music matters

Song
God. Fear. Money by Meshell Ndegeocello

Back story
As readers here know, Meshell Ndegeocello is one of my favorite artists.  She is the rare musician whose chops, vision, lyrics, and emotion all come together equally.  Known for always pushing the envelope, she explored funk, jazz, and hip-hop on this 2002 album.  This on the heels of her acoustic ballad release, Bitter, which challenged many of her fans and critics.  No less controversial, this record explored themes of racism, bigotry, and homophobia.

Why this song
God. Fear. Money is from Meshell’s 2002 release, Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape, which Rolling Stone reviewed as ‘powerful, beautiful, sensual and activist, this is the record Prince keeps trying to make.’  It features an incredibly funky bass line matched with pointed lyrics such as “If Jesus was alive today, he’d be incarcerated with the rest of the brothers.”  The vocal line is often syncopated, making it jump out against the rhythm.  If you are new to her music, this is a good starting point, as the song is catchy, groovy, has a great refrain, and will stick with you.

More info
All Music
Rolling Stone

Check it out

The video quality here leaves much to be desired, but at least the audio quality is decent, and it’s great to see a live performance.  Here is the studio version as well.

Buy it
Amazon

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010

Bass solos are common in jazz, but not as much in popular music. Though some of these selections are jazz-leaning, I would not call them jazz. Bass solos are often considered gimmicky and unnecessary. I’ve chosen a few selections that I hope disprove this belief. Let me know if you agree, or if you have other songs that should be called out as having killer bass solos.

Check them out

Songs
Afirika With Angelique Kidjo by Christian McBride
solo by Christian McBride, Start time 3:07, End time 3:41
A powerhouse acoustic bassist, Christian playfully alters the melody while keeping time.

Papillon by Meshell Ndegeocello
solo by Matthew Garrison, Start time 4:47, End time 6:35
With two bass lines, the soloist is allowed to step away from traditional bass solo trappings to create an airy sound that almost floats on top of the song. It also features Matthew’s trademark pizzicato technique.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen by Charlie Haden & Hank Jones
solo by Charlie Haden, Start time 0:00, End time 1:50
A melodic soloist always exhibiting perfect tone, Charlie takes the lead and introduces the melody and song structure.

The XIth Commandment by Chuck Mangione
solo by Charles Meeks, Start time 1:15, End time 2:40
This solo begins with a simple restatement of the melody, but then branches out into syncopated variations that play off of the percussion while keeping a pleasant, warm tone.

Portrait Of Tracy by Jaco Pastorius
solo by Jaco Pastorius, entire song
This solo shows that the bass can provide complex sounds similar to a guitar, including harmonics. Simply amazing.

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010