Herbie Hancock Future2Future DVD

As a huge fan of Herbie Hancock’s 70’s synthesized funk output, I was extremely eager to check out his 2002 DVD, Future2Future, which is essentially a live interpretation of the studio album. The album had new and extended musical explorations of older songs like Dolphin Dance, Butterfly, Chameleon, and Rockit. I have always loved Herbie’s electric work; I started with 72’s Crossings and eventually ended up spending a lot of time listening to Thrust, Chameleon, Man Child, Return of the Headhunters, Portrait, Dis is Da Drum, Takin’ Off’, Headhunters, and Possibilities; on the acoustic side, I’ve also checked out a lot of his acoustic work and am currently listening to Gershwin’s World which is phenomenal; superb music, almost supra sensuous like a Salvador Dali painting but in white.

I’m also aware that Herbie had many more electric albums, but these albums still grow on me and I’m not sure I can handle any more Paul Jackson and Mike Clarke rhythmic allusions; those guys according to me were are the greasiest, telepathic rhythm section you’ll hear with Hancock; in Thrust, you will definitely hear some tricky material played on bass and drums but its always breathing, always grooving. In fact, Thrust deserves its own review. Herbie’s always had great musicians play with and they have all profoundly influenced his approach to jazz which is sometimes futuristic and sometimes moody but always looking forward; only looking back for timeless inspiration.

Mainly, I wanted to check the live band out; it was different from the album; Wallace Roney on trumpet, Terri Lynne Carrington on drums and vocals, DJ Disk on turntables (percussive??!!), Darrell Diaz on second keyboards and vocals, and Matt Garrison playing electric upright and six string electric basses.

Sounds like a party right? 1 hour and 44 minutes of everything including spacey organic post modern funk and tight tech bop; the venue was one factor that made it possible.

It was totally a party and no less at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, California; L.A.com describes it succinctly enough ‘Pierced punks, long-haired headbangers, and vintage-clad hipsters all make pilgrimages here for off-the-radar music—it's kind of like what the UN would be like, if it was run by Brian Eno.’ Buzzed responsibly, I set out to watch the DVD with my buddy who was kind enough to provide 4.1 surround sound (which by the way is not the best way to watch this concert; but is good enough). The multi angle thingie is a plus too; it guarantees multiple sessions of checking out every single detail you want to check out like what the hell is Matt doing with his right hand, etc in the DVD.

First things first, this live DVD is an interpretation of the music you will hear on the audio CD; it’s no less dynamic; the heads are mostly the same and the sections are all marked out clearly just like you hear in the disc; however, Herbie decides to let the band go ‘out’ in the many, long, dynamic sections and Wallace Roney is the perfect foil; I observed that he was akin to a narrator easing in and dropping out in all the right registers. There’s no doubt that he’s been tremendously influenced by Miles; his muted trumpet licks with an almost anonymous, gritty, moaning tone is quite similar. But he holds his own throughout the concert and like Miles, can mysteriously appear and disappear from the stage thus adding to his sorcerer like personality onstage.

Darrell Diaz does a good job; his fusiony keyboard solo on Chameleon is in fact closer to Herbie’s ideas although not the same. He also sings some fine backing vocals in the concert. Throughout the show, Darrell stays in support mode and this is a great aspect of his playing; he has numerous credits as you will see on his website.

The most impressive musicians in my humble opinion though, were the rhythm section of Matt Garrison and Terri Lynne Carrington. I had never seen these players live before, but I was aware that Matt had trained at Berklee College of Music, and privately trained with Gary Willis; the results have been amply demonstrated with his fantastic and mind bending right hand technique- rapid fire 32^nd notes and trills, psychotic grooving with his post modern bass sound both sub thick and with glassy highs, and a relentless mid EQ boost.

On his electric upright bass, he’s able to arco whale calls and add to the overall ambience especially when Herbie is playing some of that sweet piano. He can walk like a madman too. Additionally, Matt just can’t get enough of the bass; I saw him switch between six string electric to upright and instead of using a stand to rest the bass, he swings the bass around supporting its weight on his back and grabs the electric upright and just goes for it. Matt repersonifies the ‘Never put the bass down’ concept.

However, I must say that the P.A’ed bass output wasn’t too great; Matt does get lost in the mix but you can hear what he’s doing; you can see the class, the showmanship, you can see his father’s legacy (Jimmy Garrison, John Coltrane’s longtime bassist) continued with the genetic passing down of fundamental concepts of the bass such as support, time, and an innate confidence at steering the band through everything, nasty changes, solos, and all; Matt definitely turned my head and I’m currently seeking out more of his material. For his bass solo, Matt chooses to play some great bass chords, incorporating some tricky pull offs, and showcasing some flamenco hand technique in the solo; most importantly, he decided to take a solo with support from the able, and unbelievably mature Terri Lynne Carrington.

Terri Lynne Carrington put up a flawless performance dotted with innumerable classy and highly elaborate licks in the tradition of Jack DeJohnette and Tony Williams. She can also groove like mad adept at both electronic drums and acoustic drums; I have heard her jazz drumming on various albums but live, she’s something else; she’s got a great right foot, amazing dynamics- lush one second, frenetic the second, but always in control; combined with Matt Garrison’s tech time, she displays virtuosity beyond many of today’s modern drummers, coaxing be bop and swing tones from her dark cymbals and cracking a tight snare drum; she’s also on fire taking her solo on Tony Williams. Terri plays great support and her mature drum sound and approach defies tradition, yet uses all the great elements from it to make a whole generation swing.

