” https://youtu.be/hirurODtA1k
“Black Gold” https://youtu.be/Nppb01xhfe0
“Endangered Species” https://youtu.be/aZ4uarjLsKg
“I Can’t Help It” https://youtu.be/CNe2tdSeaec
“Lest We Forget” https://youtu.be/i21b35DtbIQ
“Ways Together” https://youtu.be/Z5a2scXYA6Y
“She Got To You” https://youtu.be/r4rl2IlMVYw
“Wild Is The Wind” https://youtu.be/S13ovac-eBk
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
An instrument designer, prolific recording artist, studio and label owner, collaborator, producer, composer, and bass guitarist – Jonas Hellborg has been at the forefront of the jazz fusion / world fusion movements since the 1980s.
A dexterous player who draws from Western, Indian, classical, jazz, rock and permutations thereof, among Jonas’ high-profile gigs have been with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Word with Tony Williams, PiL, Ginger Baker, and Michael Shrieve among many others. Since 1979 Jonas has waxed nearly thirty albums as a bandleader!
Jonas Hellborg Sound & Vision
John McLaugnlin and Billy Cobham https://youtu.be/Kr0OO3oEPkE
Jonas Hellborg Band live 1988 https://youtu.be/CfeVVt4ojOE
Shawn Lane and The Vinayakrams https://youtu.be/eOofD4F2K-g
By Thomas Semioli
He is giant of the instrument though known mostly to musos despite the fact that his band, The Dixie Dregs, which he formed with guitarist Steve Morse in 1973 at my alma mater University of Miami, were among the most groundbreaking and “commercially accessible” fusion ensembles of their generation.
A master of fretless, extended range, trad four, plectrum, slap, and finger-style – Andy and the Dregs were truly an “American music” collective, boundlessly incorporating country, hard rock, jazz, blues, and folk in their remarkable canon of recorded and live work.
Andy’s weapons of choice included Alembic, Steinberger XL, and Geoff Gould basses. Nowadays, between Dregs reunions, Andy West enjoys an equally stellar career as a software programmer / consultant. During his time with The Dregs, and later as a sideman, collaborator, and solo recording artist – Andy expanded the language of the bass guitar as an improviser, ensemble player, and sonic visionary.
Though they flirted with mainstream acceptance towards “The Dregs” end of their initial run, they curiously never achieved the recognition bestowed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Herbie’s Headhunters, and Weather Report. Go figure!
Dig the Dregs at Montreux “The Bash” https://youtu.be/rHLkdQ-mrFw
He anchored the first and most influential of many incarnations of John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra.
However before Rick Laird assumed rock star status on electric bass with the classic lineup of McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, and Jerry Goodman – he was an upright player who served as the house bassist at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London in the early 1960s. Rick backed many of most revered artists of the era, including Sonny Stitt, Buddy Rich, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, and Wes Montgomery to cite a few. Rick’s credits as a sideman also include Eric Koss, Yusef Lateef, and Richie Cole.
A student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, the Dublin-born Laird’s fluid lines, warm tone, and tuneful solo break on “One Word” from the classic Birds of Fire (1973) album exemplified fusion at its finest – melding rock and jazz into a coherent, mind expanding listening experience – as opposed to a serving as a showy platform to display instrumental dexterity.
Among Rick’s voltage enhanced weapons of choice were the Fender Jazz, S.D. Curlee, and Dan Armstrong. Aside from his accomplishments as a musician, Rick forged a successful career as a photographer.
Rick Laird Sound & Vision….
“One Word” https://youtu.be/GWT6xt6QMpQ
“Now You Know” https://youtu.be/FQHNabnyyuM
Rick on BBC TV with the Victor Feldman Trio https://youtu.be/LLwvdv5oWVw