Chris Jisi

Chris Jisi was Contributing Editor, Senior Contributing Editor, and Editor In Chief on Bass Player 1989-2018. He is the author of Brave New Bass, a compilation of interviews with bass players like Marcus Miller, Flea, Will Lee, Tony Levin, Jeff Berlin, Les Claypool and more, and The Fretless Bass, with insight from over 25 masters including Tony Levin, Marcus Miller, Gary Willis, Richard Bona, Jimmy Haslip, and Percy Jones.

Articles by: Chris Jisi

US Marcus Miller, jazz composer and bass guitarist, and Belgium singer Selah Sue (L) perform on stage during the Monte Carlo Summer Festival on July 23, 2014 in Monaco. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE

“If I overplayed behind a singer, there’d be a fight outside the venue, or a guy waiting for me with a knife!” Marcus Miller on why bands need to offer a “little more love and support for vocalists”

By Chris Jisi published

Always in demand, Marcus Miller looks back on his 2008 solo effort, Marcus

Episode 1265 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jason Kay, Sola Akingbola, Stuart Zender, and Darren Galea of the musical group Jamiroquai perform on November 18, 1997

“This was one occasion where employing fills and chops in a funk tune really paid off”: Listen to Stuart Zender’s isolated bassline on Jamiroquai's Virtual Insanity

By Chris Jisi published

Stuart Zender made an audacious statement with this killer bassline from Jamiroquai’s Traveling Without Moving

Tower of Power [L-R: Greg Adams (trumpet), Mic Gillette (trumpet), Stephen Kupka/Doc/The Doctor (sax), Emilio Castillo (sax), David Bartlett (drums), Lenny Picket (sax), Francis Prestia/Rocco (bass), Lenny Williams (vocals), Bruce Conte (guitar), Chester Thompson (keyboards)] performs on Soul Train episode 126, aired 2/1/1975

“Guys would come up and tell me, ‘I can play such-and-such a Tower of Power song note-for-note.’ But who cares?” The magic of Rocco Prestia’s bassline on Tower of Power’s Only So Much Oil in the Ground

By Chris Jisi published

How to play Rocco Prestia’s classic Tower of Power bassline

American bass guitarist Jerry Jemmott during the recording session of Aretha Franklin's studio version of song 'The Weight' which was included in Franklin's album 'This Girl's in Love with You' at Atlantic Studios, New York City, US, 9th January 1969.

“At that tempo it was like playing a brand-new song. I had to watch Bernard Purdie’s foot!” How Jerry Jemmott stayed on top of Aretha Franklin’s Respect – and recovered from his mistakes – at the Fillmore West in 1971

By Chris Jisi published

Jerry Jemmott plucked his sunburst ’65 Jazz Bass in front of his Acoustic 360 rig

James Jamerson Jr. attends the opening night of "Motown The Musical" at The Fisher Theatre on October 22, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo of Hank CROSBY and Larry VEEDER and Joe HUNTER and James JAMERSON and Mike TERRY and FUNK BROTHERS and Benny BENJAMIN Studio still life of a 1992 Fender James Jamerson Tribute Precision Bass guitar, photographed in the United Kingdom.

“Dad would never touch the gunk that had built up on the fingerboard. He told me, ‘The dirt keeps the funk’”: Inside the sound and style of Motown master James Jamerson

By Chris Jisi published

Five top low-enders with links to the bass great dissect the James Jamerson style

1973: Musician, producer, graphic artist and illustrator Klaus Voormann in recording studio 1973 in Los Angeles, California.

“We started at a slow tempo, but as the session wore on, people were heading to the bathroom and sniffing stuff, and the tempo got to be almost twice as fast!” Klaus Voormann’s bassline on John Lennon’s Whatever Gets You Thru The Night is a must-listen

By Chris Jisi published

The German musician and artist was John Lennon's bass guitarist of choice for two decades

Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) and musician John Deacon of British rock band Queen in concert, 1980.

