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.