The odd man out and the only maniac in is DJ Disk who was a member of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz from the San Francisco area in the 80’s, displays an unbelievable understanding of Herbie’s music and takes it places in this concert; he splices and scratches using turntables with modern sensibilities but with the rawness of the ghetto, the urban funk; he is in tune with the event here, which is a commingling of many generations, and from psychedelia to psycho-bop, he effortlessly seems to know the background and is always involved in the total growth of the track. On This is DJ Disk he makes sure you don’t forget him and even engages in a playful duel with Herbie on turntables; the latter’s turntable is a neat, smallish box that recreates the sounds he used in tracks like Rockit. The original video for Rockit is also in the DVD and though you might not particularly fancy the video with its Edward Scissorhands meets Men At Work shots, the music of course is still fresh and you can hear those turntables from years ago. DJ Disk brings the urbanity, the street vibe, into Herbie’s music.

As for Herbie, I think it would be best if you watched the DVD; I can only say that there are good reasons for why he is still continuing to break the barriers in electric keyboards and acoustic piano; there is a little bit of all the things Herbie does in this DVD; highly sophisticated piano solos in a total bebop rein, melodic explorations on electric piano, and a sparseness in sound that to me shows Herbie’s revived interest in ambient funk music, synthesized but in tune with the times. Herbie’s helping and collaborating with the pace of a generation much younger than him recalls Miles’ own pursuits with electric jazz.

My final remark is that I see Herbie Hancock following the groundbreaking, electric, often iconoclastic decisions that Miles Davis made, using younger musicians and often letting them lead and go places with the music, but most of all, practicing the advanced art of silence that Miles propounded; even with all that greasy funk around him. Despite the many Miles’ like moments, the concert is still an excellent representation of Herbie Hancock and his band stretching, blooming, percolating, and breathing with you.

Setlist:

1. Wisdom
2. Kebero
3. This Is DJ Disk
4. Dolphin Dance
5. Virtual Hornets
6. The Essence
7. Butterfly
8. Tony Williams
9. Rockit
10. Chameleon

Stanley Clarke- East River Drive

Listening to Stanley Clarke’s East River Drive is so stimulating.

About eight years back, I was floored by his bass work on that album. I was not aware that Stanley already had 13 albums and a movie soundtrack Passenger 57 as recorded output apart from his otherwise impressive bass credentials as sideman. I started to explore Stanley Clarke because he was well regarded as a bassplayer in magazines, as well as by word of mouth.

Stanley along with Jaco Pastorius redefined the role and the sound of the electric bass in the 70’s. Stanley pioneered many of the techniques showcased on all his albums which included slapping, thumping, chording, double stops, glisses, open string and chord harmonies, squealing harmonics; the works. He was prolific and very active playing music all through the 70’s, the 80’s, the 90’s and these days, you either him on some of those Hollywood movies like Romeo Must Die and The Transporter or on live tour dates where some of the finest young jazz cats get their real jazz stint. Recently, a friend told me that Stanley was blowing up audiences with Bela Fleck and Al diMeola…

At this time, I have heard most of the Clarke discography but East River Drive highlights both areas of Stanley’s impressive abilities; working as a sideman and working as a soloist/band leader. East River Drive has a credits sheet that reads like the who’s who of the jazz world. Many of the artists in here may be accused of playing smooth jazz etcetera, but I want to point out that I rarely take the reviews critics write seriously; they assume some otherworldly understanding of jazz with the tags they attach to its history, its cultural affinity with the blues, the American idioms, the fast life, the icons; as far as good music is concerned, it always sounds good, and maybe the intellectual content in smooth jazz is a little staid but in the end, a good artist with a vision and a sound will only seek to break all of these genre specific barriers. I always thought Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, and even Marcus Miller did some smooth jazz and like Stanley, only the jazz critics steeped and mucked with traditional jazz history and iconography dislike them. For the rest of us, every album no matter what it is features at least one facet that is worth accumulating the knowledge for.

I tried to be specific with reviews for each track and then I realized that it really wouldn’t be fair to a new listener. Instead, I’ll just go through some of the highlights of the album and what you could look for, especially in the bass context.

Stanley used a lot of different basses to get his sounds on this album; prominently featured are his Alembic piccolo bass, an upright bass (on which Stanley really is a monster), and a Fyffe acoustic bass guitar. Coupled with some 90’s style synthesizer bass sounds, Stanley was able to achieve a multitude of cool sounds. You can hear this when he solos on his piccolo and his Fyffe acoustic bass; while trading solos with other artists on the album such as Hubert Laws, George Duke, Poncho Sanchez, and Jean Luc Ponty, Stanley is able to achieve such an articulate, expressive, bright bass sound. This has been his trademark sound using the piccolo bass since the early 80’s but it is only by the time of East River Drive where it is less aggressive and more refined.

Even on R&B laced tracks like Justice’s Groove and Fantasy Love, Stanley makes some smooth but hip choices and his sound as usual is top notch; there are some nice melodic statements in here and the urbanity of his grooves in the context of film scores is evident.

More striking is the increased use of synthesizers on the album and Stanley’s tendency to double keyboard low end using his basses along with his harmonic squeals and upper register probing. The sounds were definitely heartfelt; there is no Return to Forever kind of manic riffing and ‘catch the ball’ games here. Some sounds are closer to the Clarke-Duke project.

Zabadoobeedé? (Yabadoobeeda) and I’m Home Africa are funky African groove based tracks complete with relentless basslines and Gospel shout style vocals. I haven’t heard any afro funk from Stanley in the earlier albums; most of the that work was also technique intensive and come to think of it; the main reason why this album got me hooked and made me search out every Stanley album was his funk approach as opposed to his jazz approach. Clarke was a big funk guy in the 70’s as well; his technique basically expanded off of Larry Graham; P-Funk also made a big impression on Stanley; however, the funk we hear in East River Drive is a modern edged funk with more emphasis on urban vibes and feel rather than the late 70’s/ early 80’s outrageousness. Still, it’s a good idea to seek out those earlier albums; they’ll work if you like P-Funk.

