“Playing bass is my core,” says Randy Jackson, mindful that his chief notoriety is as a judge alongside Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell on TV’s American Idol. However, dig this dawg’s bass pedigree: Housebroken as a pup by Chuck Rainey, groomed among the greats of ’70s fusion, unleashed as a first-call session bassist on loads of ’80s and ’90s radio hits, road-dog with Journey and Mariah Carey. But then there’s that whole other side, the unique perspective Jackson has gained as a producer extraordinaire and all-around music impresario. When it comes to music, Randy has the insight and experience to navigate the twisting path between art and business.
Now we have Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1, his solo debut. The album is filled with first-rate songs expressed by a dazzling array of artists from across the board and cast in the sonic hues of Randy’s considerable imagination. Where else can you find Abdul’s dance-single return, a crunk track, and such imaginative groupings as Sam Moore, Keb’ Mo, and Angie Stone, or Travis Tritt, Richie Sambora, and Lucy Woodward? Jackson holds it down on about half the tracks, but his grasp of how the bass functions throughout is a unifying thread—a lesson in song-serving, and a wink at those of us hip enough to hear subtly brilliant bass playing. “I’m blessed by the way all the ingredients came together,” Jackson allows.
Randall Darius Jackson was born in the rich musical broth of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on June 23, 1956. Inspired by his older brother Herman, a drummer, Randy tried drums, guitar, bass, piano, and sax. At 14 he returned to bass, after watching local group Big Bo Melvin & the Nighthawks rehearse on the porch of bassist Sammy Thorton. “Sammy turned me on my head,” Randy recalls. “He was an incredible player, just a natural in the Jamerson/Rainey style.” Jackson began lessons with Thorton, and he took up upright bass in his school orchestra and stage band after hearing Stanley Clarke on Return To Forever’s Light as a Feather album. A young prodigy, Randy gigged with jazz trios, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin-inspired rock bands, and all-city orchestras, occasionally encountering the Marsalis family in local music competitions. Through a high school scholarship, he traveled to Los Angeles to study with Rainey. Upon graduating, he attended Southern University in his hometown, under the tutelage of noted jazz reedman Alvin Batiste.
While visiting Southern U. for a clinic, drummer Billy Cobham snared Jackson and Batiste for his road band and two subsequent albums. Randy moved on to Jean-Luc Ponty’s group before tiring of fusion and relocating to L.A. in the early ’80s to pursue a session bass career. With his ability to play multiple instruments—and his producing and writing skills—Jackson was soon in demand, playing on hundreds of albums between Los Angeles, New York, and Narada Michael Walden’s San Francisco studios. As he moved away from hired-hand status and assumed more artistic control in the ’90s, Jackson took a big step, becoming a vice president of A&R for Columbia and then Senior V.P. of A&R for MCA. In 2002, his agent lined him up with the producers of the debuting American Idol. Now in his seventh season as a judge on the program, Randy also manages artists, and he just launched Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Dance Crew, an MTV competition show that he executive produces but doesn’t appear on.
With so much on his plate, Jackson admits he wasn’t at first overly keen on putting out a solo album, but he saw it as a way to launch his new label, Dream Merchant 21, and indulge his undying passion for music.
What was the concept for your CD debut?
The model is Quincy Jones; I’ve always loved his albums, like The Dude and Back on the Block, and all the styles and artists he would feature and introduce. This was a chance for me to have fun with friends and break some new artists. I felt, if I was ever going to make a record, I didn’t need to make one of me noodling on the bass; there are a bunch of folks out there who do that extremely well. So I thought, what kind of record could I make that I’d want to listen to? I love all kinds of music: pop, R&B, rock, blues, jazz, gospel, country, so this has something for everyone—it’s like a great radio station with no format restrictions.
What was your starting point?
Songs. I got a collection of really good songs. As I always say, I’m a song guy. I think Steve Wonder said it best, songs are the key to life. To me, songs are a big part of what helps transfer emotions from one human to the next. On [Weather Report’s] “A Remark You Made,” Jaco is playing his face off, but it’s also a beautiful song. On my CD there’s an autobiographical element, too, in that I touch on the styles I’ve encountered in my career, starting with “Wang Dang Doodle,” which is a Willie Dixon song I grew up with in Louisiana.
