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Wilton Felder appreciation thread

#41
I just put a PU in my main P bass (split coil) that has one pole piece per string- I may never play anything else. ;)

JTE said:
Nope. I wrote to him when there was a protracted discussion (probably on The Bottom Line, maybe here on TB) about ,"I Want You Back" with many saying it had to be a pick. The response was "No, never a pick, always finger"

The single coil pickup has a critical difference compared to a Jazz or split-coil Precision, the single magnet pole per string. That gives it a very different attack.
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#43
berlihe said:
Wow, somehow I had never heard this Crusaders album, and it has instantly become my favorite.
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I know, isn't it great? I discovered it becasue it was mentioned in Rufus Reid's "The Evolving Bassist" as a record to check out for electric bass. The song "Tough Talk" is actually in the original Real Book, although The Crusaders originally recorded it in the 60s when they were The Jazz Crsuaders.

- Steve
 
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#44
Bunk McNulty said:
This is Wilton, too:
Click to expand...

JTE said:
Nope. I wrote to him when there was a protracted discussion (probably on The Bottom Line, maybe here on TB) about ,"I Want You Back" with many saying it had to be a pick. The response was "No, never a pick, always finger"

The single coil pickup has a critical difference compared to a Jazz or split-coil Precision, the single magnet pole per string. That gives it a very different attack.
Click to expand...
Wow, that really is a different sound! Thought maybe it was a studio thing, the plectrum. Now I know... Thanks for the reply!
 
#47
Discography
As leader/co-leader
  • Bullitt (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
  • We All Have a Star (MCA, 1978)
  • Inherit the Wind (MCA, 1980)
  • Gentle Fire (MCA, 1983)
  • Secrets (MCA, 1985)
  • Love Is a Rush (MCA, 1987)
  • Nocturnal Moods (PAR, 1991)
  • Forever, Always (PAR, 1992)
  • Lets Spend Some Time (BCS, 2005)

With The (Jazz) Crusaders

As sideman
With Donald Byrd

With Joan Baez

With John Cale

With Michael Franks

With Dizzy Gillespie

With Grant Green

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

With Harry Nilsson

With Marvin Gaye

With Matraca Berg

  • The Speed of Grace (MCA Records, 1994)
With Paul Anka

  • The Painter (United Artists Records, 1976)
With Solomon Burke

  • Electronic Magnetism (MGM Records, 1971)
With Donovan

With Jackson Browne

With Jennifer Warnes

With Milt Jackson

With Tina Turner

With John Klemmer

With Charles Kynard

With Minnie Riperton

With Ringo Starr

With Carmen McRae

With Billy Joel

With Randy Crawford

With Joni Mitchell

With B.B. King

With Wendy Waldman

  • Love Has Got Me (Warner Bros. Records, 1973)
With Randy Newman

With Shuggie Otis

With Dusty Springfield

  • Cameo (ABC Records, 1973)
With Jean-Luc Ponty

With Seals & Crofts

With Jimmy Smith

With Steely Dan

With Gerald Wilson

With Hugh Masekela




You're welcome.
 
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#48
Michedelic said:
Discography
As leader/co-leader
  • Bullitt (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
  • We All Have a Star (MCA, 1978)
  • Inherit the Wind (MCA, 1980)
  • Gentle Fire (MCA, 1983)
  • Secrets (MCA, 1985)
  • Love Is a Rush (MCA, 1987)
  • Nocturnal Moods (PAR, 1991)
  • Forever, Always (PAR, 1992)
  • Lets Spend Some Time (BCS, 2005)

With The (Jazz) Crusaders

As sideman
With Donald Byrd

With Joan Baez

With John Cale

With Michael Franks

With Dizzy Gillespie

With Grant Green

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

With Harry Nilsson

With Marvin Gaye

With Matraca Berg

  • The Speed of Grace (MCA Records, 1994)
With Paul Anka

  • The Painter (United Artists Records, 1976)
With Solomon Burke

  • Electronic Magnetism (MGM Records, 1971)
With Donovan

With Jackson Browne

With Jennifer Warnes

With Milt Jackson

With Tina Turner

With John Klemmer

With Charles Kynard

With Minnie Riperton

With Ringo Starr

With Carmen McRae

With Billy Joel

With Randy Crawford

With Joni Mitchell

With B.B. King

With Wendy Waldman

  • Love Has Got Me (Warner Bros. Records, 1973)
With Randy Newman

With Shuggie Otis

With Dusty Springfield

  • Cameo (ABC Records, 1973)
With Jean-Luc Ponty

With Seals & Crofts

With Jimmy Smith

With Steely Dan

With Gerald Wilson

With Hugh Masekela




You're welcome.
Click to expand...
:thumbsup:
 
#49
Are these all bass credits? (He must have quite a few for sax work...)

