A Little Better All The Time

I'm not usually a big fan of Macca, but this gives me hope. Paul MacCartney's father played in dance hall bands, which explains a lot about Macca's bass playing. He's emulating tuba and trombone parts. Listen closely, and it will become obvious. There's a thing, yanno, in vocalists. Jon Hendricks was a drummer, but phrased his vocalese like an alto sax. And fucking well. Mel Torme and Dave Lambert phrased like 'bones. Annie Ross flew with a trumpet. Jeff Beck works to emulate on his guitar the sounds of Lester Young's tenor sax. The point here is that you work in unfamiliar ground. Some of my fave vamps are Nat Cole. Seriously. How could you not play 'Route 66'if you had the chops to do it? It's a 12 bar with a bridge! Easy peasy! Chuck Berry could do it! (My personal headchart is more Mingus, but it overlays perfectly).