Putting the bass in your face

"Hit me with your wide receiver!" - Michael Henderson, then and now

Bass players can be reclusive sorts, staying out of the spotlight toward the back of the stage so as to better concentrate on laying down the groove. However, there have certainly been many exceptions to that rule, as fans of Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius, Larry Graham and their musical heirs will attest, and two concerts coming to the St. Louis area in June will feature famous electric bass players who have made careers out of attracting attention to themselves.

On Friday, June 3, the East Side rock club Pop's will play host to the Bass Player's Ball, a conglomeration of familiar names from funk, R&B and soul music of the Seventies and Eighties. So what's that got to do with jazz? The lineup for the show includes Michael Henderson, former bassist with Miles Davis and Norman Connors who went on to have several pop hits as a vocalist, as well as Ray Parker, Jr., Adina Howard, Calloway Brothers, Slave, Sir Nose, and George Johnson of the Brothers Johnson. Sounds like it could get funky up in there.

And the forecast also calls for funk at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino when Victor Wooten performs there on Thursday, June 30. Wooten, best known as the bassist for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, is taking advantage of the Flecktones' hiatus from the road this year to tour in support of his new solo album Soul Circus.