Steve Bailey

With 13 years between CDs, one might think Steve Bailey would gather up a gang of all-star musical mates and hit the record button. Instead, Bailey truly travels the solo path, featuring only his new fretless Fender 6 with no overdubs—much like Michael Manring’s recent disc, Soliloquy, except for the light, tight percussion provided here by Robert Thomas Jr. Given this intimate setting, Bailey issues a sound that astounds, as his six barks Bösendorfer lows and purrs rich mids and highs.

The opener, “Waltz for Leeann,” is an up, tuneful meditation that establishes Bailey’s modus operandi: one in which bass lines, melodies, chords, and harmonics “exist” at all times, to be audibly alluded to as Steve sees musically fit (and physically possible). Other highpoints include the how-did-he-do-that-with-only-two-hands sections of “Scrapple from the Apple” and “Rhum Bar”; the Middle-Eastern, microtonal musings of “Bombz Over Baghdad”; and the memorable themes in “Last Train Home,” “Sea Major,” and “Sir Paul” (for you know who). One more essential ingredient is the raw imperfections that add life to Bailey’s fingerboard finesse. So Low may have taken over a dozen years to arrive, but it comes straight from the heart.
—CHRIS JISI