Let's go to church...

[leroybasslines]

I don't know if you've heard of Sharay Reed, but he's a Chicago based session bassist that's getting quite a reputation in the States. He's probably best known on the gospel circuit, like a lot of the stunning bass players you hear on RnB, sould & pop records from the States.

Anyway, I can't get enough of these two YouTube clips of him playing at his church. It's obviously some kind of music celebration event, but I tell you what - that would be my kind of church!

Clip 1 - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATcvr3zAhg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATcvr3zAhg[/url]

The fill he plays starting at 2:08 makes me soil myself every time I hear it. Check how the people watching react too! Amazing playing.

Clip 2 - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_KuD0AjWdE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_KuD0AjWdE[/url]

What they call in Gospel a shout groove where the band grooves on a progression while the choir and soloists improvise or shout stuff out. An absolute master class on tight, in the pocket, powerful but incredibly imaginative playing. And he looks like he's loving it too! I love the dancing preacher dude towards the end too.

So yeah, Sharay Reed. I love how he commits to some pretty crazy playing - pushing the boundaries to the limit but always staying on the ONE and doing his job. He is BASS.

What do you think? Any other gospel type players you want to flag up? Sometimes you hear their playing, think WOW but have no idea who they are.

Cheers!

[Doddy]

Yeah,Sharay has been mentioned a few times on here.

I've got to be honest though,I'm not particularly keen on the whole 'Gospel Chops' thing.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1105195' date='Jan 27 2011, 04:05 PM']Yeah,Sharay has been mentioned a few times on here.

I've got to be honest though,I'm not particularly keen on the whole 'Gospel Chops' thing.[/quote]
I'm not either, it's all a bit shady and exclusive and a lot of these people sound mechanical, like they just learned the moves. A bit like these people who come out of our contemporary music schools, a lot of them LOOK like they can play, but no MUSIC comes out of them for some reason.

BUT Sharay is fabulous. He loves what he's doing too. Crazykiwi turned me onto him a couple of years ago. Mind you, what he does is not that hard, but because he has been doing it for so long it's just totally natural sounding, it's a true expression of himself. He has music in his soul.

[xilddx]

[quote name='leroybasslines' post='1105116' date='Jan 27 2011, 02:41 PM'][b]So yeah, Sharay Reed. I love how he commits to some pretty crazy playing - pushing the boundaries to the limit but always staying on the ONE and doing his job. He is BASS.[/b][/quote]
Interesting you say that because he often phases across the bar line, particularly the long fill you like so much.

Thanks for reminding me of this vid though, I just watched it again for the first time in a while. The drummer's good too.

My fave bit is at 0.22 where the keyboard modulates the key into major on one chord (possibly a minor 3rd to a major 3rd - I'm probably talking sh*t ) and the bass stays minor, it's a beautiful thrilling musical moment for me.

[leroybasslines]

I totally agree about the 'Gospel Chops' phenomenon. It's the same as all the sweep picking, 6 million notes a bar guitarists we all had to be in bands with in the early 90s; music without feeling and passion but constructed out of technical competence is boring. But with a player like Sharay, I don't get that at all. I think you're spot on sillddx: he loves what he's doing. He's totally [i]for[/i] bass playing and music. I'm totally disinterested in whether what he does is hard and only in the sound and feel of it. I guess if you break down any great player's greatest playings - say Jaco - into a series of notes to play and a technique to learn, it's not that hard. I can play the first 16 bars of [i]Continuum [/i] with no bother at all because I learnt how to do it (I didn't get further than that because I have a very short attention span when it comes to learning stuff!). BUT, choosing those notes and taking those twists and turns and speaking in a language with the bass like Jaco did...that's something completely different. One need's technique to play what one thinks, but without the guts it's pointless.

I've always shunned slap playing for that reason - it's a bit like tapping was on the guitar post Van Halen. Lots of showing off and not much to listen to. Having said that, really masterful musicians make it sound good in context and that's the point - musicality is what gets you and makes you want to listen and play along.

But, yeah...Sharay. He's really good.

