Regular readers of this blog will have gathered that I’m something of a D’Angelo fanboy, so imagine my excitement when he suddenly reappeared with Black Messiah, his first studio album in 14 years. I’d got hooked by the grooves on Voodoo, mainly because they were anchored by one of my favourite bassists, the great Pino Palladino.
Here’s what Questlove had to say about Pino’s involvement in Black Messiah:
“We MUST take our hats off to Pino Palladino, his pocket and precision and carefully chosen notes on this record is an absolute tutorial in bass playing.”
High praise indeed from someone who has drummed on and produced some of the most groove-laden albums of the past 20 years…
Pino announces his arrival on ‘The Charade’ with an ear-grabbing melodic fill before descending into the main groove of the verse section:
This entire line is built on ascending triads that outline the harmony – a great lesson in how to turn something that is traditionally seen as a rather boring exercise into real music.
As always, listen out for the articulation as you take the notes off the page – much of the magic lies not in what the notes are but how you play them.
Gotta love Pino. A true jack of all trades; I especially love his part in ‘Wherever I Lay my Hat’ by Paul Young.