So busy, in fact, I haven't posted anything in almost 18 months.
Since I started this blog a few years ago, I've become a father again to a daughter and a son (2 years and 6 months, respectively), taken on a teaching position at a new school that opened up in downtown Detroit last year and tried to maintain some sense of normalcy concerning my regular gigging/practicing/cooking/eating/drawing life.
A more formal and detailed update will be forthcoming, hopefully around the beginning of the year. Until then, be safe and pray for my sanity! =)
Be good,
DLW
P.S. These are the people most responsible for my lack of sleep the last 2 years...
I recently became aware that the 30th anniversary of Prince's album/movie Purple Rain is this year, so I figured the opening song of both would be a good choice for the solo piece for this month.
This is yet another entry in my month-solo-piece series and I'm doing something slightly different: an original composition(!!!).
I wrote this song on piano a few years ago and came together fairly quickly and pretty much as it sounds now. I didn't have a destination for this piece but I figured it would go on a future Christmas record. While that's still most likely the case, my 6-month-old daughter inspired me to tackle the song as a solo bass piece.
Hope you enjoy!
Be Good,
DLW
P.S. You can hear my daughter cooing and babbling in the background...
I'm back again with another entry in my Top 5 series. Chuck Rainey has a bass playing career that has spanned over 5 decades, including roughly 15 years as a session player in both New York AND Los Angeles during the height of the recording era (mid-'60's-1980). He's featured on thousands of records, TV and movie soundtracks. That said, there's no way I've checked out most of his work but out of the things I've heard, these are my favorites...
As a rule, I'm not a huge fan of the sound of a slapped/thumped P-Bass. It usually sounds a little too throaty and hollow for my tastes (especially when compared to a full-on J-Bass). That said, there are a few exceptions: Freddie Washington, early Louis Johnson, Will Lee and, of course, Chuck Rainey. This particular track, Rickie Lee Jones' Woody & Dutch On A Slow Train To Peking (with guests Cheech and Chong), showcases Rainey's tone in a particularly good light (not to mention drummer Steve Gadd playing a shoebox with brushes). Other great examples include Peg and I Heard That!...
Word is, this Roberta Flack song had a verbatim/fully charted bass part written by Donny Hathaway and while Chuck nails it (there are horn & string unison parts to consider), he adds all of these amazing descending double-stops and upper register ornamentations that really give the part life.
Simply put; the bass Chuck Rainey plays at the 2:39 mark of this Steely Dan song gives me hope for a better tomorrow. In the ensuing 2 bars, Rainey offers rhythmic complexity and precision, unbridled melodicism AND tension & resolution. All this in 4 seconds. Without crowding the track.
Oh, and rest of his playing is great, too.
I kinda HAD to include this one. Classic groove (and overdub) on a classic theme song...
This is possibly my favorite Chuck Rainey bass line. He and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie are killing the pocket, Chuck's part peculates throughout and perfectly wraps around this Stevie Wonder-penned/Aretha Franklin-belted masterpiece. Even when he jumps to the upper register for the bridge, the supportive nature of his role is never sacrificed.
(This is actually a repost from last year. I'm gonna give this 1-solo-piece-a-month thing a try again. Wish me luck!)
I decided to do a shorter, leaner version of Lift Ev'ry Voice & Sing. I submit this as my February entry (aptly) and I'm planning (hoping) to post a new video every 3-4 weeks until I'm caught up. Until then...
First off, I'm sorry I'm so late with the updates. It's been a particularly busy summer and my desktop got sick and had to be wiped clean and blah blah blah...
At any rate, I'm back!
I was featured in the nascent music/news online magazine Detroit Sounds Like This a few months back. Thanks to my friend Mark Szymanski for extending the invite for the interview (one of the first for the site) and for skillfully editing what was, I'm sure, a meandering conversation.
Be sure to visit their site and stay abreast on what's happening on the Detroit music scene.
I'll be back next week with another entry into the Top 5 series. Until then...
