A recent post of mine about the Victor Wooten song “Bass Tribute” brought up the fact that I am a big fan of great bass guitar playing. Sometimes, I wish I had picked it up as a kid, instead of learning the guitar. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing the guitar. But the bass is just plain old cool. To once again bring your attention to a line from “Bass Tribute” – “It’s played with the soul, not just with the hands.”
Well, the above video shows a guy who definitely plays with both his hands and his soul, and judging by the quality of the playing, both are in pretty good condition. His name is Buddy Hankerson, and while he’s not what you would call a brand-name bass player, he has played with some excellent bands, including Young & Company, Aurra, and Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame.
As is the case with many bass players from the classic age of funk, Buddy Hankerson’s bass lines have had more than one incarnation. First they were groovy songs in the 70’s and 80’s. Then as these songs were sampled in the early 90’s, and continue to be today, they were introduced to the next generation in the rap songs that sample them. Though in a slightly different package, people during the last twenty years have been grooving and dancing to the same sounds that their parents were. It’s sort of funny how, even though music has changed significantly since the 70’s, “the bass, the bottom,” (that’s another reference to “Bass Tribute”) in many cases remains the same.