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Question about Will Lee

#21
Nobody has mentioned this yet:

http://www.thefabfaux.com/

This is what brought Will to my attention.
These guys do Beatles songs live that the Beatles never even attempted.

And I second what Jerry stated:

"Will is the epitome of what a great bassist is, he plays for the gig not his ego. He has been one of the top cats in N.Y.C for almost forty years, that's not from knowing people, that's from being creative and killing it on every gig for two generations."

IMHO when it comes to bass, less is always more.
 
#22
king_biscuit said:
I don't have a particular problem with nerves, and this is not really about me anyway Freud :), but I have seen the nerve thing happen over and over again in all walks of like; I think sports is a particularly good example -- lots of talent out there, but very few great champions, which boils down to nerves.

Here is a good mini documentary with Nathan East showcasing and describing great studio playing:


btw, i think your fictitious Ohio studio great should read Will's biography. Will got opportunities because he was a great player and word spread around.
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You were the one who brought up nerves in two posts so that's what I was responding to. Nevertheless, I never said Will wasn't a great player -- my point is that there are a lot of great players, but not all of them have a father who is Dean of music in a major university, a mother who was in show business and being childhood friends with Randy Brecker MAY have had something with Will having an edge early on. But I could be wrong.
 
#23
Vinnyboonbots said:
You were the one who brought up nerves in two posts so that's what I was responding to. Nevertheless, I never said Will wasn't a great player -- my point is that there are a lot of great players, but not all of them have a father who is Dean of music in a major university, a mother who was in show business and being childhood friends with Randy Brecker MAY have had something with Will having an edge early on. But I could be wrong.
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Nah! If you're good, you're good. If you suck, you suck no matter who you know. These folks have their names on the line and if you hire a cat who sucks just because he 'knows' someone, where does that leave your project? Not buying that. Will is as professional as one will get! Admittedly not a great 'shredding' soloist, but he can do everything else. And on that subject, how many 'shredding' solos has Anthony Jackson done?

'Nuff said!

There's plenty musicians out there who are legacy's or have famous or well to do parents! In the music world you don't get a pass! Still gotta prove yourself. There's way too many really good cats out there just waiting for an open slot!
 
#24
Vinnyboonbots said:
You were the one who brought up nerves in two posts so that's what I was responding to.
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Well, let me play amateur internet psychologist and suggest that from the nature of your post, you are a bitter older musician who hasn't gotten where you would like to be and would rather chalk it up to favoritism than ability/work ethic?

Now, can we keep the personal jibs/insults out of this?
 
#25
I saw him play live with the Oz Noy trio at the Bitter End about three years ago. He was pretty impressive - and not just for groove and tasteful playing but also chops wise. You won't see it on Letterman, but the guy can throw down! He also had a total vibe. Not in a bad way, but an "I'm here to have a good time!" type thing. I think that kind of attitude goes a long way. On a side note, I didn't know he was going to be playing. We finished our set and I looked over and was like, "Holy @#$!! It's Will Lee!"
 
#27
king_biscuit said:
Well, let me play amateur internet psychologist and suggest that from the nature of your post, you are a bitter older musician who hasn't gotten where you would like to be and would rather chalk it up to favoritism than ability/work ethic?

Now, can we keep the personal jibs/insults out of this?
Click to expand...

You're probably right. Funny,though how you seem to be the only one with the jibs and insults. It's fine tho. Love ya bro.
 
#28
Vinnyboonbots said:
Will is a solid player who was in the right place at the right time and had the right connections early on.

He's the consummate pro -- good time, good sound, sings, reads, etc etc, but honestly, I don't think there's anything especially unique or creative or extraordinary about his playing.

But he's there -- and when you're the guy who's known for getting the job done, people tend to call you. And when the big boys call you, you get regarded as one of the greats.

Bottom line : there are thousands of guys who could do what Will Lee does and almost no one who could do what Jeff Berlin does. But Will Lee makes about eighty times more money playing the bass than Jeff Berlin. What does that tell you?
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I don't think thousands can do what Will Lee does at the level he does it. You don't get the level of gigs Lee has gotten for 40 years without having great ability.
 
