Jamaaladeen Tacuma with Basso Nouveau – The Night of Chamber Music (CD2098)

Four bassists, one drummer, one unforgettable festival night. On May 29, 1993, electric bass virtuoso Jamaaladeen Tacuma brought his project Basso Nouveau to the Moers Festival. The band was made up almost entirely of bassists: Tacuma on 4-string electric bass, Gerald Veasley on 6-string electric bass, Jerome Hunter on bowed upright bass and Juan Pablo Nahar on plucked upright bass, with Edgar Bateman on drums.

The title is a wink. This is “chamber music” for the low end, but with the power of a funk band. The two electric basses take turns on melody, chords and groove, while the two upright basses add depth, bowed lines and walking rhythms. Bateman’s drums hold it all together. The 22-minute “All Praises Due” is the centrepiece, a long, building journey through grooves and solos. “What’s Mine Is Yours”, “Boney Blues” and “Black Pearls” show the range of the band, from funk to blues to lyrical moments, and the short “The String Has Popped!” catches a moment of live-stage chaos. You can hear the festival audience in “Ovations” at the end.

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

The Side Story

For Jamaaladeen Tacuma, the Moers Festival was a familiar stage. He first played there in the 1970s as the young electric bassist in Ornette Coleman’s band. In Coleman’s Prime Time he became known as one of the most distinctive bass players since Jaco Pastorius. In 1993 he came back as a bandleader with a project that put his own instrument at the centre of everything.

His partner on the second electric bass, Gerald Veasley, is another Moers regular. With the Odean Pope Trio he recorded Almost Like Me (1982) and Out for a Walk (1990), both available from Moers Music. Tacuma himself had already made two albums for the label: the bass-and-drums duo Sound Symphony (CD2082) with Dennis Alston, and Linda Sharrock & The Three Man Band (CD2078).

Tracklist

1. What’s Mine Is Yours – 10:43

2. All Praises Due – 22:11

3. The String Has Popped! – 2:38

4. Boney Blues – 11:01

5. Black Pearls – 6:37

6. Ovations – 2:41

Total running time: approx. 56 minutes

Personnel

• Jamaaladeen Tacuma – 4-string electric bass

• Gerald Veasley – 6-string electric bass

• Jerome Hunter – upright bass (arco)

• Juan Pablo Nahar – upright bass (pizzicato)

• Edgar Bateman – drums

Details

• Format: CD

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD2098

• Recorded: Live, May 29, 1993, Moers Festival, Moers, Germany

• Price: €14.00