Boz Scaggs

Boz and bass has always been a good combination, from David Hungate’s uplifting work on the singer’s 1976 blue-eyed soul classic, Silk Degrees, to “Funny,” the 1988 song Scaggs co-wrote with Marcus Miller. Columbia’s reissue of Degrees, as well as their updated Hits! compilation, further cements this notion. Degrees, which spawned a half-dozen hit singles, is remastered and includes three live tracks from a 1976 L.A. performance. Hungate gems range from the locked grooves of “Low Down” [transcription, July ’06] and “Lido Shuffle,” to the ballad-cum-samba “Harbor Lights”—a virtual course study in how to use upper-register fills and chords. Other Hits bassists adding suitably silky bottom are Scott Edwards, John Pierce, James Hughart, Mike Porcaro, Freddie Washington, David Hood, and even an unmistakable James Jamerson on two tracks.
-Chris Jisi