There's a revealing exchange about five minutes into This Is It, the documentary about the late Michael Jackson’s
planned world tour, in which the Gloved One is encouraging his keyboardist
to play the answer riff to the penetrating bass line of “Wanna
Be Startin’ Something” funkier. “It’s not there yet,” he says gently,
before singing the entire two-measure groove flawlessly in the pocket,
while playing air bass. Real bass seems to have always been at the
forefront of Jackson’s music, whether it came from studio savants in
Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York, or his landmark
use of synth bass that remains in vogue to this day. Alex Al, Jackson’s
bassist since 2001 and a member of the seven-piece band featured
in the film, concurs. “Bass was the most important instrument to him.
He’d make references to Paul McCartney’s melodic playing with the
Beatles, James Jamerson being upfront and center with Motown, or Stevie Wonder’s left hand.”
In an attempt to further explore the
plucking preferences of the King of Pop—
and what it was like to provide low end
for him—we sat down with Al to discuss
the inner workings during his three
months of rehearsals for the This Is It tour.
We also reached out to a half-dozen Jackson
vets for their memories and insight,
as well as documenting his other deep-end denizens
The Detroit-born Al had a Jackson 5-
like start to his career, getting a P-Bass copy
at age nine and filling the vacant bass chair
in the 12-piece funk-rock horn band led by
his older brothers when he was just 12. At
17, having already opened for the Gap Band
and Cameo on a summer tour with Carl
Carlton, Al headed to L.A. and enrolled in
B.I.T. at Musicians Institute. In 1997, road
work (via recommendations from Rickey
Minor and Nathan East) with El Debarge,
Bobby Brown, Diana Ross, and the Spice
Girls led to drummer Terri Lynne Carrington
tabbing him for the house band of the
Quincy Jones/Sinbad TV variety show Vibe.
The program’s high-visibility, “in-town”
nature resulted in Al’s session work blossoming.
His developed skills on upright bass
and keyboard bass made him even more of
a threat, leading to recordings with venerable
vets such as Herbie Hancock, George
Benson, Paul Simon, Sting, and Smokey
Robinson, and chart-toppers like Janet Jackson,
Tupac Shakur, the Pussycat Dolls,
Uncle Kracker, and Jordin Sparks.
In the wake of the cancelled Jackson
tour, Al has remained as busy as ever, playing
on Mariah Carey’s new CD Memoirs of
an Imperfect Angel, an upright big band
date with Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack
for the upcoming Christina Aguilera movie,
Burlesque. He can also be seen nightly in
the house band of the George Lopez talk
show Lopez Tonight. Still, his experience
with—and the loss of—the man he knew as
Michael remains resounding.
What led to you getting the call for This Is It?
I trace it back to meeting and working with Greg Phillinganes on Vibe; that led to
his calling me for Michael’s 30th Anniversary
Special on CBS, in 2001. From there, I
did assorted studio work for Michael, some
of it produced by John Barnes at Westlake,
where they recorded Thriller. I imagine they
might release that material at some point.
This time around I got a call from keyboardist
Michael Beardon, who was hired as the musical
director; I had worked with him before.
He said Michael asked for me. I jumped at
the chance because I had no doubt he would
set the world on its ear again.
Who arranged the songs?
Michael picked almost 50 songs overall
and then we worked on getting about
half of them ready for the London shows.
Both Michael and Michael Beardon collaborated
on the arrangements, but a third key
element was the dancers. Whatever Michael
worked out with them during the day took precedence at night. So an eight-bar intro
might become 11 bars to suit the choreography—
and Michael counted on us to
remember that; there would be no charts
of any kind allowed onstage.
How did you approach the bass lines,
and how much freedom did you get?
As I say in the movie, you had to know
them cold from the record because Michael
knows every sound, 16th-note, and inflection,
and he’s a stickler about having the
original part as a starting point. From there,
it was a matter of finding a way to update
the parts in a manner Michael liked; he definitely
wanted a fresh edge to them. Obviously,
you can’t change the main bass line
of, say, “Billie Jean” too much, but in the
bridge, which is more legato, there was room
to stretch. Early on, there were times I’d
take too much liberty or not enough, but
as the weeks went by I’d sort of figure out
what makes everybody smile. I took the
most liberties with the Jackson 5 medley
[“I Want You Back”/“The Love You Save”/“I’ll Be There”]. It really lent itself
to a modern-day Jamerson approach, and
as I’ve gone through playing different genres
of music, I’ve found his style has stayed
with me the most. Having worked a lot with
drummer Jonathan Moffett before, we had
so much fun adding that sort of “modernold-
school” nuance to the tunes.
What kind of bass directions would
Michael give?
