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Why Is Music Important? by B.A. Johnson
Describe your musical composition process.
Composition, for me, usually begins with a melody line – about 80% of the time. Other times, it begins with a completely random sound, or series of rhythmic noises – like a breaking semi, or hearing a train in the near distance. Other times, still, it’s a bass line or rhythmic figure that I’ll then work with until I can articulate the sound I’m hearing.
From that point, I’ll either begin searching for a sequence of upper register chords on the bass guitar. Or, I’ll begin working with a keyboard. My process is very organic and a lot like painting. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve attempted to write one piece of music, only to see an entirely different piece of music into fruition! Again, its all about expression and tone. I’m a tone freak!
Music allows me to articulate my environment beyond words! I’m not attempting to suggest a feeling to another person as much as I’m attempting to speak to something deep within myself.
How does music affect your culture and immediate environment?
My teenage daughter and I were laughing about a commercial, and she mentioned that the first stanza of the WHO’s “Teenage Wasteland” would have been a ‘perfect’ way to capture the mood the commercial was failing to present! She was absolutely correct from my perspective!! Music continues to be the medium through which my family and I communicate ideas to one another. My children are very secure in their ideas (and imaginations) as a result of being life-long, avid music listeners! Humorously, both my children tilt their heads when they’re listening deeply – to sounds, conversation, as well as to music. I do that.
What would you be, if not a professional musician?
A music critic, or a music teacher in Academia! (Laughter) Actually, I’ve not thought a lot about it. I believe that musician is something you are… not something you do. I’ve met a lot of musicians who are in a life-struggle to do music and it is painful to watch! It’s like watching someone do loving…
Describe your practice regimen. Also, what technical aspects of your paying are you currently working on?
I practice playing “Hattie Belle” and my 6-string fretless almost every day. After running through scales, modes and arpeggios, I play through solos and pieces of music I’ve learned. At this time, I’m running “Donna Lee”, “Spain”, and Gary Willis’ “Speak” regularly. I also think its important to spend time just playing the instruments. Often I’ll play to drum sequences and “dance it out”! I’ve never been sorry that I rolled tape while sketching in that way!
Technically, I’m really working with my plucking hand approach in hopes of incorporating more of that articulation Matt Garrison and a few others are able to execute so profoundly! As in all things I attempt, it’ll have my stamp on it… and it certainly will never be a direct copy of anyone’s technique. Music allows me to work with my hands in a way that becomes my self-expression more and more.
What does music, and being a musician, mean to you – at the deepest level of your being?
More than a great deal! Beyond my faith, and my relationship with my wife and children (through which music and my personal musical concept has been invaluable) music is the immediate “next need” in my ability to cope with the world and all the potential negatives that constitute that idea.
How important is it to understand the Language of music?
Absolutely necessary – as much as possible! That is not to say that a person should become a “theory geek” to articulate their ideas. No. But, in working with music on a deeply intrinsic level, we can understand music beyond words. Having said that, I have personally found benefit in hearing music and understanding somewhat its composition from a technical standpoint. For me, life is a “sound quest”! The first time I heard the Beatle’s “Here Comes The Sun” I had to learn why that E7 chord affected me so deeply! Placement! Viola! That chord, and the subsequent G6 / Dadd9 / G6 / Dadd9 / A7 passage made me want to make those sounds! I was 5-years old and I remember it vividly!
Was I destined to become a musician? Or, does music speak that deeply to all children?
I love watching young children respond to music. Any music! I never want to lose that feeling of awe that I remember having while listening to the constantly present radio, or my parents’ record player. All revolutions are plotted to music, and that’s how important music is!
How do you collect the series of seemingly random influences and articulate them through music?
Listening. Listening always happens first. Like many musicians, I listening as deeply as I can to everything I can. From there, it becomes about “making that sound”, or articulating that vibe…
Can music ever truly become commercial? Why, or why not?
I don’t believe so. Music can be used to label a commercial movement. But, sooner or later, the music will change and the movement will be left – particularly negative movements against humanity. Sooner, or later, pop music will change its mind about everything it’s become over the past decade. We evolve, and music evolves with us.
Who do you feel would have great answers to these questions?
Let’s find out…!!
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
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Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
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Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
New Gear: The Dingwall John Taylor Signature Model
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler