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…
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’…
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…
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’…
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.…
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…
Groove Of The Week #15: Led Zeppelin – ‘Ramble On’
This week’s groove comes courtesy of the great British bassist John Paul Jones, whose part on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Ramble On’ provides a masterclass in writing a part that manages to be melodic without…
Groove Of The Week #14: Deee-Lite’s ‘Groove Is In The Heart’
Deee-Lite’s one and only hit ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ was propelled by the infectious bassline provided by none other than William ‘Bootsy’ Collins who, thanks to his time with James Brown and…
Groove Of The Week #13: Incubus -‘Are You In?’
This week’s laid back swung 16th groove comes courtesy of one of my teenage bass heroes, Dirk Lance. Incubus first caught my attention when I heard Make Yourself and totally freaked out –…
Groove Of The Week #12: Muse – ‘Hysteria’
Apologies that this post is somewhat late, things have been rather manic lately. Anyway, here’s last week’s Groove Of The Week video, which features Chris Wolstenholme’s amazing pedal point riff on Muse’s ‘Hysteria’.…