THE BASS PLAYER

By Johanne James

Hi there folks.

Let’s discuss the bass player.
I must say that I have been lucky to have worked with some of the finest bass players to hand. Steve Anderson, John Jeary, Dave Lugay, Randolph Taylor, Sedley Francis to name but a few. We gel very well and nail a groove so hard that it would take an atomic bomb to remove it! It’s not always about technique but compatibility, chemistry, magic, whatever you want to call it, and whatever it is and as long as it works then you can ask for no more from a rhythm section. It’s important and I can’t stress enough that we are there to play within the context of a composition, to play music, as there will always be time to shine. It’s the music that’s important as one can end up in a battle, and that in my book is a big no no! You can fight with any other instrument in the band, but never the bass player. He is your best friend and ally, onstage anyway! Lol!
I can only say that one should enhance the other and perhaps call it an embrace, that you can’t tell the bass drum from the bass, a symbiotic relationship. When you consider that the rhythm section is the engine room of any band and therefore must be as one. You can have 100 bass players play the same song and you can be assured that they will all play it differently and those subtle differences can make you jump for joy or jump in frustration! Take your pick. Sound is also important, as you don’t want to be wading through treacle, as one B/P described his set up. Treacle? Sticky stuff that eh?
In essence as already mentioned we are the foundation of any band and without a good bass player in any rhythm section, in my humble opinion, you are lost! What more can I add to that? Not a lot.

Thanks for listening.

Johanne James