Friday, June 8, 2012

Lloyd Brevett

Lloyd Brevett (Aug. 1, 1931 – May 3, 2012)

When I think of Jamacian music, I think of the “riddim”, or as most people would call it the rhythm, in other words, the bass and drums. There have been a number of important rhythm sections in Jamaican music, and  three immediately come to mind: the Barrett Brothers, Sly and Robbie, and Lloyd Brevett and Lloyd Knibb.
Aston (Family Man) and Carleton  Barrett,  played bass and drums with Bob Marley and the Wailers; Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare played with Peter Tosh and numerous others; and Lloyd Brevett and Lloyd Knibb played with the Skatalites.
Jamaican music went through many changes. Starting with mento, it evolved into ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall, and it continues to evolve. But with Lloyd Brevett, we will be looking at ska.
In the 1963-1964, a bunch of jazz musicians got together. They had been playing together on recordings in various configurations since the 1950s. The music was mostly blues shuffles, and boogie-woogie. As the music began to evolve, it became what we now know as ska. Lloyd Brevett, who had learned bass from his father, provided the bass for many of these early 1950s-1960s recordings. The Skatalites came together in June of 1964, and in a little over a year, they had broken up. In that time period they released a body of music that is still important today. They played on many of the early hits of Jamaican Music, including Bob Marley’s Simmer Down. Although the Skatalites were no more, the musicians formed a variety of other groups and kept on playing, eventually reforming in 1983. Lloyd Brevett played bass with the Skatalites until 2004 when he left the group. He also released a solo album called African Roots with many of the members of the Skatalites. When you listen to the Skatalites, you hear Brevett’s walking basslines, and ostinato figures driving the music.

Let’s hear some samples

Simmer Down




Guns of Navarone




Rockfort rock



Eastern Standard Time




Freedom Sound




Live at the Church House Inn - Concert and Interview Footage



Also check out this interview with Lloyd Brevett.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Donald "Duck" Dunn

So far this year we’ve lost a number of musicians from a variety of genres. Original rock and roller/blues musician - Johnny Otis, the World’s Oldest Teenager - Dick Clark, Disco Star - Donna Sumer, Bee Gee Robin Gibb, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, The Band Drummer Levon Helm, Guitarist Doc Watson and two that most people might not be familiar with but who meant a lot to me bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn,  and Skatalites bassist Lloyd Brevett.
Today we’ll look at Duck Dunn.
Growing up and learning bass, I became familiar with the work of all of the famous names in the rock bass world; Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman, Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Jack Casady, Phil Lesh, Tony Levin… and on and on.
As I delved further into the history of the bass, and branched into other areas of music, you start to come across other names, names that aren’t familiar to casual listeners. Names like Carol Kaye, James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Bob Glaub, and Duck Dunn. Names that most people won't recognize, but whose bass lines have been heard and have influenced musicians for years.
Even if you don’t know the name, you’ve heard Donald “Duck” Dunn. He played on a number of  Stax/Volt songs. If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Blues Brothers”, you’ve seen Duck Dunn. He was the bass player for Booker T. and the MGs, played with Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Albert King, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley… and many more. Duck Dunn, along with Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr. and Booker T. Jones, (Booker T. and the MGs) were more or less the house band for Stax/Volt, and played on a lot of their hits.
 So here's to Donald "Duck" Dunn ...and his Fender Precision strung with flatwounds..
Let’s hear some of his tracks.
Booker T. and the MGs – Green Onions




Booker T. and the MGs – Bootleg




Booker T. and the MGs – Time is Tight




Blues Brothers – Jailhouse Rock




Neil Young with Booker T. and the MGs





Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn – Time is Tight