Groove of the Week

Groove Of The Week #46: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – ‘Genuine Pt. 1’

Before we get into the groove, so to speak, I want you to make the following promise to yourself: “I will set aside 104 minutes of my life to watch ‘Miss Sharon Jones!‘” (It’s…

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Groove Of The Week #45: Michael Jackson – ‘Get On The Floor’

Michael After Motown Michael Jackson’s 1979 masterpiece Off The Wall proved to be a pivotal point in the King of Pop’s remarkable career. Although it was 21-year old MJ’s 19th album and 5th…

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Groove Of The Week #44: Squarepusher – ‘Iambic 9 Poetry’

Like many bass players, I became infatuated with the sound of harmonics on hearing Jaco’s iconic ‘Portrait of Tracy’ for the first time; somehow JP had managed to transform the mumbling, monophonic plank…

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Groove Of The Week #43 – Marvin Gaye’s ‘Inner City Blues’

  Berry Gordy’s Other Bass Player Although The Funk Brothers’ catalogue of classic bass lines is normally associated with James Jamerson, there was another guy on the scene whose lines deserve attention when…

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Groove of the Week #42: Herbie Hancock – ‘Palm Grease’

Everyone knows Herbie’s classic synth bass line on ‘Chameleon’, and plenty of guys can tear through ‘Actual Proof’ without breaking a sweat but for me, the real gem in the Head Hunters’ catalogue…

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Groove Of The Week #41: Maxwell – ‘Welcome’

One of my initial goals in undertaking the Groove Of The Week was to strike a balance between well-known ‘classic’ bass lines and lesser-known songs that have been particularly important in my bass…

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Groove Of The Week #40: Tower of Power – Maybe It’ll Rub Off

Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia’s unshakeable semiquavers have been the foundation of Tower Of Power for almost 50 years (that’s an awful lot of notes…). Along with drummer David Garibaldi, Rocco has been a mainstay…

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Groove Of The Week #39: Incognito – ‘Talkin’ Loud’

From Basses to Buses – Wear Your Damn Earplugs – Time Management It’s 2017 and I’m still way behind on this damn project. Here’s Randy Hope-Taylor’s excellent part on Incognito’s ‘Talkin’ Loud’: View…

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Groove Of The Week #38: Esperanza Spalding – ‘Funk The Fear’

Esperanza’s Chromatic Odyssey – Getting In The Festive Spirit   Here’s a funky finger-twister from one of my favourite bassists, Esperanza Spalding: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Kenrick…

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Groove Of The Week #37: Sly Stone – ‘I Get High On You’

What Were You Doing At 16? – The Humble Brag – Doing The Work   Cast your mind back to when you were 16. What were you doing? (musically, I mean…) I was…

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