Welcome back my friends, to the flamboyance that never ends, as Fabulously Flamboyant Friday delivers yet another light-loafered, groin-polished, googly from the gasworks-end pavilion of musical magnificence.
Tonight, dear reader, as we respectfully mark International Hangover Day (which naturally and appropriately falls one day after International Beer Day), we’ll take another foundation-shuddering look at the lower regions and examine the trouser-flapping abilities of some of my favourite slappers, pluckers and fingerers of the bottom end – all done, of course, in the best possible taste.
And so, without further ado, Fabulously Flamboyant Friday proudly presents yet more of the unsung heroes of rock ‘n’ pop, the rumble-meisters par excellence – bass players! Not arf!
As a young ‘un, I was always in and out of local bands, and, as anyone who was part of a popular beat combo in the 60s and 70s will confirm, there was an absolutely unbreakable rule contained within the holy text of rock scripture:
“…and lo, when a gathering of brethren findeth not a skilled practitioner of the bass amongst their number, the one deemed most lowly in their midst shall be cast down and burdened with humble deeds…”
In other words, if you couldn’t find a competent bass player, the least talented musician in the band got lumbered with the dreaded 4-string thump. Sadly, being a musician of no small incompetence, I faced this humiliation with great regularity. But I really didn’t mind. I quickly fell in love with the bass, but always struggled with one particularly truculent version off the beast. So tonight, dear reader, as you peruse this august organ, we shall examine some of my favourite wielders of an instrument with which I never really got to grips – the fretless electric bass.
For the uninitiated, the fretless bass is a relatively specialized instrument. Most bassists stick with fretted instruments for the comfort and security of accurate intonation and the sonic advantages of clean, fast-attack note definition. A fretted bass is a very easy instrument to get started on. However, the fretless version is a very different beast. A lack of frets positions the instrument much nearer to the acoustic double bass from which it evolved; and although having no frets allows for a more vocal style of playing, with endless vibrato, glissando and microtonal possibilities, it also demands professional levels of fingering and intonation at all times.
I’ve always found the fretless bass a fascinatingly expressive instrument. Unlike most instruments found within the confines of a popular beat combo, the greatest players of the fretless bass are usually recognizable within just a few notes. The uniquely expressive nature of the instrument simply allows the individuality of the performer to shine through and become almost instantly identifiable.
Another one of the joys of fretless bass is that playing it is less about rhythm and speed, and more about intonation, phrasing, touch and tone. The finest players can make the instrument sing in a way that sits somewhere between the human voice, a cello, and of course the double bass. And, although it’s a relatively small professional community (at least when compared to the legions of plankspankers, tub-thumpers and ivory-tinklers that are available), the range of artistic individuality within its small group of leading players is really quite remarkable. So let’s get started – and if we are going to talk about the fretless bass, there really is only one place we can possibly start: Jaco Pastorius.
Quite simply, Jaco Pastorius is regarded by many as the single most influential and greatest player of the fretless electric bass. He completely transformed perceptions of the instrument in the 1970s and revolutionized the role of the bass guitar in jazz and fusion. His contributions to the band Weather Report, his magnificent self-titled solo album, his work with Joni Mitchell and Pat Metheny, all set the standard by which those who followed would be measured. Nearly every subsequent fretless player cites Jaco as a primary influence.
As a kid, Jaco started out as a drummer. Unfortunately, the young lad suffered a wrist injury (stop sniggering at the back) which forced a move to bass. Jaco became a very fine player of the traditional upright bass and also used a standard fretted Fender Jazz Bass. Eventually, frustrated by the constraints and creative limitations imposed by the frets in the neck of his electric bass, he ripped them out (apparently, with nothing more than a butter knife), slavered hard varnish all over the fretboard and created his now legendary Bass of Doom.
Pastorius developed a fast (almost piano-like) attack, with singing, horn-like melodic lines that often included artificial and sliding harmonics – an approach that quite frankly set new standards of musicality and virtuosity on the electric bass. This technical ability brought him great acclaim, placed him in high demand and, as a result, helped to popularize the modern fretless bass worldwide.