I’m Home Africa has some wonderful inspiring choruses and a killer bassline happening with the addition of James Earl; it also has an incredible, must hear saxophone solo by Doug Webb. I always get goose bumps when this track is played; I can’t explain it.

The title track East River Drive is a relaxed piece, very orchestrated and cleverly arranged with great soloing from all the artists involved; this concept is extended to another three cuts on the album; What If I Forget The Champagne, Christmas in Rio, and Never Lose Your Heart/There Lies The Passion. The latter two tracks are latin tinged and show Stanley moving in a different direction as opposed to his otherwise heavy jazz approach; these are easy listening tracks; the solos are musical, each of the soloists plays through the changes gracefully and innovatively; Stanley fulfills ensemble playing in a way that would make jazz bass players proud. More importantly, I could feel some substance in the compositions; they have depth which was lacking in the earlier albums.

He is also a great leader as is amply showcased here;gracious in giving so much solo space to the artists involved; in that sense, East River Drive as an album is really only Stanley with a little help from his friends; most of the tracks are well crafted and embellished with George Duke (with whom Stanley has worked on many occasions) and the masterful drummers Dennis Chambers (in a funk context), Gerry Brown (in a pop/contemporary jazz context), Carlos Vega (in a latin context), and the great J.R Robinson (in a contemporary pop context). Carlos Vega is a delight with his crisp playing and inimitable snare drum work; his drum sound on Christmas in Rio is awesome.

The core funk tracks are the bass and percussion only Illegal and Lords Of The Low Frequencies on which percussionist Bill Summers and Munyungo Jackson team up with Stanley and Armand Sabal Lecco (who has credits with Brecker Brothers). For the bassplayer, these are sick tracks; both bassplayers are on top of the game playing clean sounding basses with Stanley plucking his piccolo bass melodically to the African slap funk rhythms of Armand Sabal Lecco. The percussion is intense and the whole effect is confounding; there are a ton of rhythms here and the lack of a melody instrument such as a saxophone or a guitar is not felt. When I first heard these tracks, I remember being in awe of Stanley’s ability to dictate melodic phrases and repeat certain figures that would make the solo sound so musical; this has been a big influence. The last of the funk tracks is Funk Is Its Own Reward with Dennis Chambers, Paul Jackson Jr., and Stanley assuming a P-Funk and a Meters like vibe while laying it down; the track has some great glisses by Stanley and also mixes in some Larry Graham style slapping and funky chordal work; Dennis’ sound isn’t so great; this was also when he was experimenting with electronic drums but Paul Jackson Jr. is well represented and his funky guitar figures grab you.

East River Drive is a diverse album; you can not only check out some of Stanley’s most inspired bass playing, but you can also see what a gifted band leader he is in the tradition of Charles Mingus; the fact that he has experimented with so many different musical styles such as Film Scores, Contemporary Jazz, Hip Hop, Funk, Pop, Latin, and Afro in one album with contemporary jazz musicians, still managing to sound fresh, is a continual testimony to the bassist who straddles the acoustic and the electric bass worlds. The album cannot be a summative evaluation of Clarke’s career but many of the things he is known for appear here.

Stanley Clarke has always been a musical innovator but it is my guess that he will be remembered for his approach to the bass, both acoustic and electric, and literally turning the jazz world around in the process.

Check out Stanley’s informative website and blogs at http://www.stanleyclarke.com/

To view a brief history of Stanley, view http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Stanley%20Clarke.html

Credits for Stanley Clarke – East River Drive

Abraham Laboriel - Bass (Electric)
Alexis England - Vocals (Background)
Allen Sides - Engineer
Alphonso Johnson - Bass (Electric)
Anjani Thomas - Vocals (Background)
Armand Sabal-Lecco - Bass (Electric), Guitar, Piccolo, Piccolo Bass, Programming, Vocals (Background)
Bill Hughes - Copyist, String Contractor
Bill Summers - Percussion
Brian Gardner - Mastering
Carlos Vega - Drums
Caroline Greyshock - Photography
Charles Fambrough - Bass, Bass (Acoustic)
Dan Humann - Engineer, Mixing
Darryl Jackson - Percussion
David Coleman - Art Direction
Dennis Chambers - Drums
Deron Johnson - Keyboards
Doc Powell - Guitar
Doug Webb - Sax (Soprano)
George DelBarrio - Conductor, String Arrangements
George Duke - Keyboards, Piano
George Howard - Bass, Sax (Soprano)
Gerald Albright - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Gerry Brown - Drums
Howard Hewett - Vocals
Hubert Laws - Flute
James Earl - Bass (Electric)
Jean-Luc Ponty - Violin
John "J.R." Robinson - Drums
Kenny Kirkland - Piano
Laura Robinson - Vocals (Background)
Michael Hart Thompson - Guitar (Electric)
Michael Thompson - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Munyungo Jackson - Percussion
Pancho Sanchez - Conga
Paul Jackson Jr. - Guitar
Poncho Sanchez - Conga
Ramon Banda - Percussion
Stanley Clarke - Arranger, Bass, Main Performer, Producer, Programming, Sequencing, String Arrangements, Tenor Bass, Vocals (Background)
Steve Hunt - Keyboards
Steve Sykes - Engineer, Mixing
Todd Cochrane – Keyboards

Mike Rutherford - Enigmatic Pop Bass

Mike Rutherford has possibly got to be one of the most under rated bassplayers ever. It’s unbelievable. People you know think of Genesis as a pop band or as a band that spawned successful musicians. Really successful. Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel are virtually household names and though both are mostly recognized at the level of record sales and continuing stardom (it may be in question but it’s only a matter of time), their artistry is still vague for most people. What about Mike?

