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Bass Player on Night Court Theme?

Testing123

Testing123

Eschew obfuscation
Jan 21, 2006
1,119
957
Orange County, CA
#1
(I hope this is the correct forum…)

I've enjoyed the bass line (as well as the playing from everyone on that date) on the Night Court Theme (TV show) since I first heard it back in 1984.
Check it out here if yiou haven't heard it:
Invalid Link Removed

I found myself curious just who played bass on this date.
The tune was written by Jack Elliott. Wikipedia says that Ernie Watts was the saxophonist and ([This invalid link has been removed]) states Harvey Mason was the drummer on the session. However, the person that played the bass part seems to be rather illusive. I've found reference to the following:
Marc Miller (Marcus?) (Invalid Link Removed), Chuck Berghoffer and Jim Hughart (comments from one of the Youtube videos). I could find nothing on any of these gentlemen's sites referencing Night Court or Jack Elliott. BTW, Mr. Berghofer doesn't appear to have a site, but seems to be on facebook. I don't do facebook, so…

Anyone have knowledge of who actually laid down that legendary bass part?

Thanks…
 
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#11
JAUQO III-X said:
Go to the link below and click on the George Duke + Greg Phillinganes - Behind the Scenes video.

Spectrasonics - Videos
Click to expand...


Bittersweet. I can't argue with the incredible (increasing) level of fidelity available to keyboardists. These bass sounds, played in a full mix by a master keyboardist who truly feels and understands bass..I could not tell anymore if it's keys :bawl: I was in fact taught a lot about bass by such a well rounded musician/keyboard master.

I've always preferred the combined input of several individual musicians over even the best single person at a workstation. Music is more than just the instrument, it's the soul of the person playing, their energy, their interpretation, their voice. In that sense an ensemble will always be superior imho. So I do wonder if this 'virtual instrument' trend, which seems to benefit keyboardists most, is a good thing, especially in some genres.
 
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#13
JAUQO III-X said:
Go to the link below and click on the George Duke + Greg Phillinganes - Behind the Scenes video. Spectrasonics - Videos
Click to expand...

Hi JAUQO,
The video you referenced was certainly not shot in 1984, eh? ;-)

Actually, while a keyboardist could certainly have pulled this off (even in 1984), if you listen to the tune, you can hear the subtleties of different timbres on the same note of the instrument. For example, Bb on the E string vs. Bb on the A string. I'm not sure if session keyboardists would even think about these minute details.
Not sure though... anything's possible.
 
#20
Yea, the thread is old, but the last question went unanswered.

It was, indeed, Marc Miller. He's a friend of mine and worked for NBC during that time. Tom Scott wrote the score, including the line. Marc put a few "fingerprints" on it, but played the line as written. He played on a couple of others as well while working for NBC.

His website is Link Removed.

He lists working with Tom Scott in his credits, but doesn't list the individual themes he played on.
 
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