What’s your general bass approach on the disc?
Often when I’m producing I don’t play a lot of bass. It allows me to separate myself from the bass role and having to figure out a part. Instead I can look over all the parts and make sure everything is dancing well together. So I played on maybe six songs, and I brought in my friends Paul Bushnell and Cornelius Mims. I use them on a lot of records I make because they’re more than great bassists—they’re songwriters themselves, and they listen to the music in the same way I do. There’s also some sequenced bass, keyboard bass played by Obi of Danish production team DEEKAY, a track played by guitarist/producer John Shanks. I played some keyboard bass and guitar, too. My whole approach was always, what does the song need? If the answer was nothing, I left it alone.
Your bass style is evident on “What Am I So Afraid Of,” “Who’s Gonna Love You Now,” and “Real Love.”
“Afraid” is me with Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums pounding it out live. As much as possible, I tried to get a live rhythm-section sound. I used my Mike Lull 4-string tuned down—pretty much every bass I have is tuned down a half- or whole-step, especially the 4’s. “Who’s Gonna Love You Now” is my semi-hollow Yamaha, which has two big humbuckers in it. I went for a dub kind of sound because the track has an underlying reggae feel. “Real Love” is programmed but sauced up with a bit of old school. I played my ’61 P-Bass with flatwounds, tuned down a whole-step. I love flatwounds; about half my basses have flat or tapewound strings. I also added keyboard bass on all of those tracks.
Your overall bass sounds are deeper than before.
It’s a combination of the sound of bass changing over time and the everything-old-is-new again factor. In the fusion era and in ’80s pop and dance music, the bass was midrange-y and front and center. Then hip-hop hit and the drums became the dominant instrument and low-end presence, leading bass lines to become simpler. But the cool thing now is bass is back in the sub area and it’s coming on strong, like in the crunk music of the South. It’s not just the drums rattling the speakers in cars and clubs anymore, it’s the bass again. So all of that has influenced my bass approach. At the same time, I’m always trying to stay ahead of the curve, looking to what might be next. And right now my old P-Bass with flatwounds is a lot of where I’m at; in the right context, it can be really fresh.
Has being able to play so many different developing styles over the years resulted in any new techniques?
Not really. I still pluck with my two fingers alternating; I slap conventionally—though not as much anymore. I use a pick where needed, and I pluck with my thumb or thumb and index finger while palm-muting. It’s more the tones and concepts that have changed.
One exception sonically and conceptually is Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage,” which is obviously a nod to your fusion roots.
I’ve always loved the song, and I wanted to do a fresh take on the kind of long suites that were popular in fusion. I had an idea for a sort of trip-hop arrangement using a loop plus Narada Michael Walden on drums. It also has L. Shankar on violin and the opening narration, Christian Scott on trumpet, Kenneth Crouch on piano, and Kristen Chenoweth doing operatic vocals. Bass-wise, I wanted to cut loose and get all my influences in there: Stanley Clarke, Jaco, Alphonso Johnson, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins. I used my Modulus 5.
You broke in with Billy Cobham in 1977, but much of your tone and groove concepts seemed to fall into place during your three albums and tours with Jean-Luc Ponty.
That’s true. I like to think that I’m perpetually growing as a player, but that was a defining point for my bass voice and one of the best periods of my musical life. Ponty’s band and music were built on the contrapuntal motion of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, because they had all come out of that group—including the great Ralphe Armstrong on bass, whom I replaced with Ponty. That was fortunate for me, but [drummer] Rayford Griffin and I also arrived with strong R&B backgrounds, and we put our stamp on the music. We thought groove first; it wasn’t how does it sound, it was how does it feel.
Your next key move was to Narada Michael Walden’s production company in San Francisco.
I’d met Narada on the fusion scene and we were all growing tired of the music; we wanted to reach a wider audience than just musicians. I had moved to L.A. and was breaking into sessions, but when he told me about his company, I headed up there to try to hone my skills as a producer and songwriter. We were learning on the job how to be session guys instead of fusion guys, trying to pull back a bit and play the right notes instead of all the notes! We did early albums with Stacy Lattisaw and Sister Sledge, which included my first published songs, and we went all the way to the top of the charts with Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. The scene in San Francisco was great, too. At one point, I was in a pickup band with Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Chester Thompson, Joe Henderson, and Tony Williams.
