The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and hope you’re feeling groovy! I can’t believe it’s December, and we’re well into the year-end holiday season – seems unreal to me. Regardless of how you feel about it, I hope you’ll join me on another trip with the magical music time machine, which starts right now!

Sonny Stitt/The Nearness of You

For our first stop today, let’s set the time controls to 1956 and hope we have enough runway for this baby to 88 miles an hour! American bebop/hard bop jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt, known for his warm tone, recorded more than 100 albums during his active close-to-40-year career. Sometimes viewed as mimicking sax genius Charlie Parker, eventually, Stitt developed his own sound and style. After struggling with heroin and alcoholism through much of his life, Stitt passed away from cancer in 1982 at the age of 58. The Nearness of You, a beautiful composition by Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington, appeared on a 1956 album titled Sonny Stitt Plays. Hank Jones’ piano and Shadow Wilson’s “soft” drums give the tune a bar feel. The recording also features Freddie Green (rhythm guitar) and Wendell Marshall (bass) – my kind of Sunday morning music!

4 Non Blondes/Superfly

Let’s kick it up a few notches with this next pick that takes us to October 1992. About four months later, you couldn’t switch on any mainstream radio station without hearing What’s Up, the major international and only hit for San Francisco-based rock band 4 Non Blondes. The song first appeared on their sole studio album Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, as did Superfly – and, no, it’s not a cover of the Curtis Mayfield gem you may know. The song was co-written by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Linda Perry who also penned What’s Up. Unlike the latter, Superfly missed the charts altogether when it appeared in March 1994 as the album’s fourth and final single. During recording sessions for what was supposed to become 4 Non Blondes’ next album, Perry left to launch a solo career, and the group dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Pointer Sisters/Lay It On the Line

I’m in the mood to keep up the intensity, and my proposition is a smoking hot rocker performed by a music act who you may find surprising in this context: The Pointer Sisters. While the American girl group from California may be best known for R&B and pop hits like Jump (For My Love) and I’m So Excited, over their 50-plus-year-and-counting career, they have touched many other genres, including jazz, blues, soul, funk, country, dance and – yes- rock! Lay It On the Line, co-written by Patrick Henderson and Wornell Jones, is the kickass opener of the group’s fifth studio album released in October 1978 and appropriately titled Energy – the very same that included their excellent rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s Fire, which became one of their biggest hits. BTW, the ladies were backed by top notch musicians, which for Lay It On the Line included Waddy Wachtel (lead guitar), Danny Kortchmar (rhythm guitar), as well as Toto’s David Paich (piano), David Hungate (bass) and Jeff Porcaro (drums).

Joe Firstman/Slave or Siren

Time to pay a visit to the current century and the sophomore solo album by Joe Firstman, released in July 2003. The singer-songwriter gained national prominence as bandleader on American late-night TV program Last Call with Carson Daly. After his tenure on the now-defunct NBC show from 2005 to 2009, Firstman founded Americana and roots rock group Cordovas, who over the past five years have become one of my favorite contemporary bands. Here’s Slave or Siren, a great-sounding song off Firstman’s second solo album The War of Women.

The Beatles/A Day In the Life

After nearly five months, I think a visit to my favorite band of all time, who are back in the charts more than 50 years after their breakup, is in order. This shall take us back to May 1967 and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which I continue to think is the best studio album by The Beatles and, frankly, one of the best ever recorded. And while throwing out attributes, why not picking the magnificent closer, which on most days also happens to be my all-time song by the Fab Four: A Day In the Life. While credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, as usual, this gem was mostly written by John, with Paul mainly contributing the middle section. As on most Beatles songs, all four members helped shape this masterpiece.

Rush/The Spirit of Radio

Once again, we’re reaching the final destination of yet another Sunday Six. Let’s end it in January 1980 with a great song by Canadian rock band Rush: The Spirit of Radio, off their seventh studio album Permanent Waves. It marked the group’s shift toward more concise arrangements and songs that were more radio-friendly. Evidently, music listeners liked what they heard, propelling the single to no. 22, no. 51 and no. 13 on the mainstream charts in Canada, the US and the UK, respectively. Admittedly, Rush were acquired taste for me, especially their early work featuring very high vocals by Geddy Lee. While Lee doesn’t exactly sound like Hank Marvin on The Spirit of Radio either, I simply have to acknowledge it’s a helluva song!