The British Mike’s real name is Michael John Cleote Crawford and he was born October 2, 1950. He was one of the founding members of Genesis, the seminal progressive and art rock band that were equally enigmatic with studio and live efforts. A lot of docmented material exists about the band so I won’t delve into it.

Genesis have successfully been expanding their base since their initial attempts and have managed to incorporate almost ever sub genre under Rock, R&B, and Pop into their diverse album span; each member of the band managed to make a ton of albums; you won’t believe it; the links at the bottom of the page will help you refer to what I mean. In the midst of all this hectic activity that Mike is known to be patient for, he has managed to tuck away an incredible library of basslines; suffice to say, he wasn’t given any sheets and he wasn’t ‘told’ what to do.

Genesis’ massive recording output as a band, and with each of their individual forays into mostly abstractions of rock and R&B and sometimes digressions, it’s no wonder that Mike was largely forgotten as a bassplayer. There are too many albums you would need to dig into understand the breadth and expanse of Mike’s bass sounds which over the years have been analyzed to death as being of a guitarist approach and touch. I have also seen this go to the next level when comparisons are made between Mike Rutherford and Chris Squire of Yes; the most important difference I see is that Chris is an intent stylist with the bass while Mike is more of a bassplayer often effectively serving the songs with pop sensibilities or choosing to make stylistic statements along the lines of melodic improvisation. Listening to Chris, you get the impression that he is leading the band. Mike always sits in the background but remove his line and all you get is a pastiche of intended sounds with no funky meaning in them. Mike delivers soul with his bass playing.

But then again, I can totally look at it another way. Mike is surely in his basssic element on both Abacab for instance and Selling England by the Pound. In the former, you can hear an 80’s hip trip with retro sounds and unbelievably hooky bass lines on the title track. The awesome rollicking bassline with complete solo like lines and dripping harmonies on No Reply At All totally floors you with Motown history and soul. Abacab is truly a pop bass masterpiece. There are some basslines in there that could teach you the beauty of pop bass. Even if Mike didn’t spend all his time on deconstructing Motown tunes, his time well spent on stringed instruments, especially 12 string guitar on which he’s very proficient ultimately made him a melodic bassplayer with a deep understanding of ambience and lyric supported bass parts. The only other bassists who’ve exhibited this to basstastic delight are definitely James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt and, of course the masterful Paul McCartney. There were many others too like Duck Dunn, David Hood, and George Porter but they chose to work mostly as sidemen, while James Jamerson could have very well gone on to make many solo albums had it not been for his addiction and habit.

On the latter, Selling England by The Pound, I find Mike Rutherford’s work as the best examples of ambience, busy upper register lines, and deft basslines on a progressive rock album. If you dial in closely to Peter Gabriel’s trip, he’s trying to communicate concepts at a very visceral level. The whole band is able to work up a huge sound on the tracks The Cinema Show, and the exotic Firth of Fifth has some great bass and piano work very well set in with the lyrics and perfectly in tune with the fantasy like expanse in Steve Hackett’s phenomenal, moody, and very textural guitar solo. I’m sure at the peak of their Gabriel associated output, Genesis would have been the band to watch live.

Mike Rutherford was busy all through the 70’s with Genesis on seminal albums including Foxtrot, A Trick Of The Tail (which has some brilliant evocative songwriting including one of Phil Collins’ best vocal efforts), the more conservative And Then There Were Three (where Mike decided to play in favor of the songs), and the wildly funky and political Duke. Later, Mike also played some historic groovy lines on the self titled Genesis album; some tracks where Mike’s making the bass statement are on Home By The Sea, Mama, and the eccentric Illegal Alien which is chock full of basslines that have to be heard to be believed.

It is possible that within the span of the 70’s Genesis albums, Mike had already developed into an accomplished creative bassplayer and was thus able to experiment with his first solo album titled Small Creep's Day, a concept album based on the Peter C. Brown novel in 1980. After this, he interspersed a tremendous output of guitar and bass parts with his band Mike and the Mechanics as well as working non stop with the virtually inexhaustible Phil Collins and core founding Genesis member, Tony Banks on more pop explorations with Genesis. I have purposely not dug deeper into Mike and the Mechanics which is a band that did all things pop, and also Mike’s association with guitarist/bassplayer Daryl Streumer who worked together in Genesis.

When I heard Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, I became a convert, and I have never since then been able to forget the impact that Mike has had on me; or for many bassists especially in the 80’s and 90’s; even with the constant irritating prospect of playing with synthesizer intensive bands. Mike’s style was refreshing and very progressive because of his competence at songwriting, guitar (specially 12 string) and electric bass. The photo you see has Mike with his Shergold double neck which allowed him to play bass in most sections as well as shift to 12 string melodies and harmonies in the serious, quieter, more introverted sections of Genesis’ music. Mike also used Rickenbacker basses for a long time and can be pictured with a few in Genesis concerts. In the old days, he used a pair of Mr. Bassman pedals that provided a bass pulse as he would play guitar with Steve Hackett and often, even Tony Banks. Mike also used classic 70’s Shergold Guitars. In his guitar toting phase, Mike can be seen in the second photograph with a beautiful Fender guitar.