Jim
Michedelic said:
Discography
As leader/co-leader
  • Bullitt (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
  • We All Have a Star (MCA, 1978)
  • Inherit the Wind (MCA, 1980)
  • Gentle Fire (MCA, 1983)
  • Secrets (MCA, 1985)
  • Love Is a Rush (MCA, 1987)
  • Nocturnal Moods (PAR, 1991)
  • Forever, Always (PAR, 1992)
  • Lets Spend Some Time (BCS, 2005)

With The (Jazz) Crusaders

As sideman
With Donald Byrd

With Joan Baez

With John Cale

With Michael Franks

With Dizzy Gillespie

With Grant Green

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

With Harry Nilsson

With Marvin Gaye

With Matraca Berg

  • The Speed of Grace (MCA Records, 1994)
With Paul Anka

  • The Painter (United Artists Records, 1976)
With Solomon Burke

  • Electronic Magnetism (MGM Records, 1971)
With Donovan

With Jackson Browne

With Jennifer Warnes

With Milt Jackson

With Tina Turner

With John Klemmer

With Charles Kynard

With Minnie Riperton

With Ringo Starr

With Carmen McRae

With Billy Joel

With Randy Crawford

With Joni Mitchell

With B.B. King

With Wendy Waldman

  • Love Has Got Me (Warner Bros. Records, 1973)
With Randy Newman

With Shuggie Otis

With Dusty Springfield

  • Cameo (ABC Records, 1973)
With Jean-Luc Ponty

With Seals & Crofts

With Jimmy Smith

With Steely Dan

With Gerald Wilson

With Hugh Masekela




You're welcome.
Click to expand...
 
#50
Wilton Felder's bass playing is some of the best!
Dr. Cheese said:
Phil Upchurch is another great bassist most famous as a non-bassist. He is a contemporary if Wilton Felder too.
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Walter Becker was another that wasn't mainly a bassist.
jerry said:
Those early Shuggie Otis albums are real gems of groove, some of the bass played by Shuggie himself.
Click to expand...
Shuggie played some great bass on FZ's Peaches En Regalia (on the Hot Rats album).
 
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#51
jsbarber said:
Are these all bass credits? (He must have quite a few for sax work...)

Jim
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No, I don't think he ever played bass on a Jazz Crusaders (as opposed to just Crusaders) album, for example. He also plays sax on Charles Kynard's "Reelin' with the Feelin'," but Carol Kaye is the bassist on that date and it's just an incredible album (though I recognize the Hammond organ isn't everyone's cup of tea).
 
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#53
Felder is a great player, I consider "I want you back" to be one of the greatest bass lines on a pop tune ever. I was at a NAMM show once waiting to see Abraham Laborial and Stix hooper was there with Felder. Got to meet them and talk to them, Stix actually said Abraham was the best bass player ever, I wouldn't argue. Felder refused to play sax in studio in most cases, he felt it was part of the Crusaders sound and it would dilute it to play it all over recording studios. Interesting, I really consider Felder and Sample to be THE Crusaders, and yet Sample played on all kinds of other studio stuff. Crusaders had some great bass playing on their albums no doubt. I love the Seals and Crofts stuff, never realized that was him, great thread.
 
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#57
Phillynative said:
I recently heard a Nathan East interview where he told a story about auditioning for the Crusaders and getting turned down because they didn't feel like he had the sound that they were looking for.
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Nathan East isn't a slouch by any means but it shows how particular The Crusaders were in their quest for the right sound. Alphonso Johnson toured with them but wasn't an official member, either. Max Bennett and Pops Popwell were members at various times. Imagine having a bassist like Wilton Felder in your band and still having to hire a bassist because Mr. Felder is busy playing the sax? It just ain't fair, I tell ya!!!
 
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#59
Dr. Cheese said:
Wilton Felder is in an odd category of a great bassist whose main identity was not that of a bassist. I guess Ron Wood or Prince, even Lenny Kravitz fall into this category. Ray Parker Jr. was a heck of a bassist when he wanted to be one too.
Click to expand...

Add Fred Frith to that list.

(I'll bet this is the first time Fred's name and Wilton's name were ever mentioned in the same sentence!)
 
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