As usual, I’m going to leave you with a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above stops during this music time travel excursion. It turned out to be pretty rock-oriented, and I hope there’s something you dig and I will see you again soon!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Celebrating James Jamerson

If you had asked me as recently as a few weeks ago to name influential bass players in pop and rock, I might have mentioned Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Jack Bruce and John Paul Jones. Then I read that McCartney, one of my all-time favorite artists, noted  James Jamerson and Brian Wilson as key influences for his bass playing. Admittedly, that was the first time I had heard about Jamerson.

While given my history as a hobby bassist I’m a bit embarrassed about my ignorance regarding Jamerson, I can point to one key difference between him and the other aforementioned bassists. Unlike them, Jamerson was kind of invisible for a long time – literally. While he played on countless Motown recordings in the ’60s and early ’70s, usually, he wasn’t credited, at least at the time. That’s even more unbelievable once you realize how revered this man was among other professional bass players.

According to Bass Player magazine, which named Jamerson no. 1 on its 2017 list of The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time, “The most important and influential bass guitarist in the 66-year history of the Fender Precision he played, South Carolina-born, Detroit-raised James Jamerson wrote the bible on bass line construction and development, feel, syncopation, tone, touch, and phrasing, while raising the artistry of improvised bass playing in popular music to zenith levels.” In addition to McCartney, many other prominent bassists have pointed to Jamerson as a primary influence, including Jones, Enwistle, Wilson, Randy Meisner, Bill Wyman, Chuck Rainey, Geddy Lee and Pino Palladino, to name some.

Jamerson was born on January 29, 1936 on Edisto Island near Charleston, S.C. In 1954, he moved to Detroit with his mother. Soon, while still being in high school, he began playing in local blues and jazz clubs. After graduation, Jamerson started getting session engagements in local recording studios. In 1959, he found a steady job as a studio bassist at Motown where became part of The Funk Brothers, essentially the equivalent of Stax  houseband Booker T. & the M.G.s, except it was a much larger and more fluid group of musicians.

During his earliest Motown sessions, Jamerson used a double bass. In the early ’60s, he switched to an electric Fender Precision Bass most of the time. Like him, most of The Funk Brothers originally were jazz musicians who had been hired by Motown founder Berry Gordy to back the label’s recording artists in the studio. For many years, the members of The Funk Brothers would do session work at the Motown studio during the day and play in local jazz clubs at night. Occasionally, they also backed Motown’s stars during tours.

Not only did the musicians make substantially less money than the label’s main artists, but they also did not receive any recording credits for most of their careers. It wasn’t until 1971 that Jamerson was acknowledged on a major Motown release: Somewhat ironically, that album was Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Eventually, Motown put Jamerson on a weekly retainer of $1,000 (about $7,200 in 2018 dollars), which enabled him and his family to live comfortably. In 1973, Jamerson ended his relationship with Motown, which had since been relocated to Los Angeles. For the remainder of the ’70s, he worked with artists like Eddie Kendricks, Robert Palmer, Dennis Wilson, Smokey Robinson and Ben E. King.

But Jamerson did not embrace certain trends in bass playing that emerged during the ’70s, such as simpler and more repetitive bass lines and techniques like slapping. As a result, he fell out of favor with many producers, and by the 1980s, sadly, he essentially could not get any serious session work. Eventually, Jamerson’s long history with alcoholism caught up with him, and he died of complications from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia on August 2, 1983. He was only 47 years old. Time for some music featuring this amazing musician!

I’d like to kick things off with an early recording that did not appear on Motown: Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker. Written by him, it became one of his signature tunes. According to Wikipedia, apparently it was Detroit pianist Joe Hunter, who brought in Jamerson and some other members from The Funk Brothers to the recording session.