In the last year or so, I have slowly been weaning off of progressive rock but Genesis always blow me away with their thematic and conceptual approach far beyond so many bands that were doing something similar but with half the heart. If you’re really clued in, check out his basslines; you’ll find little fragmented melodies in the guise of ‘bass parts’; and really, Mike plays both guitar and bass equally well. I can't but appreciate his involvement and contributions to the art of contemporary electric bass. He just hasn't been credited enough with the very development of progressive rock and specifically, the role of the bass. I've admired him for years now and I will continue to.

To view reasonably extensive information about Mike, look here: http://www.genesis-music.com/newsrutherford.htm

Mike was Shergold Guitars’ biggest patron: http://www.shergold.co.uk/mikes.html

Mike also reviewed a Shergold Six String bass and you can read it here:http://www.shergold.co.uk/simike79.html

Complete Genesis Discography: http://www.genesisdiscography.com/

Short clip of Mike with Tony and Phil performing Follow you Follow Me from the album And Then There Were Three…: http://www.youtube.com/watch?search=genesis+band&v=F64gySvk_aw

Jimmy Earl: Unsung Bass Hero#2

I know the title is ironic. It's meant to be a private pun but in reality Jimmy Earl who is an incredible bassplayer with phenomenal round tone and the big 'note' hasn't always gotten the best paying gig; but then again, Jimmy was also the guy Chick Corea was looking for when he opted against John Patitucci's more adventurous bass work for his second electric band with younger musicians.

I have heard Jimmy's flexible work in odd settings. In Corea's Paint the World, Jimmy displays the kind of sick rhythm section chops with compatriot Gary Novak, often in the rider's seat. One thing is for sure about Jimmy; his choices are always slick and loaded with great bass tone. On all the tracks in Paint the World, Jimmy is definitely painting his lines with a groovy melodic paintbrush; and he doesn't take a single bass solo. I'm not sure if that was his choice or a notated one. In any case, none of the tracks could be played by one anyone else; he was all for individuality. There can be an encyclopedia made on the strength of the music alone but my focus within this excerpt is in finding Jimmy's sense of the groove as well.

Delving into Jimmy Earl is not so easy. He is equally able to play jazz funk grooves with the tenacity of a slapper as he is playing his six string bass intending to make an upright statement. There's a fascinating amount of blues groove in him as well. With that in mind, there are four releases which bear testimony to his continuing tradition of groove and fire and more importantly so, his sustained ability to play what the artist desires while reinforcing musical stylistics.

Dave Weckl has worked with Jimmy Earl on his solo album Heads Up with Jimmy establishing rhythmic basslines on the tracks '7th Ave. South', 'Taboo' and 'Tee Funk' while John Patitucci, Dave Weckl, and Gary Novak take over the rest of the bass duties. It would seem to the average bassplayer that Jimmy is outnumbered.

He nails the three tracks and in my mind walks out of the studio perfectly satisfied. He knew his role far to well to make rash judgments. Sparing the intellectual analysis of the tracks, I felt Jimmy made a few choices and made Dave sound really good. Jimmy satisfied the maxim of modern electric bassplayers- Play to make your band members sound good and make yourself look good along the way.

On the chops fusion fest The Truth In Shredding, birthed through Mark Varney's vision, Jimmy played railroad to Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth, Tommy Brechtlein, Steve Tavaglione, and Freddy Ravel's collective pioneering improvising spirit always catching their drift. Just the sheer amount of soloing in the album lets you know the possibilities of playing with a role conscious bassist. For me, this album spoke volumes about Earl's tone and his organic basslines (often interpreted as clever jazz substitutions).

Jimmy is also an adept funk stylist; his slap pop work reeks of greasy funk sensibilities. He utilizes the style with much kudos on many tracks on Paint the World. He is also able to seamlessly switch from fingerstyle to slap while retaining his sound and not sounding like any studio bassist.

Nowhere is Jimmy's fingerstyle work more pretty than in Robben Ford's so called pop album Supernatural. A masterfully blended studio album with gorgeous sounds, lush instrumentation, and bang on lyrics about life, family, and love, Robben has given a tremendous amount of space to Jimmy who with Vinnie Colaiuta just about deliver every trick in the rhythm section business.

I still haven't been able to see why Robben was criticized for not continuing with his solo blues/jazz guitar outings. To me, its pretty clear that there are many guitarists who evoke clear tones and intelligent chord choices and Eric Johnson is definitely out there erecting the tone museum; but unlike Eric, Robben is able to write some life wise lyrics which say a lot about the person he is; warm and concerned with the emotional difficulties one has to face while working on the long road ahead. It came to me as a surprise that people would diss Robben Ford off for writing songs. I'm sure Jimmy understood what the songs were about, and was able to provide masterful bass takes on the funky title track Supernatural, the existentialist Nothing to Nobody and the gospel tinged Deaf, Dumb, And Blind (For O.T.) among other tracks.

Jimmy Earl released a solo album titled Stratosphere; while I haven’t heard the whole album yet, the clips have a smooth jazz vibe to them. There has been some experimentation with electronics but it lacks the inventiveness of his work with Corea or Gambale. I’m also sure Jimmy created fireworks when he performed with Simon Philips and Andy Timmons but no recorded output is available at the moment.

The fundamental question about Jimmy Earl is why is he not featured on a lot more albums? Did he choose to say no to those cheesy session pop gigs? Or were there too many session bassists with awards and word of mouth to boot that Jimmy Earl was not recognized for his ability to do the most simple?

To me, Jimmy can lay it down and fly by in the blink of eye; he is a logical offshoot to Rocco Prestia and Paul Jackson; with his integration of slap technique and muted notes, he has ushered in both audience friendly musicality as well as streetwise jazz funk; fully context centric.