#30
Many years ago I saw Lee Sklar playing with James Taylor. Now Lee Sklar is as meat and potatoes as you can get, and has been in my top 3 of bass heroes because of this. However, JT let him loose a couple of times and he killed it! Some of the best soloing I have ever heard! Now I would bet a month's salary that Will Lee could do that too, if given the opportunity.
In my 35 years of gigging I have come to the conclusion that unless you're playing jazz, no-one in the club/pub/bar wants to hear a bass solo or bass histrionics. They want the singer/guitar/sax/keys to sound good.... nothing more, nothing less.
In fact, back in the late 90s, I stole a jazz residency from a far better player than myself because he was constantly soloing.... chords, harmonics, you name it. The band leader said to me "we need a BASS player... you want it? "
Here's to Will lee, Lee Sklar, Neil Stubenhaus, Anthony Jackson, Michael Rhodes, Nathan East and all the other GREAT players who know what to do and when to do it.
 
#31
I've lived in NYC for 25 years, and have seen Will play many times, as well Anthony, Marcus, Tom Barney, just to name a few.I'm also going to mention hearing Hiram Bullock, and Randy Brecker. These guys aren't "the cats" by accident. They are deeply trained, and gifted musicians. There really is a "magic" one can feel when one of these guys play.
There will always be new players one the scene that can hang at that level, but Will brings a lot the table: he can make an entire band sound good! He can lock with any drummer and bring out their best. We've all played with weaker drummers, and know how hard it is to play so strong that they just can't help but groove! Also Will can get a consistent sound on anything. I've worked in studios with beat up basses, only to find Will had just done a track using it, and killed! Another thing :he's amazingly consistent. He nails stuff take after take, night after night!
Lastly, he's entertaining to watch, and be around!
 
#32
A perfect example of Will Lee's prowess as a musician and as a bassist? Check out the induction ceremony for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. He helped back up Sara Bareilles on "Stoney End" for the induction of Laura Nyro. Will grooved his ass off while sight reading. Oh, and he never got in the way of the vocal.

 
#33
ShoeManiac said:
A perfect example of Will Lee's prowess as a musician and as a bassist? Check out the induction ceremony for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. He helped back up Sara Bareilles on "Stoney End" for the induction of Laura Nyro. Will grooved his ass off while sight reading. Oh, and he never got in the way of the vocal.

Click to expand...
Man, he smoked on this! Some folks just don't get it! THIS is what gets you gigs!
 
#35
It's no surprise that Oz calls Michael Rhodes in Nashville and Will Lee in NYC.

He can play anything, but there was a great article in Bass Player about how he came in to sing a part on a project and ended up recording a bass part on the engineer's Sadowsky with old strings and a hinky set up. He did some quick adjustments and just killed it!
A very great and underrated player. He's not obvious because he's doing his gig very well.
 
#36
fkh006 said:
Nobody has mentioned this yet:

http://www.thefabfaux.com/

This is what brought Will to my attention.
These guys do Beatles songs live that the Beatles never even attempted.

And I second what Jerry stated:

"Will is the epitome of what a great bassist is, he plays for the gig not his ego. He has been one of the top cats in N.Y.C for almost forty years, that's not from knowing people, that's from being creative and killing it on every gig for two generations."

IMHO when it comes to bass, less is always more.
Click to expand...

And when he's fronting the Fab Faux, he's really entertaining! Those guys are just incredible, and Will is great fun on stage.
 
#38
Thanks guys for all the info.

Does Will get called for Rock gigs? Those that demand steady eighth note stuff. I wonder wht he will add to the song. I hv an impression he get called mostly on song that need some kind of groove than straight ahead eighth note.
 
#39
#40
Bassist30 said:
That first brecker song Live version of Skunk Funk was Neil Jason. Who is also a fine bassist.
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I think that may be a miss-labeled track. It sounds like it's from the first Brecker Brothers album to me. Checking allmusic.com
Yep, you were right. Here's the one with Uncle Will:
 

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