Here’s one of the many Motown tunes on which Jamerson performed: For Once In My Life, the title track of Stevie Wonder’s album from December 1968. The song was co-written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden.

Next up: The aforementioned What’s Going On, which I think is one of the most soulful Marvin Gaye songs. The title track of his 11th studio album released in May 1971 was co-written by Gaye, Motown songwriter Al Cleveland and Renaldo Benson, a founding member of The Four Tops.

I also like to touch on a couple of songs after Jamerson had parted with Motown. Here is Boogie Down by Eddie Kendricks, another title track. The fourth studio album by the former vocalist of The Temptations appeared in February 1973. The groovy tune was co-written by Anita Poree, Frank Wilson and Leonard Caston.

For the last track let’s jump to November 1975 when Robert Palmer released his second studio album Pressure Drop. Here’s the great opener Give Me An Inch, which was also written by Palmer.

James Jamerson received numerous accolades after his death. In 2000, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of the first inductees to be honored in the “sideman” category. In 2004, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as part of The Funk Brothers. Along with the other members of the group, Jamerson was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn. in 2007.

I’d like to close with Paul McCartney, who during a 1994 interview with bass book author Tony Bacon said: “Mainly as time went on it was Motown, James Jamerson—who became just my hero, really. I didn’t actually know his name until quite recently. James was very melodic, and that got me more interested.”

Sources: Wikipedia, Bass Player magazine, Reverb.com, YouTube

In Appreciation of the Bass Player

Oftentimes, when people think about rock bands, the bass player is not the member that comes to mind first. Especially, for guitar-oriented rock, it’s usually the singer and especially the lead guitarist who get most if not all of the attention – after all, the lead guitarist is the guy who gets to play the cool solos. But while typically being less in the limelight, the bass player actually is an essential part of any rock band!

As a former hobby bass player, I’m of course completely unbiased here. But let’s face it, what would music be without a great groove? And that’s exactly where the bass player comes in, together with the drummer. These two guys form the core rhythm section of any rock band, and they better are on the same page!

Okay, so after having reiterated the importance of the bass player, now on to the fun part: yet another list, specifically of great bass players. There are actually many who come to mind. Undoubtedly, I don’t know all of them – not even close! But with a little help from Bass Player Magazine, the task becomes less daunting. So let’s get to it, in no particular order:

Paul McCartney

Of course, I have to start with somebody who is associated with The Beatles – I just can’t help it! McCartney is not a technical virtuoso, which I recall he has admitted himself in interviews. The thing that’s great about McCartney is not technique, but his beautiful melodic style. As The Beatles became more sophisticated in using recording technology in the studio, McCartney oftentimes recorded the bass part as one of the last tracks of the song. That way, he could hear the other instrumental parts and truly add to the music with a nice bass melody. While Rubber Soul only represents The Beatles’ early transition to more advanced studio work, McCartney’s bass part on Drive My Car is among my favorites.

John Entwistle

In some regards, John Entwistle to me falls on the other end of the spectrum when compared to McCartney. While according to Bass Player Magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time, Entwistle did not consider himself to be a “proper” bass player, his virtuosity was off the charts – and he played all his crazy parts in such a cool and relaxed manner! I was fortunate enough to witness this myself during a great show of The Who at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2000, less than two years prior to Entwistle’s untimely death at age 57 in a Las Vegas hotel room. Perhaps, the ultimate Entwistle part is his epic solo in My Generation.

Roger Glover

Together with drummer Ian Paice, Roger Glover forms the kick-ass rhythm section of Deep Purple. My favorite Glover part is the terrific bass solo in Pictures of Home, one of the great tunes on Machine Head; if I would have to choose one 70s hard rock album, I think it would be this record. Undoubtedly, there were other important bands, such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but to me it’s still Deep Purple. I’m actually going to see them for the first time ever at the end of August. Three of the legendary Mark IV members, Paice, Glover and singer Ian Gillan, are still part of the mix! Glover’s solo, BTW, starts at 3:40 minutes.