[leroybasslines]

[quote name='silddx' post='1105252' date='Jan 27 2011, 04:57 PM']My fave bit is at 0.22 where the keyboard modulates the key into major on one chord (possibly a minor 3rd to a major 3rd - I'm probably talking sh*t ) and the bass stays minor, it's a beautiful thrilling musical moment for me.[/quote]

I love those little twists you get with good gospel players (forget about gospel chops!). All those inversions and turns just make you want to get up and dance! I guess that's the point of the music - it is praise music and a lot of it is about celebration.

It beats the hell out of [i]We Plough The Fields and Scatter[/i] though...

Here's another gospel trick that get's me every time: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HAIEve3aME"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HAIEve3aME[/url]

Kirk Franklin's choir doing Hosanna (you have to wade through the very un-British schmaltz here, the white suits and performance makes me cringe!). The key change at 2:21 is great! Voices pretty much singing in unison up to this point - the central focus of the song - and then the whole thing takes off. Simple, but highly effective arrangement. Great bass player too - laid back, in the pocket and not making a fuss and showing us his chops!

[bubinga5]

Good call Leroy.. hes awsome.... im gonna post this guy.. his name is Dale Black..you may love him, you may hate him...but what you cant do is deny he is a monster player..i think hes one of the greatest unknown Gospel bassists.. ive seen him doing a slow groove thing too and he is just as impressive... remember...hes not all super chops..

for all you who dont like Gospel Chops... oh and hes not mechanical..

he has an intro, then he shows a lesson on chords and slap bass ,then there is the biblical groove at 7.20..



[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ThwuJVcyoA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ThwuJVcyoA[/url]

Edited January 27, 2011 by bubinga5

[risingson]

The gospel players from the U.S make for the best session musicians because they spend all day and every day just playing and reading in church. Some of the drummers and bass players I've seen kill me, their technique is nothing less than astonishing. It's a totally different thing in the U.S and a massive phenomenon.

[quote name='silddx' post='1105252' date='Jan 27 2011, 04:57 PM']Interesting you say that because he often phases across the bar line, particularly the long fill you like so much.[/quote]

Anthony Jackson is the king of doing this, worth checking our the end of 'Heed The Warning' by Chaka Khan for probably the most ridiculous fill I've ever heard on record!

Edited January 27, 2011 by risingson

[bubinga5]

[quote name='risingson' post='1105470' date='Jan 27 2011, 07:40 PM']The gospel players from the U.S make for the best session musicians because they spend all day and every day just playing and reading in church. Some of the drummers and bass players I've seen kill me, their technique is nothing less than astonishing. It's a totally different thing in the U.S and a massive phenomenon.



Anthony Jackson is the king of doing this, worth checking our the end of 'Heed The Warning' by Chaka Khan for probably the most ridiculous fill I've ever heard on record![/quote]i hear you Risington, that is some phenomenal bass playing..just makes me laugh when i hear the fills at the end of that track.im sure he has oil on his fingers....fantastic album too.. his stuff on Naughty tops it for me..

[Bottle]

*sigh* Kinda makes me wanna hang up my bass; I'll never be that good . Still, something to aim for one day, I guess

Some awfully tasteful playing there too. Drummer was great as well. Quite like having a jam session, don't get to do it all that often. Had a good evening last week where some spontaneous playing happened, and I'm mighty proud of that.

It's all down to practice, practice and yet more practice

Ian

[Doddy]

[quote name='risingson' post='1105470' date='Jan 27 2011, 07:40 PM']The gospel players from the U.S make for the best session musicians because they spend all day and every day just playing and reading in church. Some of the drummers and bass players I've seen kill me, their technique is nothing less than astonishing. It's a totally different thing in the U.S and a massive phenomenon.[/quote]

I'm not sure about the gospel guys making the best session players for the reasons you mention. From reading interviews with a lot of the more prominent drummers and bass players there are very few who do read-it's all a 'feel' thing. I think the best guys are the ones who are working every night with different people.

We all know that I'm a fan of chops,but there is just something about these guys that doesn't do it for me at all. I read an interview with one guy in Modern Drummer and he said that they have to show off their chops or else they would lose the gigs.I think that must be why I think the a lot of the modern gospel players seem like they want to blow all the time-often inappropriately. It's rare to hear them(especially drummers) just lay it down without flash.

