Jamaaladeen Tacuma & Basso Nouveau – All Basses Covered (CD3014)

A bass orchestra plays the music of the bass greats. On their second album, Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s Basso Nouveau is a band of four bassists and a drummer: Tacuma on his four-string electric bass (nicknamed “Old Hag”), Gerald Veasley on six-string bass guitar, Tyrone Brown on Vektor and stick basses and acoustic bass guitar, Warren Oree on upright bass, and Webb Thomas on drums. It was recorded in July 1996 at Sonic Recording Studios in Philadelphia.

The title says it all: this album “covers all basses”. The repertoire is a tour through bass history. There’s Charles Mingus’“Nostalgia in Times Square”, John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.”, Stanley Clarke’s “Lopsy Lu”, Sam Jones’ “Song for Amos”, Sting’s “Sister Moon” with sultry vocals by Lisa Bell, and to finish, Larry Graham’s funk anthem “The Jam” with rap by Tony Green. In between come originals by the band members, like Veasley’s “Out of Thin Air”, Brown’s “Taylor Made” and Oree’s “Slow Burn”. The result is funk, jazz, soul and fusion with plenty of low end and plenty of humour.

This is a must for bass players and lovers of funk jazz, fusion and Philadelphia soul. Released on Moers Music. When you buy here, you’re buying directly from the label, and we only sell originals.

The Side Story

Basso Nouveau was born on stage at the Moers Festival. On May 29, 1993, Tacuma presented the band there for the first time, and the concert was released as The Night of Chamber Music (CD2098). Three years later he went into the studio in his hometown of Philadelphia with a new line-up. Only Gerald Veasley was still there from the first version.

The band is a who’s who of Philadelphia bassists. Gerald Veasley played with the Odean Pope Trio (Almost Like Me, Out for a Walk), and Tyrone Brown also played in Pope’s Saxophone Choir. Tacuma himself became famous as the bassist in Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time and is considered one of the most distinctive electric bassists since Jaco Pastorius. The music was recorded in 1996, but Moers only released it in 2005.

Tracklist

1. Song for Amos (Sam Jones) – 7:10

2. Lopsy Lu (Stanley Clarke) – 7:55

3. Out of My Bass Mind – 2:32

4. Mr. P.C. (John Coltrane) – 9:56

5. Out of Thin Air (Gerald Veasley) – 2:42

6. Sister Moon (Sting) – 3:51

7. Taylor Made (Tyrone Brown) – 1:58

8. Nostalgia in Times Square (Charles Mingus) – 6:11

9. Slow Burn (Warren Oree) – 3:14

10. Our Introduction to You (Oree/Tacuma/Veasley/Brown) – 1:49

11. The Jam (Larry Graham) – 9:23

Total running time: approx. 57 minutes

Personnel

• Jamaaladeen Tacuma – four-string electric bass (“Old Hag”), effects

• Gerald Veasley – six-string bass guitar

• Tyrone Brown – Vektor & stick basses, Taylor acoustic bass guitar

• Warren Oree – acoustic upright bass

• Webb Thomas – drums

• Special guests: Tony Green (rap), Lisa Bell (vocals), Aziz (vocals)

Details

• Format: CD

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD3014

• Recorded: July 1996, Sonic Recording Studios, Philadelphia (engineer: Guy Lutze)

• Released: 2005

• Price: €14.00