One Year of Gratitude — Day 18

I’ve been on a bass kick the last couple of days. No, not the fish. The instrument. In my opinion, bass guitar is the unsung hero of modern music. It’s often written off as being the easy instrument to play. I don’t agree with that. It can be. Just like guitar could be. Just like drums could be. But, I think it deserves every bit of respect and appreciation as all the other instruments on stage. Well, it might even deserve more. Why?
Bass helps to establish both the rhythm and tonality of a song. In a jazz setting, it is the glue between the drums and soloist. It is the instrument that establishes that major or minor tonality. For non music folks, that’s that whole happy vs sad sound thing. The bass player is chugging along, outlining the chord structure. Making sure the soloist has a strong tonal foundation to play over. This same thing happens in modern music, too. It’s just not as obvious to people. Bass plays such an important role in music.
The bass player’s role in modern music escalated back in the Motown days. James Jamerson took that melodic concept from Jazz and brought it to soul music. When people talk about that Motown sound, I think they’re talking about Jamerson’s bass. Other pioneers like Jaco Pastorious and Victor Wooten introduced bass as a lead instrument. They put the instrument in the spotlight. There are so many others. Chuck Rainey. Rocco Prestia. Oteil Burbidge. Stanley Clarke. Willie Weeks. Anthony Wellington (the best teacher on the planet). Esperanza Spalding. Matter of fact, I’m going to let Victor Wooten run down the history of the instrument for you:
I can’t think of bass without thinking of my favorite style of music. Funk! I’m reminded of Tower of Power’s Soul With a Capital S.
Music makes you happy, thinking makes you sad
It can do the worst thing to the best you ever had
For entertainment found you if you had to choose
You and me might disagree, ’cause I like rhythm and blues
Now I’m not missin’ disco, I’m not saying punk is bunk
I can’t settle for heavy metal, ’cause I got to have that funk— Tower of Power
I’m grateful for all kinds of music. But, if I had to choose one style for the rest of my life, it’d be funk. It’s the supreme feel-good music for me. I love the variety of dialects of the genre. Greasy New Orleans funk. Prince influenced Midwest funk. West Coast, Tower of Power inspired horn funk. Disco. East Coast New Jack Swing funk. Motown. Hip hop. And let’s not forget em-effing James Brown, the King Daddy of all that is funky. The funk makes me feel good. For that I am grateful!
And that’s your gratitude for today…