Sadly, Jaco had his demons and was not destined for a long stay in this world. During his time with Weather Report he began abusing drugs and alcohol, which apparently exacerbated some pre-existing mental issues and triggered some significant behavioural problems. On September 11, 1987 (after being chucked off stage at a Santana concert) Jaco made his way to a Florida night club, picked a fight with a martial arts expert and was subsequently hospitalized with multiple head and facial fractures. He fell into a coma and died from a brain haemorrhage, aged 35, just a few days later. His was a tragically short life, but he left behind perhaps the most impactful legacy in the world of the fretless electric bass.
Mick Karn is another much missed fretless bass player, although, in truth, he was a genuine multi-instrumentalist. He was the bassist for the band Japan, where he developed a distinctive, Middle-Eastern sounding fretless style that was hugely atmospheric, instantly recognisable and rather unconventional. Take a listen to his work on the Japan albums, Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum and you’ll see what I mean. I adore those two albums, but sadly I never managed to see Japan play live. Happily, I did get to see Mick Karn perform once.
Somewhere in the mid ’80s I was dragged along to see one of the latest hot-shot guitarists on the scene, the American musician David Torn. Although Torn is now a hugely respected and internationally acclaimed guitarist, at the time I didn’t have the foggiest idea of who he was or what he did. However, I’m very glad I attended his concert, as I was delighted to discover his rhythm section for the evening included the lavishly talented Bill Bruford on drums and the one-and-only Mick Karn on bass. I’m sure David Torn performed magnificently that night, but I only had eyes and ears for the rhythm section. They were truly magnificent. Sadly, Mick left us in 2011, aged just 52.
Time for a Taffy, so let’s lighten the mood with a magnificent musician who is still very much with us and one with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working: Pino Palladino – quite simply one of the most successful session players on the planet. His bass work is everywhere.
I first met Pino in the mid ’70s (he was a guitarist in those days) when his band, Trapper, were regulars on the South Wales pub ‘n’ club circuit. There was a lot of talent in that band and we all kinda thought they were destined for success. Sadly, that was not to be and they split up in, I think, 1975. The last time I saw them play was at the legendary New Moon club in Cardiff.
The club, which was a complete and utter dump, probably deserves a mention here. It was located next to some public conveniences (which always stank) and as you climbed the narrow stairs up to the venue, a complimentary and not particularly appetising hot dog would be unceremoniously thrust into your hands. This, apparently, was to enable the club to operate legally by circumventing some obscure Cardiff City Council licencing regulation.
The New Moon‘s booze staple was thoroughly out-of-date Newcastle Brown Ale, drunk directly from the frequently stained and grubby bottle, which would usually generate staggeringly hot, deeply aromatic, and surprisingly copious amounts of rancid flatulence. Additionally, and not infrequently, the out-of-date broon ale would also, as an added bonus, give you the galloping squits. It was a tremendous venue and some very good groups appeared there over the years. A typical evening at the New Moon would usually be rounded off with a visit to the nearby Chippy Lane, aka Cardiff’s legendary Caroline Street, for a generous portion of chicken curry off-the-bone from the Dorothy Fish Bar, which was generally about as good for your insides as the out-of-date Newcastle Brown Ale.
Anyway, I digress. As I mentioned above, Trapper contained a lot of talent. Their singer, John Sloman, went on to have a pretty decent career with Uriah Heep, the Gary Moore Band and Lone Star. Mr. Palladino, however, took the session musician route and worked his way up through the ranks to become one of the most in-demand and highly praised fretless bass maestros in the business.
Over the years, Pino has provided bass (not always fretless) for The Who, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Simon & Garfunkel, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Young, Gary Numan, Joan Armatrading, Phil Collins, Bryan Ferry, Carly Simon, David Crosby, Rod Stewart, Beyonce, The Corrs and many, many more. That’s quite a CV and the man has become a bass playing legend.
And while we’re on the Taff Trail, let’s have another Welsh wizard of the fretless bass: Percy Jones. Percy (a Llandrindod Wells lad) is widely regarded as something of an innovator on the fretless bass. He possesses a uniquely distinctive style that stands apart from more commonly celebrated players. He is frequently cited by other musicians as a vastly under-recognized pioneer of the fretless electric bass, and one whose style is original rather than derivative of Jaco Pastorius. He’s worked with Brian Eno, Steve Hackett, Kate Bush, David Sylvian, Suzanne Vega, Roy Harper, Soft Machine, Bill Frisell and many more; but he’s probably best known as a founding member of the jazz-rock band, Brand X (which, of course, featured the mighty Phil Collins on drums).