“When the bass comes back in it’s like a punch in the face. Nobody plays like that anymore”: Listen to John Deacon’s isolated bassline on Killer Queen

By Chris Jisi published

John Deacon’s bass playing on Killer Queen is guaranteed to blow your mind

Anthony Jackson with his Fodera 6-string bass

“Playing with a pick is not something you learn over the weekend. It requires the same commitment as learning to play upright bass with a bow”: Listen to Anthony Jackson’s landmark bassline on the O’Jays’ For the Love of Money

By Chris Jisi published

Anthony Jackson’s use of a pick and phase shifter was famously first heard on the O’Jays’ 1973 hit

Jeff Beck performs on stage at Royal Albert Hall

“George Martin wasn’t going to leave his own studio, and Jeff never gave directions or said much, so there was nobody telling us what to do”: Listen to Wilbur Bascomb’s bassline on Jeff Beck’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

By Chris Jisi published

New York session bassist Wilbur Bascomb Jr. recorded on Jeff Beck’s 1976 version of this Charles Mingus ballad

Weather Report play live at the Rainbow Theatre, London, 1977.

“Jaco’s groove is like a fingerprint – nobody can duplicate it”: Listen to Jaco Pastorius’ isolated bassline on Weather Report’s Barbary Coast

By Chris Jisi published

Weather Report’s 1976 cut introduced the world to the full-tilt boogie of Jaco Pastorius

T.M. Stevens performs in concert at ACL Live on June 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. Steve Vai performs for G3 project at Castello Sforzesco

“I was scared to death. Miles didn’t say a word to me. Afterwards, I asked what he thought of my playing. He said, simply, ‘It was cool’”: T.M. Stevens on playing with Miles Davis and James Brown – and what went wrong on Vai’s Sex & Religion project

By Chris Jisi published

Vai hired the “flashy bassist with the long hair” after spotting him in a Joe Cocker video

Musician Tal Wilkenfeld plays on stage at the Build Series to promote her forthcoming album 'Love Remains' at Build Studio on March 06, 2019 in New York City.

“I'm a completely different bass player now… When I was in Jeff Beck's band, I hadn't even been playing for four years!” Tal Wilkenfeld on her evolution from bass phenomenon to solo artist

By Chris Jisi published

The bass player for Prince, Ryan Adams and Jeff Beck on going it alone as a singer-songwriter

Photo of WAILERS and Aston BARRETT and Bob MARLEY, Bob Marley performing live on stage at the Odeon with Aston 'Family Man' Barrett

“The drum, it is the heartbeat, and the bass, it is the backbone” Listen to Aston “Family Man” Barrett’s isolated bassline on Bob Marley’s Is This Love

By Chris Jisi published

Bob Marley’s enduring hit is rife with reggae bass Barrett-isms: quarter-note triplets, resting on one, and unison riffs

Victor Wooten during Victor Wooten Promotes His New CD "Soul Circus" and Fodera Bass - November 6, 2005 at O-East in Tokyo, Japan.

“You’re always trying to get rid of buzzes when recording, so I came up with the idea of trying to make them groove instead”: How Victor Wooten created a groove without touching his bass guitar

By Chris Jisi published

Victor Wooten gives a track-by-track tour of his second solo album, What Did He Say?

Steve Lukather and Leland "Lee" Bruce Sklar of Toto perform at The Music Mill on July 16, 2007 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“When someone wants to rehearse before the session, that’s the kiss of death”: Watch Lee Sklar’s YouTube playthrough of Steve Lukather’s Stab in the Back

By Chris Jisi published

Bass legend Lee Sklar used his “Frankenstein 4-string” on Lukather’s 2008 nod to Donald Fagen

Norman Watt-Roy, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, performing on stage, Alkmaar Pop Festival, AZ 67 Stadion, Alkmaar, Netherlands, 17th June 1978.