[scalpy]

Have some! If I went to church my skin would probably melt but that is some tasty playing, and to hear that calibre of playing it's worth the risk!

[risingson]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1105567' date='Jan 27 2011, 08:56 PM']I'm not sure about the gospel guys making the best session players for the reasons you mention. From reading interviews with a lot of the more prominent drummers and bass players there are very few who do read-it's all a 'feel' thing. I think the best guys are the ones who are working every night with different people.

We all know that I'm a fan of chops,but there is just something about these guys that doesn't do it for me at all. I read an interview with one guy in Modern Drummer and he said that they have to show off their chops or else they would lose the gigs.I think that must be why I think the a lot of the modern gospel players seem like they want to blow all the time-often inappropriately. It's rare to hear them(especially drummers) just lay it down without flash.[/quote]

Prominent examples of players that are nothing short of blinding readers are Stanley Randolph (Stevie Wonder's new drummer, check him out here [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AobHkyIAOY)"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AobHkyIAOY)[/url], Aaron Spears (Usher's drummer), Adam Blackstone (Jill Scott's bass player), Braylon Lacy (Erykah Badu's old bass player), countless others as well off the top of my head. It's a feel thing as well of course, you don't get on dates like that unless you're something special.

The point with these players is that the good ones are the ones with the technique that don't feel compelled to overload their shows with it, I know of a lot of great players that have come from gospel backgrounds that are more than capable of doing this. Usually though, the gigs they get from being the type of players they are often allow them to overplay a bit... it goes with the territory. I'd be interested to see the interview you mention, as I'd be surprised that an attitude to the one you described this guy having would lead him to get any major work?

[Doddy]

I can't remember who it was-it was a couple if years ago-but it was someone like Aaron Spears or Gerald Haywood,one of the guys that was getting big gigs.

[leroybasslines]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1105567' date='Jan 27 2011, 08:56 PM']I'm not sure about the gospel guys making the best session players for the reasons you mention. From reading interviews with a lot of the more prominent drummers and bass players there are very few who do read-it's all a 'feel' thing. I think the best guys are the ones who are working every night with different people.

We all know that I'm a fan of chops,but there is just something about these guys that doesn't do it for me at all. I read an interview with one guy in Modern Drummer and he said that they have to show off their chops or else they would lose the gigs.I think that must be why I think the a lot of the modern gospel players seem like they want to blow all the time-often inappropriately. It's rare to hear them(especially drummers) just lay it down without flash.[/quote]

I think you're right - a lot of the players read but it's not their strongest suit. You rarely see gospel players in church reading, they might be given the changes for what their playing. I think that's why they do well as session players - they are incredibly quick of the mark and able to work on the spot without needing anything other than a rough idea of how the song goes!

I play a bit in church and I think that it's an excellent way of developing as a player - pretty much every week you're asked to play 5 or 6 songs with different personnel and very little preparation. You have to be good and very sensitive to what's happening around you - it's not a gig and you're there to do a job and provide a service. I think that a lot of young musicians would benefit from that - I see a lot of players who are very inward looking and don't care much for what their fellow musicians need/want or the audience. Playing in situations like a church service helps you develop your improvisation skills, your professionalism and your ability to work under pressure. No wonder some of the guys playing in church in the US are in demand session guys! They've had a life time of playing the bass in those kind of situations.

As for the chops thing, I agree with you entirely! I've got a very good friend who is an outstanding piano player and made a name for himself on the jazz circuit a while back. He jacked it in thought because he couldn't stand the one-upmanship and competition with things like "How fast can you play Giant Steps?" and all that macho posturing. It killed the music for him and he had to duck out and rediscover playing as a means of communicating feel and emotion. But some of those players are master musicians though, and I can't watch that second clip of Sharay vamping and not see a player having a whale of a time and just loving the music and the pure, visceral thrill of playing with other good musicians. But for every Sharay Reed, there is a mechanical dude who can double thumb slap pop like a machine gun but who leaves you cold.

