Groove of the Week

Groove Of The Week #26: Jackie Wilson – ‘Higher and Higher’

This installment of Groove Of The Week features possibly the shortest, most repetitive and least varied bass groove to date – it’s also one of the most important. One bar. Over and over.…

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Groove Of The Week #25: Jocelyn Brown – ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’

The site has overgone a major (and long overdue) facelift over the past few weeks – thank you for being patient during the downtime. The goal is to roll out lots of new…

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Groove Of The Week #24: Luther Vandross – ‘She’s a Super Lady’

You know that Luther Vandross song that has the great bassline by Marcus Miller on it? No, not that one. This one: ‘Never Too Much’ is one of the most famous examples of…

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Groove Of The Week #22: Jamiroquai – ‘Runaway’ and #23: Roy Ayers – ‘Running Away’

It seems like there’s been a spate of cases in recent months concerning pop artists being accused of plagiarising existing songs: Sam Smith had been listening to too much Tom Petty Bruno Mars…

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Groove Of The Week #21: Maxwell – ‘Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)’

This edition of Groove Of The Week focuses on the power of simplicity. The bassline that anchors Maxwell’s smooth soul ballad ‘Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)’ contains only 5 different pitches and is largely…

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Groove Of The Week #20: McFadden & Whitehead – ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’

Inspiration often strikes in the strangest of places. Earlier this year I had a rare Saturday night off from gigging and was at a friend’s wedding reception when I heard ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’…

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Groove Of The Week #19: Tool – ‘Forty Six & 2’

Metal is one genre of music that most people don’t associate with the word ‘groove’, but this series of posts is designed to explore the low end from a variety of sources and…

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Groove Of The Week #18: Bruno Mars – ‘Treasure’

The bass line to Bruno Mars’ smash hit ‘Treasure’ borrows heavily from old-school 1970s funk outfits like The Gap Band, Commodores and Crown Heights Affair. On first listening, the main groove on ‘Treasure’…

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Groove Of The Week #17: Omar – ‘There’s Nothing Like This’

Apologies for the serious time lag between posts – the last fortnight involved moving house and a series of gigs that included learning an entire set of Wayne Shorter tunes at short notice.…

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Groove Of The Week #16: Michael McDonald – ‘I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)’

Louis Johnson’s stellar bass work as part of The Brothers Johnson and also as a sideman (his numerous credits include Michael Jackson, George Benson, Grover Washington Jr and George Benson) has cemented his…

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