It would be easy to assume that a larger level of competitiveness is eating all the musicians we feel whom deserve to see the light of another decade of fine work. However, the growth of the electric bass has broadened and bass is no more a sound, it’s a concept and a very thorny one at that. Of the many, many records we hear, and of the many stylists who seem to us as the best bassists on the planet, Jimmy’s playing pushes the sound envelope and the musical intention; he supplies low end. In the battle between bass soloists and bass technicians, Jimmy Earl the bassplayer won.

Bass Faces

I have been definitely been very hard on myself over the years for not being able to document and/or record the experiences I have had that proved seminal in my approach; especially in music.

As regards books, a few books did a lot for me in the last few years; notably Hanif Querishi’s Buddha of Suburbia and Salman Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh. I know both these books reek of historicity, of inescapable and regrettable childhood errors; but I also dug Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and a lot of Sartre’s and Camus’ stuff, notably Being and Nothingness and The Outsider respectively while reading Philosophy in my university period.

It’s been a complex ride as far as music has been concerned. I have yet to find a seat of influences that can keep me motivically inclined. These days I listen to Uncle Moe’s Space Ranch, Herbie Hancock’s Thrust, Jaco Pastorius’ epic Word of Mouth, Miles Davis’ Tutu, and Trilok Gurtu’s and Robert Miles’ refreshing soundscapes in Miles Gurtu.

I can see that I’m longing but I’m quite happy to be where I’m while reflecting on the moods these artists graciously provide.

Almost half a year back, I got the opportunity to work as an onsite consultant dealing with some, let’s say, boring work. Chicago really is an amazing place and its perfect if you’re a bassplayer. I didn’t realize it then but Chicago is also home to a lot of progressive musicians who’re pushing the boundaries of a lot of genres. When I landed in Chicago, one of the first things I did was buy myself a Jazz Bass. This led to my having to search for setup assistance; I checked the newspapers. There was an ad for someone who could do it for $50. I thought that was fine and sent an email. It was set. I was going to get my bass set up and everything was going to be fine.

The incredible thing is the setup guy turned out to be none other than Jauqo iii-x. Currently, he is world renown for his extended range bass concepts which includes the iconic Low C# Theory and his adventures in the realm of the fretless sub contra bass and the 15 string bass.

In the short conversation that I had with him, I began to realize that this guy was the warmest, straight talking bassist I had ever met. He was humble and intelligent without external intent to. Even though his writings may seem spiritual, he is without doubt an explorer on a path that is both funky and furious as can be evidenced on his purely experimental disc.

I was blown out of my mind.

In the month that followed, I got many opportunities to speak to Jauqo over the phone and hang as well; and he explained many things, some of which were meant to be applied to life. I have thought about these conversations many times and I have come to understand that I truly did change as a bassplayer after meeting him.

Some instances where I realized that he was pointing to a more profound line of understanding were when he discussed about spending time on playing your own basslines instead of trying to copy a bassline verbatim only to lose the feel, the tone, and most importantly, the individuality.

Jauqo stresses a lot on individuality and he argues rightly that our status as human beings in the world is fraught with many difficulties of ego and social conflict that can well be erased with an assertion of our individuality. As musicians, it is our duty to be individualistic and still give out the essence of social harmony.

I later learned that he did apply this in principle because of his humility and knowledge hungry reactions to most concepts that we discussed from time to time. Jauqo was fascinated by the morality and the social law setup in India for instance and I wasn’t surprised because India is a very free country in many ways. Ways which wouldn’t benefit me to discuss really.

The most amazing thing that Jauqo did was he actually fulfilled this wish of mine. Like I said earlier, Chicago has many hidden musical monsters and one particular bass monster I wanted to see was Bill “the Buddha” Dickens. Jauqo and Bill are buddies and their association stretches basswise as well since Bill crafts some thumbdexterous lines on his 7 string Conklin bass (he tears it up equally badass on his Conklin Groove Tools 4, 5, and 6 string basses) through those incredible Accugroove amplifiers; basically extended range buddies ala Stew McKinsey, Garry Goodman and Al Caldwell.

Bill couldn’t really materialize since he was real busy tearing up Chicago and I knew Jauqo was really trying to get me to meet him.

Jauqo, I, and a common friend/bassist, Helena (she maintains a killer bass news site on www.24thstgeorge.com), went for dinner together to an Indian restaurant on the day before I was supposed to leave back to India. We had a great dinner with Jauqo nailing those Indian spices like nobody’s business and afterwards while walking along the pavement, we decided we’d check out Tower Records. I was again blown out of my mind with the breadth of the musical paraphernalia available. I keep walking corners and suddenly this big man in black is towering in front of me; its Bill Dickens. The Buddha. The Monster.

The look on my face was priceless.

I had been had. It was phenomenal. Bill is also a great person, really soft-spoken and very funny. We didn’t talk bass because you don’t talk bass to Bill. You hang. You let him be himself and he’ll shower you with knowledge beyond belief. In that short period of time we hung at Tower records, I learned a LOT about funk, groove, and most importantly, the value of listening to the source so that your music is full of context and not mere imitation. He convinced me to buy the Brothers Johnson, some Level 42, EWF, and some Donny Hathaway; I ended up buying a ton of cd’s.

The more I think about the days I was in Chicago, the more I begin to realize that my current pursuits with music, the complexities in my life, are all a big, big sound. I’m learning to organize them and as I go, I’m learning some wonderful things. Who knows? These cats leave an impression on you and fantastically enough, you get the magic guidance without feeling drastically out of the world, out of reality.