[Johngh]

[quote name='leroybasslines' post='1105898' date='Jan 28 2011, 09:21 AM']Playing in situations like a church service helps you develop your improvisation skills, your professionalism and your ability to work under pressure. No wonder some of the guys playing in church in the US are in demand session guys! They've had a life time of playing the bass in those kind of situations.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. I played in a church group for a couple of years. The musical director was right on the money week in and week out. She would issue a song list that was useless as she'd very often just improvise away from it a lot of the time, even halfway through tunes. If you didn't have a sharp ear and be able to follow you were soon found out. It was excellent training in being able to improvise.
I don't read music or Tab, all learning tunes for me is done by ear which has stood me in good stead over the years.
I played at some very large meetings and was invited to play at some big events in London as a result of being able to go with the flow and be able to improvise. Nowhere near Sharay's level though !

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='leroybasslines' post='1105116' date='Jan 27 2011, 02:41 PM']I don't know if you've heard of Sharay Reed, but he's a Chicago based session bassist that's getting quite a reputation in the States. He's probably best known on the gospel circuit, like a lot of the stunning bass players you hear on RnB, sould & pop records from the States.

Anyway, I can't get enough of these two YouTube clips of him playing at his church. It's obviously some kind of music celebration event, but I tell you what - that would be my kind of church!

Clip 1 - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATcvr3zAhg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATcvr3zAhg[/url]

The fill he plays starting at 2:08 makes me soil myself every time I hear it. Check how the people watching react too! Amazing playing.

Clip 2 - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_KuD0AjWdE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_KuD0AjWdE[/url]

What they call in Gospel a shout groove where the band grooves on a progression while the choir and soloists improvise or shout stuff out. An absolute master class on tight, in the pocket, powerful but incredibly imaginative playing. And he looks like he's loving it too! I love the dancing preacher dude towards the end too.

So yeah, Sharay Reed. I love how he commits to some pretty crazy playing - pushing the boundaries to the limit but always staying on the ONE and doing his job. He is BASS.

What do you think? Any other gospel type players you want to flag up? Sometimes you hear their playing, think WOW but have no idea who they are.

Cheers![/quote]

I love the guy. Sublime sense of groove. Look what he's playing over Pino's line on 'Chicken Grease'.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JBPFYjY01I&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JBPFYjY01I...feature=related[/url]

Edited January 28, 2011 by Pete Academy

[Bottle]

[quote name='leroybasslines' post='1105898' date='Jan 28 2011, 09:21 AM']I think you're right - a lot of the players read but it's not their strongest suit. You rarely see gospel players in church reading, they might be given the changes for what their playing. I think that's why they do well as session players - they are incredibly quick of the mark and able to work on the spot without needing anything other than a rough idea of how the song goes!

I play a bit in church and I think that it's an excellent way of developing as a player - pretty much every week you're asked to play 5 or 6 songs with different personnel and very little preparation. You have to be good and very sensitive to what's happening around you - it's not a gig and you're there to do a job and provide a service. I think that a lot of young musicians would benefit from that - I see a lot of players who are very inward looking and don't care much for what their fellow musicians need/want or the audience. Playing in situations like a church service helps you develop your improvisation skills, your professionalism and your ability to work under pressure. No wonder some of the guys playing in church in the US are in demand session guys! They've had a life time of playing the bass in those kind of situations.[/quote]
This is what I'm talking about (and one of the main reasons I've gotten into playing bass)

Glad I've got some awesome friends in my worship team - makes life very much easier, and we have a laugh and socialise together as well, which helps to bond the team together when we play.

Ian

[lojo]

I like it

[xgsjx]

It's getting the finger speed up & remaining constant that impresses, especially when the worship leader improvises on the structure

I've slowly been trying to learn "Salvation is here" by Hillsong United, the bass solo takes some stamina!

[Rumble]

That Mr Reed ain't 'arf bad.

Another one worth a look is Maurice Fitzgerald who's played with Fred Hammond in the past and also had a couple of clips of him at the Chicago concert with Mr Reed on YT until a few months ago. Given that they aren't available he can be seen doing his thang here [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVjltuGGH9s&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVjltuGGH9s...feature=related[/url]

Enjoy!