Slap Bass

This double-CD set gave bassist Milt Hinton an opportunity to engage in reunions with many of his old friends from the 1930s. The seven sessions were compiled during a 12-month period and the results are often delightful. The opening "Old Man Time" is sung by Hinton himself, and it is both insightful and humorous. The other highlights include Joe Williams singing "Four or Five Times" (which features some very rare Flip Phillips clarinet), three bass guitar duets with Danny Barker, appearances by Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Al Grey, Ralph Sutton, and the formation of a group called "The Survivors" that has guitarist Al Casey at age 75 being the youngest member; the latter band also includes 85-year-old trumpeter Doc Cheatham, Eddie Barefield, Buddy Tate and even Cab Calloway. A lot of storytelling takes place during the songs and, in addition to the 92½ minutes of music, there are two "Jazzspeaks." The 13-minute one features Hinton, Calloway, Cheatham and Barefield reminiscing about their experiences in the early days, while a marvelous 45-minute monologue by the bassist covers most of his long and productive life and is consistently fascinating. Highly recommended.

John Mayer thumps out a mean bass line with his thumb. Kelly Joe Phelps uses a pinky move on his pick guard. Tommy Emmanuel’s percussive techniques are nothing short of amazing. Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, James Taylor, Janis Ian, JJ Cale, Greg Brown, Rodney Crowell and dozens of other top caliber players Slap, Frail and Thump to spice up their performances and compositions. Slap, Frail and Thump covers three essential percussive techniques for singer-songwriters, accompanists and solo guitar performers; palm slaps (for percussion and melody), frailing (traditionally a banjo picking technique) and thumping (combo slap and frail).