Available Today: Blues Guitarist Johnnie Bassett Reunites
With Celebrated Detroit Band The Brothers Groove For
I Can Make That Happen
Johnnie Bassett
I Can Make That Happen
"His guitar sound is the cleanest on the planet. No jive, no distortion, no tricks.
He
doesn't waste a note, no flash--all content. It is a jazzman's touch
amidst the deeply felt blues sensibility that makes one think of another
Detroit guitar icon,
Kenny Burrell." - Bob Porter, WBGO
Recent Coverage In:
Guitarist Johnnie Bassett is
a special bluesman, possessing a certain inspired individuality and
skill set rarely found these days. In a career dating back to the early
1950s, the spry 76-year-old has earned many accolades--just last year he
copped Detroit Music Awards for "Outstanding Blues/R&B
Instrumentalist" and "Outstanding Blues Artist/Group." Well regarded in
the Great Lakes region and blues America, yes, but arguably even more
admired in Europe, where he's a favorite of festival-goers. Bassett's
familiarity with jazz, R&B and soul is just as considerable as his
blues knowledge; he's held his own in the fast company of luminaries
from various strains of great American music including Ruth Brown, Big
Joe Turner, Smokey Robinson, Tina Turner, Dinah Washington, former
neighbor John Lee Hooker and a young guitar fledgling named Jimi
Hendrix.
For all his talent, Bassett has made just a handful of feature albums. The best of the five is his new one, I Can Make That Happen (Sly Dog Records)--its
release is cause for celebration. Bassett, even-tempered and polite,
says, "My sound and the way I play and tune my guitar is different from
anybody. I designed it that way when I was getting into the business. I
heard all the other guitarists coming up and they all sounded the same
to me - everybody wanted to be B.B. King or T-Bone Walker. I wanted to
be different-sounding." He realized his goal long ago through his open
tuning, his impeccable timing, his personal way of bending notes, his
mix of playfulness and relaxation in phrasing, and his arsenal of
signature licks. Only a few of Bassett's peers play from the heart as
convincingly as he does on his trusty old Gibson, Heritage and Conrad
guitars.
The Florida-born septuagenarian turns in fine performances on strong original material for
I Can Make That Happen, supported by ace musicians belonging to two popular Detroit bands. Keyboardist Chris Codish, bassist James Simonson and drummer Skeeto Valdez are The Brothers Groove. The Motor City Horns consists of saxophonist Keith Kaminski, trombonist John Rutherford, and trumpeters Bob Jensen and Mark Byerly. (Each of these players also contributed to the success of Bassett's 2009 Sly Dog release, The Gentleman Is Back.)
"The
whole experience was electrifying," says Bassett about recording the
new album. "We rehearsed three days. I like what we got out of that."
Codish, who produced with Kaminski, recalls, "It was a lot of fun. All
of us have been playing together for a long time and we were comfortable
with each other. And I think we've grown as a band since the first
record." So, what's it like to play with Bassett? "Johnnie's the top of
the groove pyramid,' says Chris Codish, "where he sets the time with his
playing, it's very natural for the rest of the band to fall in beneath
him to support and follow him. He makes it fun."
Happily,
Bassett and his friends show no interest in churning up the same old
chord progressions on threadbare songs, as do hordes of blues recording
artists year in and year out. Instead, the Motowners freshen up the
blues using elements of jazz, R&B and soul on a program of superior
songs mostly written by Chris Codish and his father, Bob. Bassett even
refurbished rock and soul classics. The bandleader opines, "I think
people will like the choices made as far as the material is concerned."
Opener
"Proud to Be From Detroit" is a funky blues born of a band studio-jam
based on a bass riff. "We thought with all the problems in the city,"
comments Bassett, "this song would make people forget about them."
Bassett's singing of his own words about the city's virtues has a
slow-burning intensity; likewise, his guitar work is wonderfully
expressive, a shining beacon of accumulated technique. Note the drama
built by the mighty horns before Bassett sings. "You can dance to that
all day," he laughs.
"Love
Lessons" has a more relaxed groove, spun off the piano rhythm; here,
Bassett gives Bob Codish's risqué lyrics a real-life shimmer. "I don't
know why we keep using Bob's stuff," jokes the bandleader, "but it all
turns out well for us." Ditto for "Spike Boy," still another bawdy tune,
this one packed with wicked train metaphors and enlivened by the jaunty
confidence of the crackerjack band. "There's a bit of a Henry
Mancini-meets-the-blues feel to this one," observes Chris Codish.
Bassett,
as a singer and guitarist, has the capacity to sound fresh and involved
emotionally at all times. But he seemingly outdoes himself with his
excellent guitar solo on "I Can Make That Happen," a number that began
life as a short duet demo by Chris Codish and fellow songwriter Jim "Moose" Brown,
a top Nashville sessions guitarist and co-writer of "It's 5 O'Clock
Somewhere." Strikingly, Bassett translates emotions into bent phrases
and tone with startling clarity and timing. Revitalizing soul great
Solomon Burke's "Cry to Me," Bassett proves once again that integrity
and entertainment aren't mutually exclusive. "Solomon was one of my
favorite balladeers," Bassett replies when asked how they happened to
cover the 1962 R&B chart hit.
On Bob Codish's "Teach Me to Love," Bassett joins "Detroit Diva" Thornetta Davis in
resting their splendid vocals on what Chris calls a "warm background
pillow of harmony" generated by the horns. Kaminski weighs in
impressively with a tenor saxophone solo. Next up is the album's sole
instrumental, "Dawging Around," penned by Kaminski in honor of Bassett's
Blues
Insurgent Band saxophone player, the late Scott "E. Dawg" Petersen. The
musicians' comfort level with swinging jazz is obvious. Let's hope
Bassett, a veteran of many jazz organ combos, and always musically
intelligent, records more instrumentals on the jazzy side of blues in
the future.
The
blues, of course, is about rising above difficulties, and "Cha'Mon!"
and "Let's Get Hammered" both emphasize the fun factor. Bob Codish's
"Motor City Blues" acknowledges the harder times of Detroit residency
but it derives its emotional clout from Bassett singing witty lyrics
that are optimistic about the future.
Bassett,
after all, isn't just playing for the blues crowd. "My style of playing
is laid back. I try to play my music where everybody of all ages can
enjoy it," he says with characteristic graciousness. "That's what keeps
you working, and I've been doing it since 1953. I hope the new album
catches on." Rest assured, Mr. Johnnie Bassett will make that happen.
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