During that period, you played keyboard bass on hits like Aretha’s “Freeway of Love,” “Who’s Zoomin’ Who,” and Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
It was the sound of the time and we were trying to move the music forward. I was one of the first with a sequencer, too. Playing synth bass was cool—the physical aspect and the unique tone make you play with a different approach than a real bass—plus I had some keyboard background, which helped. I used Minimoogs and Prophet 5’s. I still use them.
How would you sum up your tours and recordings with Journey?
Amazing; that was another San Francisco connection. I met them through having a local pickup band with [keyboardist] Tom Coster and [Journey guitarist] Neal Schon. Then I got in the band and met Steve Perry, who along with Mariah Carey is one of the greatest singers I’ve worked with. The Journey guys are progressive rock musicians who were ahead of their time, like Toto. They had a no-holds-barred rule, artistically; they would come up with interesting chord changes and arrangements. That’s why their music is, and always will be, around. From my time there, I learned the real rock & roll experience and the fact that something can be great art and still be wildly commercial.
How much did you interact with Bruce Springsteen on the two albums you recorded with him?
Quite a bit. Bruce is great; he tries to make you feel very comfortable in the studio. He has terrific arrangement ideas, and he suggests certain bass notes or bass lines at points. He’s very involved. The other memory from those albums is working with the legendary Jeff Porcaro. I can safely speak for all the bass players he worked with in saying that we still miss him every day. There will never be another drummer like Jeff.
Who are among your favorite current bassists?
Wow, where do you start and stop? Obviously Paul Bushnell and Cornelius Mims, who work with me often. Rickey Minor is an old friend and a pro’s pro holding it down on Idol. Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten, who are making their CD together right now—I can’t wait to hear that. I love Christian McBride, Oteil Burbridge, Mike Elizondo, and Chris Chaney, and my favorite new bassist on the scene is Tal Wilkenfeld [see November ’07]; she’s so talented.
Your main message to bassists who want to be in-demand and versatile is to listen. Can you elaborate?
Listen first to the song and the lyrics and figure out what role the bass needs you to play. Also figure out what sound will work best. Then listen to the people you’re playing with—what each of them is doing—to see how you can best complement the music, because it’s all about the song coming out as one cohesive emotional statement to the listener. Try to take the listener’s perspective. You can pull apart Aretha’s “Rock Steady,” with the drum breaks, and guitar accents, and where Aretha sings and lays out, but it’s Chuck Rainey’s amazing bouncing bass part that unifies all of those parts together, and that’s why it’s such a great song; he made the song with his bass line. The same can be said of dozens of Jamerson and McCartney parts. Even if you’re in a jam playing “Giant Steps,” there’s still a melody you have to support in the head. Make sure you complement it and take the same approach during everyone’s solos; you’ll be ahead of the game.
Are there any bass-playing entrants on American Idol this season?
No; there were some drummers and a lot of guitarists and pianists in the auditions. Thinking of artists like Alicia Keys and John Mayer, we had decided this season to let the talent accompany themselves, if it would help them. But who knows, someone playing bass may pop up eventually; I think solo bass playing and singing is really cool.
How bass-savvy are Paula and Simon?
Paula is into bass because she’s an artist and she writes. I don’t think Simon is, but he does love songs; he probably doesn’t know Jaco or Jamerson by name, but he knows all the songs we identify as having the classic bass lines.
How has American Idol influenced you in terms of finding talent for your new label?
What Idol has proved to me is the public wants the most talented person, no matter what color or size. So I’m trying to make my label more cool, cutting-edge, with artists who aren’t afraid to take chances and move the music further down the road. It’s not so much a pop label as it is a label for artists with great talent. If that turns out to be someone on Idol, terrific.
Do you think we’ve gotten to the point where young musicians would be better served focusing on being proficient on a few instruments, writing songs, and learning about producing, rather than investing eight hours a day trying to become a single-instrument virtuoso?
I think young musicians should try to be the best they can be on one instrument and focus on those other areas, especially songwriting and understanding interplay with other musicians. Learn what a great song is in all genres. Don’t become a jazz snob or a rock snob, because ten years from now you’re probably not going to want to play the same things. If you’re musically well versed, you’ll have other kinds of inspiration to draw from to help you find your own voice. Remember, it’s the people who break boundaries and come up with interesting hybrids that end up creating something new and fresh. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that the further you think musical styles are apart, the closer they actually are together.