“There was bass before Jaco and after Jaco; his playing turned my whole life around”: How Norman Watt-Roy brought a bit of Jaco to Ian Dury’s Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

By Chris Jisi published

Just a few weeks after seeing Weather Report at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, Norman Watt-Roy found himself in the studio with Ian Dury and the Blockheads

Nathan East with his Yamaha Signature Bass during Nathan East in Yamaha Clinic Tour to Promote his Signature Bass and DVD "Business of Bass" in Tokyo, Japan.

“Bass players can solo through changes just like a horn player or a guitarist”: Watch Nathan East raise the bar as a soloist on Al Jarreau’s Our Love

By Chris Jisi published

Recorded live at Wembley Arena, Nathan East’s melodic 16-bar solo was played on a Yamaha BB3000 5-string

George Johnson (L) and Louis Johnson (R) from the Brothers Johnson perform live at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1976

“We had it in about two takes. The funk was there as soon as we hit it”: Watch Louis 'thunder thumbs' Johnson slap a classic bass solo on the Brothers Johnson’s Stomp!

By Chris Jisi published

Johnson used a Music Man StingRay (which he helped design), and strung it with new D’Addario roundwounds 

American jazz trumpet player Miles Davis and bass player Darryl Jones perform at North Sea Jazz festival, The Hague, Netherlands, 13 July 1985.

“I introduced Sting to Miles Davis, and that blew Sting’s mind!” Darryl Jones on providing the punch for Sting, Madonna, and the Rolling Stones

By Chris Jisi published

After stints with Miles Davis, Madonna, and Sting, Darryl Jones found a home on The Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge

Tim Lefebvre of The Tedeschi Trucks Band performs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on July 25, 2014 in Denver, Colorado.

 “The higher up you wear your bass, the more it makes you think about what you’re playing. I don’t want to think that much”: Tim Lefebvre explains the belt-level placement of his low-slung P-Bass

By Chris Jisi published

From Tedeschi Trucks to Knower to Saturday Night Live, how Tim Lefebvre became the bass player everyone wants to work with

Eric Clapton and Nathan East

“I knew Eric was going to put his guitar on later, so the bass fills were like telegraphed messages”: Listen to Nathan East’s fill-laden bassline on Eric Clapton’s Change the World

By Chris Jisi published

Nathan East recorded with his Yamaha Signature 5-string direct through a custom DI box

Portrait of Marvin Gaye & Bass player Bob Babbitt

“Marvin Gaye was used to hearing James Jamerson, so he had me overdub a second bass part to fill out the original track”: An untold story from Motown’s Studio A. How Bob Babbitt's '65 P-Bass drove Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues

By Chris Jisi published

By 1971, James Jamerson’s demons had started to affect his consistency, so Bob Babbitt was called for this Motown classic

Will Smith and Tommy Lee aiming their weapons in a scene from Men in Black. Freddie Washington performs at Bass Player Live.

“The whole track is driven by the bassline!” How “Ready” Freddie Washington conceived the dance-funk classic that later became a massive hit as Will Smith's Men In Black

By Chris Jisi published

The story of Patrice Rushen’s Forget Me Nots, the song that became more famous as the theme from the Will Smith and Tommy Lee film Men in Black and was sampled by George Michael

Jack Bruce of West, Bruce & Laing performs on stage in 1973 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He plays a Gibson EB-3 bass guitar

“Unlike Jimi Hendrix, we never deliberately tuned down”: Listen to Jack Bruce’s bassline on Cream’s Politician

By Nick Wells published

Jack Bruce wrote with Pete Brown for Cream’s third album, 1968’s Wheels of Fire

Daft Punk performs onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards

“Daft Punk was dancing in the booth while we cut it!” Listen to James Genus stretch out on Giorgio by Moroder from Random Access Memories

By Chris Jisi published

While Nathan East played on the chart-topping Get Lucky, James Genus added a fresh spin to Daft Punk’s Grammy-winning album