āBill Bassā Nelsonās playing on Fred Wesleyās Say Blow by Blow Backwards is distinct from that of his other P-Funk bassmates.
In so doing, we gather influences from here and there which gradually become part of our own individual style. All art borrows from whatās come before, and thatās certainly true when it comes to incorporating ingredients from other players into our personal playing approach.
Many of us, though, with practical concerns in mind, value versatility over developing a personal style. We work to enlarge our skill set, so we can have more opportunities to play. In our quest to be broadly knowledgeable and prepared for anything, we may not even think of ourselves as having a notable style. Marcus Miller has a style, we think. Players like Flea, Joe Dart, Steve Harrisāthose players have a style.
But having a personal playing style is like handwriting. You may write the same words as countless others, and maybe they even convey the same meaning. However, the flair with which you produce them is unmistakably yours, no matter how many different kinds of things you write. And the musical parallel is true whether you spend most of your time playing covers or coming up with original bass lines of your own. Maybe you have a tendency toward a certain kind of phrasing, or you lean toward shorter, punchier notes. Maybe you have a penchant for the pentatonic when soloing, or you instead opt for upper extensions and altered notes. The factors that make up your style might be much more subtle, but in aggregate you can tell when itās you on a recordingāand when itās not. You canāt help it: Youāre unique.
Courtesy of Billy Bass Nelson
And you canāand perhaps shouldāhave it both ways. You can strive to be a versatile, flexible player and still cultivate a personal style. The trick is in being aware of the elements that define your playing personality, and yet not letting your understanding of them limit your playing choices. As double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer once said, āHaving a strong style is like having a big rut.ā
āGeorge Clinton described Billyās style as having āthe Motown flavor with the aggressive rock attitude.āā
One of the best ways to grasp the concept of individual bass style is to listen to bands that have had more than one bass player. I once had the opportunity to play behind legendary P-Funk and James Brown trombonist Fred Wesleyāa musician with a pretty strong style of his own. I had to learn several tunes, and was particularly struck by the bass on āHalf a Man,ā from Fred Wesley & the Horny Hornsā 1979 album, Say Blow by Blow Backwards. A growling string slide opens the track, followed by a couple of clipped root notes, another swoop, and an alternating eighth-note lick that eventually ladders its way back down to the tonic. I was intrigued. It didnāt sound at all like Bootsy Collins, whose swinging 16th-note rhythms with Parliament I was more familiar with. It wasnāt like the jazzier funk of Rodney āSkeetā Curtis, and it was more raw and bluesy than funkateer Cordell āBoogieā Mossonās work.
So at soundcheck, when I finally had the opportunity to meet Fred Wesley, one of the first things I asked him was who was that bassist? āOh, thatās Billyās bass,ā he replied, referring to original Funkadelic bassist āBilly Bassā Nelson. It was Nelson who played the understated groove of āCan You Get to Thatā and the bluesy unison lick from āHit It and Quit It,ā both from Funkadelicās classic 1971 album, Maggot Brain. But thereās nothing understated about his prominent part on āHalf a Man,ā which features swift chromatic runs through the chorus changes. George Clinton described Billyās style as having āthe Motown flavor with the aggressive rock attitude.ā
I encourage you to explore the different playing personalities of the P-Funk pantheon as a primer in the potential of a personal style. To guide your journey, I recommend following along in Jimmy Leslieās āBassists of P-Funkā chapter in The Funky Bass Book, which is available on Amazon.
So, how do you balance versatility and cultivating a style? The key is in not settling. Always be listening, learning, and practicing as a means of expanding your bass playing vocabulary. Challenge your assumptions about yourself and your playing. Try new things. Play with different people. And remember that you donāt have to try to be unique and original; you simply are.
