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Meet the Bass Player - Vol.2 - Digital Download
Groove studies in time and space.
The idea for MTBP Vol. 2 was conceived as a follow up to Vol.1, which dealt largely with developing time keeping and a sense of swing within a straight-ahead jazz context and featured Paul Morgan (Double Bass) and Hugh Burns (Guitar). Vol. 2 has been requested many times over - it wasn’t meant to take 15 years but here it is!
I’ve always been fascinated by how different drummers can make a simple groove sound so good, so right, and so personal, even though they are technically playing the same thing. Like the jazz ride feel, I believe we each have our own discoverable and unique groove - just listen closely to Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta, Jeff Porcaro or Bernard Purdie.
In the course of teaching developing players for many years, concerning trends are emerging in that a very high percentage are now arriving with very fast hand technique already in place, but seem to be missing the point when playing a simple groove and making it feel good for other musicians, with their bass drum and hi hat accuracy lacking way behind their hands. Awareness of the space between the notes has been sacrificed in the pursuit of being able to play as fast as possible…
The idea behind this collection of tracks is quite simply to provide a musical context to discover and develop an awareness of simple groove playing that is the basis of what we need to work consistently with other musicians.
I recommend working with a good teacher who can guide you through the abundance of material already available concerning hand technique and groove development. With my students I work with, and recommend, Jim Blackley’s Syncopated Rolls, Gary Chaffee’s Patterns series Vol. 3 ‘Time Functioning’ and Zoro’s The Commandments of R&B Drumming’, amongst other material.
This little quote from Steve Gadd is food for thought…
‘Usually I’m concentrating on the quarter notes, that’s where my focus has to be to keep the tempo locked in. Whatever subdivisions I play in those spaces, I make sure they’re locked in with the quarter note so that I don’t rush them… I just try to be a part of the foundation…’
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1 - 1/4 basic time
2 - 50 bpm
3 - 60 bpm
4 - 70 bpm
5 - 1/8 basic time
6 - 80 bpm
7 - 10 bpm
8 - 117 bpm (Iconic Bonus Track)
9 - 1/8 note triplet basic time
10 - 1/8 note triplet basic time
11 - 55 bpm
12 - 80 bpm
13 - 110 bpm
14 - 1/16 note basic time
15 - 1/16 note basic time
16 - 60 bpm
17 - 78 bpm
18 - 112 bpm
19 - 1/16 note triplet basic time
20 - 60 bpm
21 - 72 bpm
Bass: Zoltan Dekany
Drums: Allan Cox
Bass tracks recorded by Zoltan Dekany at Zoltan’s Bass Lounge, September 2019.
Drum tracks and post production by Ollie Boorman at Brook Street Studio, October/November 2019.
Allan Cox plays with Vic Firth Sticks on Paiste Cymbals and Yamaha Drums.
Connect with Al at allan.cox@mac.com
Connect with Zoltan at zoltansbasslounge.com
Connect with Ollie Boorman at ollieboormandrums.com
Design by Ed Ling
Special thanks to Leon Sweet at zero8 Web Design and to Dave Hassell for continuing to inspire!