Randy’s Idols
As a TV and music star, there aren’t many A-list celebrities Randy Jackson hasn’t met. But one day in 1977 stands separate and distinct in his memory. On tour with Billy Cobham in L.A., Jackson dropped in on his former teacher, Chuck Rainey, to help give a seminar at the newly opened Guitar Institute of Technology (now called Musicians Institute). Present at the seminar was none other than James Jamerson. Recalls Randy, “I was a wreck playing along with those two. Jamerson was a quiet, reserved guy; he picked up my bass and said, Man, you’ve got this action so low! His strings were sky-high off the neck; he said it was from growing up playing upright.” Jackson invited the prestigious pair to attend Cobham’s evening show at the Roxy. He laughs, “During the set, Stanley Clarke and Jaco walked onstage! Stanley grabbed my piccolo bass, Jaco took my fretless, and I stayed on regular bass. I still can’t believe I got to play with four of the greatest bassists in history in one day, and had all of them in the same room that night! Years later, Jimmy Earl told me he was in the crowd, so I know I wasn’t dreaming.”
Gear
Basses Mike Lull MV4 and MV5 4- and 5-strings, ’61 Fender Precision, ’70s Fender Jazz, Modulus 5-string, prototype Yamaha hollowbody, Gibson Ripper, Fritz Brothers F.B. Bass, custom First Act Delia semi-hollowbody, Kay hollowbody, French upright bass
Synth basses Minimoog, Moog Source, Moog Little Phatty
Strings Dean Markley Randy Jackson Alchemy medium-lights (.045, .065, .085, .105, .130), Markley medium flatwounds, Rotosound Tru Bass 88 black nylon flatwounds
Amps Genz Benz GBE 1200 head and Genz Benz NeoX-212T cabinets, Ampeg B-15, Line 6 LowDown Studio 110
Effects Line 6 Bass Floor POD, Bass PODxt Pro, Demeter VTD-2B Tube Direct Box
“My signature strings have a gold cover wrap and a stainless steel under wrap, so they look and sound great, and they feel broken-in when you put them on.”
Thanks to Randy’s gear tech, Mike Connolly.
Selected Discography
Solo
Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1, Concord
With Boyz II Men
Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville U.S.A., Decca
With Jean-Luc Ponty (all on Atlantic)
Individual Choice
Civilized Evil
Mystical Adventures
With Journey
Raised on Radio, Columbia
With Aretha Franklin
Who’s Zoomin’ Who?, Arista
With Mariah Carey
Charmbracelet, Mercury;
MTV Unplugged, Sony
With Billy Cobham (both on Columbia)
Simplicity of Expression: Depth of Thought
Magic
With Sam Moore
Overnight Sensational, Rhino
With Stacy Lattisaw
Perfect Combination, Cotillion
With You, Atlantic
With Narada Michael
Walden Ecstasy’s Dance, Rhino
With the Divinyls
Divinyls, Virgin
With Bruce Springsteen (both on Columbia)
Lucky Town
Human Touch
With Whitney Houston (both on Arista)
Whitney
Whitney Houston
With Maze
Silky Soul, Warner Bros
With Bon Jovi
Blaze of Glory, Polygram
With Madonna
Like a Prayer, Sire
With Bob Dylan
Under the Red Sky, Columbia
With Herbie Hancock
Lite Me Up, Columbia
With Billy Joel
Greatest Hits, Vol. 3, Columbia
With Elton John
To Be Continued...., MCA
With Richard Marx
Repeat Offender, Capitol
With Zucchero
The Best of Zucchero, Polygram
With N’Sync
Celebrity, Jive
With Imogen Heap
Megaphone, Almo Sounds
With Travis Tritt
The Storm, Category 5
With Various Artists
Different Strokes by Different Folks, Sony Legacy
American Idol: Greatest Moments, RCA
Instructional Video/DVD
Randy Jackson: Mastering the Groove, Warner Bros.
Book
What’s Up, Dawg! How to Become a Superstar in the Music Business, Hyperion.
