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IN THE PANTHEON OF GREAT BASS PLAYERS, CHUCK RAINEY stands as a
monument to groove and inventiveness. Arriving in
New York City in 1962, the Ohio native soon joined up with
egendary !"# sa$ophonist %ing Curtis &or severa andmark
re'ordings and'ountess gigs, in'uding the on'e(in(ai&etime
e$perien'e o& opening &or the #eates on their 196) *.+.
tour. Chu'k e'ame a mainstay in New
York-s a'tive session s'ene, aying down tra'ks &or +am
Cooke, arry #ea&onte, /tta 0ames, Aretha rankin, and many
others. As a se&(
des'ried 0amerson(type3 assist, Chu'k-s &unky approa'h put
him in demand during those eary years when ja44, ues, sou, and pop
musi''onverged. 5n the 197s he moved to 8os Angees and ran'hed into
movie and teevision sessions, whie 'ontinuing to re'ord with a
who-s who
o& popuar musi'. is ong asso'iation with +teey an has
produ'ed some o& the most 'reative ro'k ass ines ever re'orded.
!ather than rest on
his past a'hievements, Chu'k has 'ontinued to grow and deveop
musi'ay, and mu'h o& his soo work show'ases his remarkae stye
o& se&(
a''ompaniment on the 6(string ass. aving re'overed &rom a
stroke in 2712, Chu'k is a'k to per&orming and tea'hing :he
&re;uenty tea'hes at
, and?we hope?more re'ording.
Chu'k-s stye is instanty re'ogni4ae &or its authoritative
presen'e, strong puse, and his &earess &orays into the
upper register. +ome 'assi'
!ainey(isms3 are a we(pa'ed doue(stop on theD and G strings aove
the 12th &ret, usuay a tri(tone over theA orE string :Ex.
1>, and his
signature upper(register 'hromati' run &rom the 2nd s'ae
degree up to the @rd o& a 'hord, as shown in Ex. 2. is use
o& ghost(notes and in(etween3 rhythms gives his paying a sense
o& propusion, ut aways in support o& the overa groove.
+o what happens when Chu'k !ainey pays a straight&orward
uesExample 3is a ook at his approa'h on a 12(ar ues inAb, mu'h ike
the
ine he pays ehind Aert %ing-s guitar soo on Noody =ants a
8oser,3 &rom the outstanding 8B Truckload of Lovin. 5n ar 1,
the side up to
the @rd o& the !@)6 pattern oosens up the &ee, whie the
tripet dead note on the end o& eatfour gives a ni'e i&t
that sets up the ne$tdowneatD noti'e how he uses these two ideas
through the entire 'horus. #ar ) gets an e$tra goose with an o'tave
jump on eat one that sets up a
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standard des'ending ineD noti'e how the side into theBb makes it
sippery, ut then the ghosted pi'kup note at the end o& the ar
snaps it a'k
to nai the ne$t downeat, giving you a 'han'e to reset your hand
position &or the ne$t ar.
5n ars and E, the ine returns to the +hortenin- #read3 i'k
:16)6> whi'h was the primary ass moti& &or the song unti
the guitar soo.
Chu'k o'ks into a more pronoun'ed shu&&e rhythm &or
these two ars, using it as a aun'h pad &or the in'reased
a'tivity o& the ast phrase. Fhetripet on eat one o& ar 9 is
a rhythmi' ump that sends us down to the ow G :the @rd o& the
'hord> and up the triad with a shmear3 into the
)th, 'apped y the o'tave on eatfour with a 'hromati' passing
tone down to theDb7. 5n ar 17, Chu'k puts his signature on the ine
with
!ainey(ism No. 23D i& you didn-t know who was on ass
e&ore, he just tod youG Adding the side etween the highEb andE
is a greasy twist
that gives way to a tripet E)1 i'k on eatfour that sets up the
turnaround at the end o& the &orm?a 'assi' 'hromati' wakup
&rom the 5 to the
< 'hord, whi'h gets a 'ima'ti' peda o& o'taves with the
shu&&e rhythm.
As you 'an see, the heart o& this 'horus is te$took ues ass
ine materia, ut Chu'k-s interpretation makes it distin't, and
unmistakay his
own. or assists, this remains one o& the great musi'a
'haenges?remaining true to our &un'tion y paying the
appropriate thing &or the song,
whie sti &inding a way to spi'e it up and make it our own.
/$amining the work o& masters ike Chu'k !ainey is a great way
to earn aout this
'on'ept, so get out there and start isteningG
