Coilte Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 It is a shame that this bassist hardly ever gets a mention these days. I was listening to the Crusader's "Street Life" album the other evening, and enjoying his amazing contribution to the album. He especially excels on the "Night Faces" track. Just thought he deserves an airing here on BC. Night Faces : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLojRO8NV3E Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I saw him at a clinic a few years ago and he was great. Railing a little at bedroom and YouTube players and telling people to get out and play with other musicians. Made a great speech about how there was no 'money' beyond the first five frets and that he'd never earned anything of note playing further up the 'board He played a great groove staying down low just to demonstrate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectoremg Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Nice attitude re playing style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 [quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1426590076' post='2719521'] Nice attitude re playing style. [/quote] To be fair he did play a lot of lovely solo stuff higher up the neck later on in the session - just no 'money' up there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlittle Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Alphonso is such an underrated player. Have you heard the stuff he did with George Duke? Check out The Aura Will Prevail.. So funky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I just listed three tracks he played on in the favourite basslines thread. I think he suffered from being the guy Jaco wiped out of Weather Report which is unfair as his groove playing is comparable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) [quote name='molan' timestamp='1426590482' post='2719527'] To be fair he did play a lot of lovely solo stuff higher up the neck later on in the session - just no 'money' up there [/quote] This made me smile, as my favourite line of his is this one, which goes up the dusty end with those double stops. This is a personal opinion, but I find myself listening to this looser, groovier incarnation of Weather Report more often than the Jaco stuff. [media]http://youtu.be/O3sBSHEivzs[/media] Edited March 17, 2015 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1426593686' post='2719582'] I find myself listening to this looser, groovier incarnation of Weather Report more often than the Jaco stuff. [/quote] I agree. While there is no denying the genius that was Jaco, I find myself drawn more towards Alphonso's style of playing. Perhaps he's right about the "no money beyond the first five frets" though he can certainly "leave the cage" if the need arises. He certainly stays within the first five for most of "Night Faces" but his lines here, have such groove and panache that there's no need to go higher. Edited March 17, 2015 by Coilte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1426593686' post='2719582'] This made me smile, as my favourite line of his is this one, which goes up the dusty end with those double stops. This is a personal opinion, but I find myself listening to this looser, groovier incarnation of Weather Report more often than the Jaco stuff. [/quote] I'm sure this will have me branded as a heretic but I much prefer his playing with WR to Jaco's. I saw the Jaco incarnation live once and just found it all a bit over the top. I admired the technical prowess but found it hard to actually 'enjoy' listening to the music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 The Jaco/Alphonso debate has raged for decades now and it is no more than a groove versus flash discussion. Some prefer basic groove playing, some the intense technical playing. In truth, most of us are somewhere on a continuum between them and, indeed, move back and fore. The simple fact is that you don't have to choose. A preference is a pointless position. You can love it all. The simple truth is that producers are generally drawn towards the groove playing because it is more in keeping with the narrower concepts that define 'pop' music. This is, in turn, because 'pop' music is generally 'dance' music and the lyric is king. A complex line a la Rhythm Stick is not remotely offensive if it makes a contriution to the tone of a song but creating a line like that for a pop song is harder than routine 'doink, doink' doink' lines and requires exceptional technical writing and performance skills on the part of the bass player. Unless the bass player is the composer, the bass lines are likely to be less sophisticated. A lot of Jaco's complex lines are contaiend within his own tunes whereas his best groove playing is in Zawinul and Shorter tunes. Alphonoso's compositions with Weather Report are all fairly bass-centric and would not have been written by JZ or WZ who both favoured more routine bass lines (I accept this is open to challenge). Nevertheless, AP is right; no-one ever made any real money by featuring a bass solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1426676751' post='2720546'] The Jaco/Alphonso debate has raged for decades now and it is no more than a groove versus flash discussion. Some prefer basic groove playing, some the intense technical playing. In truth, most of us are somewhere on a continuum between them and, indeed, move back and fore. The simple fact is that you don't have to choose. A preference is a pointless position. You can love it all. [/quote] Absolutely, this is why I was careful to express it in terms of which one I find myself listening to more often rather than suggesting that one was "better". Johnson's work with Weather Report seems to align better with where my own enthusiasms are at this time, that's all. At other times I have been captivated by the albums with Pastorius. I enjoy the way the band worked with Miroslav Vitous too, and that they were able to explore different approaches through their career while keeping some sort of recognisable sound is one of the good things about them. Of course, a lot of that comes down to Zawinul and Shorter rather than any one bassist. Edited March 18, 2015 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I haven't checked but I thought most of the bass work on Street Life was Felder..? As for AJ's quote of no money beyond the 5th fret..??? hmm, I'm sure he made plenty up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1426679416' post='2720602'] I haven't checked but I thought most of the bass work on Street Life was Felder..? [/quote] Felder plays bass on Street Life// The Hustler and My Lady. Johnson is on Night Faces and Rodeo Drive, with James Jamerson Jr. on Carnival of the Night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tUTsZ78xIw Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly - Flora Purim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlittle Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1426880793' post='2723160'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tUTsZ78xIw Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly - Flora Purim [/quote] Wow! Beautiful song. Never heard this before. Thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Really great bassist...he had a different way than Jaco. There is no singular way...just ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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