Meeting and hanging with Jauqo iii-x and Bill certainly opened up a lot of things; it cleared all the misconceptions I’d had about only bass players in the U.S being the real deal and making it; through them I realized that all our troubles are very much coexistent and that everyone fears for their lives. As Jauqo says in relation to the constant war between bass stylists and studio bassists, “Believe it or not Suicide is a very Natural Thought”. If there’s a Felix Pastorius in Florida playing his father’s and his own legacy, there’s also a Richard Bona from Cameroon who made it regardless of insurmountable odds. It wasn't supposed to be easy.

What I learned from Jauqo and Bill is that playing is everything. Don’t stop playing and follow Gerald Veasley’s funky path- The No Ego-No Competition path and you’ll have fun playing bass.

The Phenomenon that is Akira Jimbo

I had never really fully gotten into www.youtube.com but I now know it is a maniac development in the history of the Internet.

You can virtually find any kind of video. The clips are only 10 minutes long in most cases but I must stress that I found a wealth of clips related to music. Specifically just about anything. So I checked out tons of musicians from Mike Stern to Herbie Hancock to some rare b&w clips of Miles, with Coltrane taking an impossible solo on So What.

I had only seen Akira Jimbo on two other occasions. One is some random clip someone sent me which had bad sound and incredibly bad lighting. The other place was www.drummerworld.com. Bernhard Castiglioni is really a great Drum Archivist. There’s tons of information on his site about most drummers but Akira is more or less a mystery really. How did this guy develop his style and how did he bend so many cultural contexts thus being able to play Japanese percussion, Afro Cuban Rhythms, Traditional and advanced Latin Rhythms, and Jazz/Rock? Incredible but true.

On www.youtube.com, the video titled Guru Guru Labyrinth featuring Akira Jimbo and the slaptastic Tetsuo Sakurai just blew me away with their totally imaginative and unbelievably willful revolving cultural-centric playing. I mean that Akira’s ambidexterity could cover multiple aspects from traditional Japanese drumming to flat out American funk albeit with a Japanese or an Afro Cuban twist; all this at any time he chose. Yamaha who have worked with Akira say “Akira is quite capable of playing both acoustic kit and electronic kit simultaneously in real time to create amazing, complete pieces of music.”

Akira started playing drums at the age of 18 at Keio University in Japan. Here, he became a member of the school’s Light Music Society Big Band. His association with jazz fusion band Casiopea starting from 1980 is well documented.

Akira left Casiopea in 1989 and formed his band Jimsaku. Over the years, Akira honed his chops while working with diverse artists such as Keiko Matsui and Shambara.

Unbelievably so, Akira does not have a website; and this prompts me to dig deeper and learn more about the sensation he is. There might be a lot more Japanese information though but this will be too difficult to use as reference.

For the most part, the drummers we’ve come to love and appreciate are the old masters who are still creatively voyaging well into the 2000s, breaking barriers, but still maintaining that discipline and the focus. Some of the drummers who work this concept of moving forward imaginatively while still trying to find the essence are Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Bill Stewart, Carter Beauford, Terry Bozzio, and Trilok Gurtu.

This cannot obviously be the be all and end all of good drumming. These guys are incredible no doubt; they have the creamy gigs and they also play in contemporary pop settings while nailing that psychotic jazz fest at any given time.

Akira is also doing this. While he may not have the best gigs in town, he is forging ahead with his technique; further baffling with its polyrhythmic and melodic drumming focus.

Akira is a master at triggering drum sounds along with musical accompaniment that he can evoke in specific sections. Part of the experience of watching him is his uncanny ability to look easy on the kit while performing his ambidextrous soul out.

At this point, I suggest you watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxiAiLJMsw

Akira’s long standing association with Tetsuo Sakurai (whose work you can sample with Greg Howe and Dennis Chambers on Gentle Hearts) results in a musical mind bender. While you may not care for the ‘technique’ heavy sections, you should be able to appreciate the compositional aspect of using all the techniques musically.

It would seem Akira can play whatever Tetsuo can play but that is still a musical choice made over many a lick. It does not diminish his groove meter. A friend of mine was able to equally appreciate Akira with bassist Brian Bromberg on the track So What from the album Brombo2. He ultimately remarked that Akira must be a bassplayer’s wet dream.

Technically, he is able to seamlessly move from embracing traditional concepts in drumming to advanced, and sometimes electronically, grounded concepts.

Check this out to know what I mean:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iT_6EIl3PpU&search=akira%20jimbo

Watching Akira Jimbo makes you really want to dig into his fundamental concepts; this is shared on drummerworld in an excerpt where Akira says "My best advice to drummers, beginners or veterans, is to always remember the basics. When you practice, pay attention to your timing, especially the quarter-note feel. From that, everything else will follow."

Although I’m not a drummer, it is the other side of what makes my playing work as a bassplayer. I check out drummers as intensely as I would check out anyone who’s moving me, communicating with me.

I can confidently feel the phenomenon that is Akira Jimbo. His playing evokes stylists such as Steve Gadd whom Akira claims as an influence. You can watch Akira explaining a Steve Gadd lick here: http://drummerworld.com/Videos/AkiraJimbogadd.html but he is equally at home culturally bending minds and notes.

The fact of the matter is; Akira just cannot be ignored because of his command of melodic improvisation, while willfully hinging and departing via cultural and sub cultural musics as he pleases. His Afro Cuban phrasing is authentic and so is his funk. That's an amazing thing to find in a musician who started playing at the age of 17/18; in my opinion, he has experienced many things in his life that has found a way to come out in his drumming and his choice of music; the choices he makes are ultimately what matters and I totally respect this man for it. He definitely plays the right musical strokes.

