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Graham demonstrates his music-redefining
technique on GCS and Sly
classics. Note how the right hand
shifts position from the rear pickup
area to just beyond the fretboard.
GCS live at the Vienna Jazz
Festival, playing “Throw-N-Down
the Funk.” Dig Graham’s use of a
Roland Jet Phaser during the slap
breaks (e.g., at 2:10).
You won’t see much of Graham in
this live clip from Sly and the Family
Stone’s 1969 Woodstock performance,
but you’ll hear his rumbling
bass—including a throbbing solo at
3:10—powering one of the greatest,
sexiest grooves of all time. The influence
of this track on Miles Davis’
work of the era and into the ’70s is
unmistakable.