Graham Maby

Graham Maby is best known for his association with Joe Jackson with whom he has worked since Jackson’s 1979 studio debut Look Sharp! One of my favorite Maby moments is his bass part on Geraldine and John, from I’m the Man, Jackson’s best album in my opinion. It’s another great example of melodic bass playing, though Maby also plays hard-pumping, punk rock-oriented bass parts on that album. I just dig the man’s sound!

Tal Wilkenfeld

This 30-year-old lady from down under simply is an amazing overachiever. Tal Wilkenfeld has worked with the likes of Jeff Beck, Prince, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock – oh, and this band called The Allman Brothers. In addition, this Australian dynamo is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who fronts her own band. Is there anything she can’t do? While in 2008 Wilkenfeld was voted The Year’s Most Exciting New Player in a poll of readers of Bass Player and was also recognized by the publication in 2013 with the Young Gun Award, surprisingly, she’s not on their 100 Greatest Bass Player list – definitely an oversight! Just watch this amazing clip of Wilkenfeld with Beck and you know why. BTW, she was 20 years at the time!

Sting

Apart from being a songwriter and talented acoustic guitarist, Sting is also a great bassist. Bass Player credits him for bringing reggae influences into rock when he was still with The Police, citing tunes like Roxanne and Can’t Stand Losing You. One of my favorite Sting bass parts from his time with The Police is in Spirits In the Material World, from the band’s fourth studio album Ghost in the Machine, released in 1981.

Pino Palladino

To me, this exceptional session bassist will always remain synonymous with the fretless bass. And perhaps no other tune captures this better than Paul Young’s cover of the beautiful Marvin Gaye tune Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) – ah, the 80s are coming back to me! For the record, at the time, I owned a fretless in addition to a regular bass, but whatever I tried, I just could never create that distinct fretless sound – not even close!

Jack Bruce

Jack Bruce is considered to be one of the greatest rock bassists. When he passed away in October 2014 at the age of 71, there were countless tributes from fellow music artists. According to Rolling Stone, former Cream band mate Eric Clapton said, “he was a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me.” The same story also recalled Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters saying in his 100 Greatest Artists tribute to Cream that Bruce was “probably the most musically gifted bass player who’s ever been.” While Bruce had a serious career prior to and post Cream, he will probably always best be remembered as the singer and bassist of the rock supergroup power trio, who also co-wrote some of their best known songs like I Feel Free, Sunshine of Your Love and White Room. Here’s a nice clip of Sunshine of Your Love from Cream’s 2005 reunion show at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Geddy Lee

Just like Cream, Canadian rock legends Rush are a power trio. And just like Jack Bruce was, Geddy Lee is Rush’s singer and bassist. In addition to a remarkable vocal range, Lee oftentimes uses his bass as a lead instrument. His signature style is characterized by high treble sound and furiously hard playing of the strings. Bass Player also notes his “multi-tasking chops: His ability to trigger samples, play keys, step on bass pedals, and sing vocal parts in odd time signatures while nailing Rush’s complex yet catchy bass lines…” Here’s a nice illustration of Lee’s playing – a live performance of the instrumental Leave That Thing Alone, which first appeared on Rush’s 1993 studio album Counterparts.

Stephen Oliver Jones

Who? Stephen Oliver Jones (Ojay) currently does not play in any famous band, but maybe he should. Also known as the Jimi Hendrix of the bass, he used to be a professional musician. Now it appears he’s a street musician and a YouTube sensation. During a 2015 interview with the Draper on Film blog, Jones explained he is self-taught and used to play in a rap rock band called Dust Junkys from Manchester, England. The following YouTube clip, which has more than 1.6 million views, showcases Jones’ incredible talent. When I first saw it on Facebook, I was blown away. And since this hasn’t changed, it was an easy decision to include Ojay in this list. He is going full-blown Hendrix at 2:48 minutes – unreal!

Sources: Bass Player Magazine: The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time (Feb 2017); Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, Draper on Film, YouTube