Jones developed a seriously unconventional playing style that I once heard described as “Bill and Ben on acid” and, quite frankly, that description works perfectly for me – he really is a very unique musician and no other fretless bass player sounds quite like Percy.
I first saw him perform with Brand X at the Reading Festival, in the long hot summer of ’76. I freely admit, the main reason I was in attendance was to watch Phil Collins thump the tubs, but I was very quickly mesmerised by the extraordinary fretless shenanigans of Percy Jones. Unfamiliar with his abilities, I was gobsmacked by his performance that day. I became a hopeless devotee on the spot and I remain so to this day.
Our next bassist is Bakithi Kumalo – the legendary fretless player who gained worldwide acclaim for his magnificent bass work on Paul Simon’s Graceland album (video at the top of this article). Sadly, the whole thing was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the fact that Simon had travelled to South Africa during the international cultural boycott to work on the album. Artists such as Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers were quick to voice their displeasure, politicians soon jumped on board, and Simon was quickly banned from South Africa by the ANC and placed on a UN blacklist.
Of course, all this high profile publicity ensured the album sold by the truckload (multiple gold and platinum certifications), became Simon’s biggest selling solo album, completely revitalised his career, produced hit singles all over the world, was added to the National Recording Registry of The US Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important”, and in South Africa became the biggest selling album since Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Bragg, Weller and Dammers would seem to have thoroughly and comprehensively proved the old maxim that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Bloody well done, chaps. Bloody well done indeed.
Let’s have a spot of progressive jazz, shall we? With a trio of my favourite jazzers – Nice… First up, Tribal Tech, with Gary Willis on bass. A chap oft described as a technical and harmonic master of the fretless bass. Willis is a musician’s musician and quite frankly one of the finest modern virtuosos on the instrument.
Next up, Alain Caron, a Canadian bassist who rose to prominence with the jazz fusion band, UZEB. He’s an exceptionally clean, fast, and melodically challenging musician, and I’m very fond of his solo work.
And the last member of our triumphant jazz trio for this evening is the American musician, Steve Bailey, the current chair of the bass department at Berklee College of Music and a true virtuoso of the six-string fretless bass. He features in this video (along with the great Victor Wooten) which is, quite frankly, nothing less than hard-core bass porn. Viewer discretion is advised. Nice…
And I think we’ll wrap things up for this evening with one of the most extraordinary bass players on the planet: Michael Manring – an experimental musician famous for his virtuosity, his Zon Hyperbass and his extensive use of advanced fretless techniques that would leave most players with their fingers in knots.
Manring began playing bass around the age of nine. He attended Berklee College of Music, studied and toured with Jaco Pastorius and rose to prominence in the early 1980s via his collaborations with the rather splendid guitarist Michael Hedges. He became the in-house session bassist for Windham Hill Records and has appeared on hundreds of recordings.
As a solo artist he’s released several albums – all of which I commend to the house: Unusual Weather (1986), Toward the Center of the Night (1989), Drastic Measures (1991), Thonk (1994), Book of Flame (1998), Soliloquy (2005), and Small Moments (2020). His work spans jazz fusion, new age, experimental, ambient, world music, and much, much more.
Manring’s playing is characterized by astonishing technical ability, polyrhythms, percussive techniques, looping effects, and odd tunings that he frequently changes mid-piece. Critics have praised him for almost single-handedly redefining the limits of what the electric bass can do, whilst (crucially) maintaining superb levels of musicality and emotional communication. This dude can really play and I never tire of listening to him.
Anyway, I think that’s probably quite enough of my bottom-end bothering for this evening, so I shall say TTFN to one and all. May all your passages be salubrious, your gardens inclined and your puddles well jumped.
Goodnight, and may your frog go with you – Not ‘arf!
Featured Image: Chris Squire – Wal Triple Neck Bass by Clausgroi licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
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