Here’s a selected discography of Akira’s work:

Drum videos

Metamorphosis (1992)
Pulse (1995)
Independence Drummer (2000)
Evolution (2000)

Solo albums

Cotton (1986)
Palette (1989)
Jimbo (1990)
Slow Boat (1991)
Lime Pie (1993)
Rooms By The Sea (1995)
Flower (1997)
Brombo! (2003) (with Brian Bromberg)
Brombo 2!! (2004) (with Brian Bromberg)

Second Introduction

I’ve been watching a few people maintain their blogs; and while I admire the efforts at writing down one’s thoughts, feelings, and even junk, especially subjective junk, I’ve recently started getting amazed at the breadth of information one can peruse at a random time off these blogs. Most importantly, I’ve accepted that if at all there is any truth, however infuriatingly Cartesian it might be, it is compromise and understanding. I will find peace with myself for having documented something; starting with me via a literary curve.

At this juncture, I try to live in the moment; I try to capture NOW; and I'm also aware of human intelligence pretensions (HIP). Like Rocco's groove on the track "What is Hip", I would echo their sentiments- “tell me, tell me, do you think you know?”

Playing the bass is probably the only thing I'm obsessed with -at an emotional level.

I've been playing since I was 15 maybe but seriously, I only made it a life's worth of a plan a few years back. Probably somewhere along the lines of playing with my progressive rock band, and a few forays into Alternative and Classic Rock music, I realized that I had to start figuring out what it was that was so insistent in my head and pushing me closer to finding my voice on the bass.

I didn't realize it but Funk, R&B, Reggae, and Latin rhythms and melodies always draw me closer to seeing who I’m. I equally enjoy complex music (check out "Addition by Subtraction" by Scott McGill, Michael Manring, Vic Stevens, and "Kathak" by Trilok Gurtu for example; that is not to say they deviate from the groove, the rhythm and the like but they truly have many ways to say one thing.

What I've found; and I'm enjoying continually; is finding the feel, the groove, when it means something more than intellectual, I know I'm getting somewhere. Bear in mind that I have very specific thoughts about music; I see the "dual" nature of harmony and chaos as "one" in many conversations I have had about music.

At this point, Music to me affects me emotionally as opposed to intellectually. When I play bass, I'm playing some elements of what I've been going through in my life without actually thinking or rationalizing about stuff that's more relevant in the practice place, with a band.

Notes mean a lot; but the conviction with which you play a note is probably more important in the long run- if people are not moved, the notes don't mean anything at a social level; it's fine in the room...

I have learned this the hard way. Four sets of groove workouts in two hours is definitely more efficient for your hands to execute at later periods than mindless hours of noodling without knowing, without meaning, and most importantly, without intending to share your point. Basically, the motion needs to become second nature.

What I'm saying is, sound first. Then parameters, shape, contour. This is what I'm striving for. This is what I'm learning on a daily basis. I'm sure I know what my sound is; the search for it is equally important. In fact, they are an existing set of problems akin to Universals and Particulars. Recently, I've been shedding some double thumbing and plucking workouts; combined with the Finger Fitness^ program, you will be able to achieve greater versatility with exploiting the "fingers to thumb-thumb to fingers" styles when you think it.

The key is even notes and even attack at first. Though I hate everything about the metronome, there really is nothing like it when you're practicing with the goal of executing even feels; especially considering it's your thumb that's getting the most of the workout.

Exercise #1:

G:--td--tu--p1--p2--
A:--td--tu--p1--p2--
D:--td--tu--p1--p2--
E:--td--tu--p1--p2--

The goal of this exercise is eveness in attack and tone*. Your thumb's position at striking distance is extremely important. Everything you do from there will become second nature- you're fine as long as your right hand is not angled uncomfortably.

*This is another extremely interesting area in finger calisthenics for me.

Now grab your E string and thumb slap the string down (td) and on your way up, thumb slap again (tu). Then pop with the index finger and finally the middle. This is a consistent motion you're trying.

Muted, it should sound like Dub-Dub-Dub-Dub. Not dub-DUB-dUb-Dub. (Make sense?)

When playing this as a muted figure, it becomes more important to listen to the sounds you're making. Is your index finger pop louder than the middle finger pop? Even the thud you're producing from the bass can be dynamically adjusted by your attack. I found in general that lighter attack with precision still gives you a big sound. You can learn this by watching or listening to Gary Willis' playing. Even his muted figures have dynamic consequences. As for his fretless and post bop soloing...

While I've been able to play this figure on all four strings now, I've also been trying to strengthen my thumb without sacrificing those Mark King Style pops- Here's an idea:

Exercise #2:

G:--------------------
A:-------------------p1-
D:------------------
E:--td--tu--td--tu-

You are still trying to hit those four notes but the pop will help spice things up. The thumb gets the basic workout it requires plus you slowly add the pops as Marcus would call "afterthoughts*.

*"The funk is the thumb..." - Marcus Miller

While trying to take Exercise#2 to its logical conclusion, you will probably be wishing for another thumb...instead, work this exercise, which is a fun way to integrate two pops into the picture.

Note: This is polyrhythmically orgasmic.

Exercise #3:

G:----------------
A:---------p1--p2--
D:----------------
E:--td--tu--------

As you can see, this is a welcome addition if you're stuck to triplet feels; this exercise forces you to get out of the triplet mode; in any case, remove the second pop if you want to practice the triplet feel.

In the quest for the funk of the thumb, I'm inspired to write out a few of the exercises I'm playing these days along with some finger style exercises as well. I truly believe that the Bass is a strength instrument- some of the things we need to execute on the bass are only beyond us in terms of repetition. If we can repeat patterns and grooves for long periods of time, other patterns begin to emerge and you start to get closer to your polyrhythmic self.