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Chris Walker with George Benson

bass12

bass12

Have You Met Grace Jones?
Supporting Member
Jun 8, 2008
14,663
23,895
Montreal, Canada
#1
I saw George Benson play the other night and his bassist was Chris Walker. I'd never heard of Walker before but he was great (it turns out he used to be Al Jarreau's musical director and now sings lead for what used to be Maze). Super solid and tasteful, playing what looked like a Steinberger XL and also providing backup vocals. One of the things that impressed me most was how, during the opening set with a guest singer, he was able to make his (what looked like a) Steinberger sound like an upright. It was the most convincing upright sound I've heard coming out of a non-Rob Allen bass guitar. The room acoustics might have had something to do with it, but still - amazing.

Just posting this because I've never seen Walker's name mentioned here before and he is obviously a very talented musician who has played with some heavy hitters.
 
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#3
DWBass said:
Oh he's one hellova bass player. Totally under the radar for those that don't know him. He plays lefty upside down. Hellova singer too. Extremely talented. IYKYK
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Why am I not surprised that you're familiar with him, DW. If anyone on TB was going to know who he is it's you. ;) I didn't know he played his bass upside down. His slapping didn't give that away as I might have expected. :thumbsup:
 
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#4
bass12 said:
Why am I not surprised that you're familiar with him, DW. If anyone on TB was going to know who he is it's you. ;) I didn't know he played his bass upside down. His slapping didn't give that away as I might have expected. :thumbsup:
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I've known about him since the early 90's when he hit the scene as an R&B singer. Played with Al Jarreau so long he actually sounds like him when he sings now.
 
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#7
The "he plays lefty upside down" comment triggered a dormant memory: Back in the late 1980s when I worked as the house audio engineer for a big NYC rehearsal studio that catered to a lot of name acts, I met Chris Walker when he was playing with ...here's where my memory gets fuzzy ...it was either Regina Belle or Ornette Coleman.

(I know, talk about chalk and cheese!)

But I distinctly remember meeting a young guy playing an Alembic Spoiler lefty upside down, and, after hearing part of their rehearsal thinking he was pretty hot stuff. But I haven't seen his name mentioned in decades.




Okay, after thinking about this a bit more I'm pretty sure it was Belle, not Coleman.
 
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#8
bass12 said:
I saw George Benson play the other night and his bassist was Chris Walker. I'd never heard of Walker before but he was great (it turns out he used to be Al Jarreau's musical director and now sings lead for what used to be Maze). Super solid and tasteful, playing what looked like a Steinberger XL and also providing backup vocals. One of the things that impressed me most was how, during the opening set with a guest singer, he was able to make his (what looked like a) Steinberger sound like an upright. It was the most convincing upright sound I've heard coming out of a non-Rob Allen bass guitar. The room acoustics might have had something to do with it, but still - amazing.

Just posting this because I've never seen Walker's name mentioned here before and he is obviously a very talented musician who has played with some heavy hitters.
Click to expand...

Having worked or attended The Playboy Jazz Festival at least 15 plus times Al Jarreau was a regular performer Typically at sunset. So I've had to seen him several times and not paying attention unfortunately. Now I wish I had done so.
 
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#9
Maxi Funkl said:
Having worked or attended The Playboy Jazz Festival at least 15 plus times Al Jarreau was a regular performer Typically at sunset. So I've had to seen him several times and not paying attention unfortunately. Now I wish I had done so.
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If it wasn't Chris playing it was Stan Sargent who also plays lefty upside down!
 
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#10
bass12 said:
I saw George Benson play the other night and his bassist was Chris Walker. I'd never heard of Walker before but he was great (it turns out he used to be Al Jarreau's musical director and now sings lead for what used to be Maze). Super solid and tasteful, playing what looked like a Steinberger XL and also providing backup vocals. One of the things that impressed me most was how, during the opening set with a guest singer, he was able to make his (what looked like a) Steinberger sound like an upright. It was the most convincing upright sound I've heard coming out of a non-Rob Allen bass guitar. The room acoustics might have had something to do with it, but still - amazing.

Just posting this because I've never seen Walker's name mentioned here before and he is obviously a very talented musician who has played with some heavy hitters.
Click to expand...

I saw Chris Walker with Ornette Coleman's Prime Time along with Al McDowell. Both on Steinberger's. Chris stole the show. For a taste of what he did that night, check out Virgin Beauty. An amazing show.
 
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