It was usually more performance-oriented
than specific. So even on a steady,
repetitive part like “Billie Jean,” he would
say, “You know, Alex, it doesn’t necessarily
have to feel the same at the end as it
does in the intro.” In a show this big, with seven musicians, four backup vocalists, over
a dozen dancers, and all the visuals onstage,
you really can’t overplay. Your emotion and
conviction is what it’s all about—putting a
whole new energy and spirit into the parts.
We would think we were playing a song
great, and Michael would say we could do
it even better.
Who decided what bass or keyboard
you played on each song?
That was my job: to find out what was
going to work best. Again, my approach
was: let’s preserve what’s on the record and
make it better. I’d listen to the Jackson 5
records and have my Fenders ready. I called
Greg Phillinganes to find out what synth
sound he used on “Thriller”; he’d say, “A
Minimoog with two oscillators instead of
three,” and so on. Every night at home I’d
do at least an hour of programming to get
the right keyboard sounds. Also, because
bass and synth bass together were a key
part of Michael’s sound, there were even
sections of “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”
and “Billie Jean” that I was playing bass
and Minimoog together! I’d turn up my bass
volume and really dig in with my left hand,
hammering the notes, like on upright, while
playing keyboard with my right hand.
On the flipside, for some songs it was
decided as we went along. I was playing
two synth bass parts on “The Way You Make
Me Feel” and “Smooth Criminal,” but one
day I happened to pick up my Jazz Bass on
“Criminal”—and it sounded so much funkier,
everyone stopped and said, That’s what you
should play! On “Beat It,” I used a Music
Man 5-string with a slap-funk vibe to keep
that R&B factor; it’s a classic rock song,
but it has to move, live. Michael had a term
he would use a lot: Keep the rock funky
and keep the funk rockin’.
How do you reflect on the experience?
It was an unbelievable blessing on every
level. Musically, I learned so much from
Michael’s acute state of awareness and preparedness,
I feel ready to take on any gig in
the world. I’m honored that he called on me
over the last nine years; many of my favorite
bassists worked with him, so it’s thrilling to
be a part of that history and lineage.
Personally, we’re talking about someone
who would come in each day and ask
me if it was okay to put his towel on my
keyboard rack! I was one of the last people
to leave rehearsal the night before he
died, and he thanked me for my love and
support. The next day I started getting texts
on my way to the Staples Center; I got there
and waited with everyone, and when his
passing was confirmed, we all lost it. A
month later we were doing the memorial
concert on the same stage, with the same
gear. It was so sad. The only way I can
describe it is we lost an angel on earth—a
musical angel.
REMEMBER THEIR TIME: PLAYERS RECALL WORKING WITH MJ
James Jamerson Jr.
(and James Jamerson Sr.)
Jamerson Sr.: assorted Jackson
5 tracks; Jamerson Jr.: sessions
for Triumph, Epic, 1980
When the Jackson 5 first came
to Motown, my dad did the dates
and he was very impressed with
them. He brought their record
home and said, “I have something
for you boys.” It was so exciting for us
because they were our age and they were stars,
and Dad was playing on their music.
My experience with Michael and the Jacksons
was during their Triumph album. Marlon
brought me in to record with Tito, Ricky Lawson,
Greg Phillinganes, and David E. Williams.
We did a whole day’s worth of tracks and took
a meal break. In the meantime, Michael had
come in to listen, and when we got back we
were told not to go into the studio because
Michael was emotional. We thought, Uh-oh,
there’s something wrong with the music—but
Marlon explained that Michael always gets emotional
when he really likes the tracks. They all
listened and agreed the takes were keepers. I
didn’t get credited on the album, but it was a
real honor to work with one of the truly special
talents and stars of our time.
Chuck Rainey
“Ben,” single from the film
soundtrack, Motown, 1972;
“Dancing Machine”/“It’s Too
Late to Change the Time,”Motown single, 1974
Michael was one of the greatest talents I’ve ever
seen. He had a great time feel, which no doubt
helped him become a first-rate singer, dancer,
and performer. “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough”
and “Billie Jean” are two of my all-time favorites,
although I wish you could hear more of Louis
Johnson’s bass on the tracks. I only met Michael
once, on a cross-country flight. Jermaine recognized
me, thanked me for “Dancing Machine,”
and brought me over to meet the whole family.
Nathan Watts
Destiny [Epic, 1978]; Triumph
[Epic, 1980]; “Say, Say, Say,”
Paul McCartney [Pipes of Peace,
Capitol, 1983]; “Muscles,” Diana
Ross [Endless Love, RCA, 1981]
Michael was one of the greatest entertainers
who ever lived and the kindest person you would
ever want to meet. When we were doing Destiny,
I overslept one morning and he came over
to my house to pick me up in his Rolls Royce;
he had just gotten his license! Bass-wise, for the
most part he would tell me to do my thing. On
“Heartbreak Hotel” [a.k.a. “This Place Hotel,” Triumph],
however, he started dancing and singing
rhythmically, to show me what he wanted. He
was a master at grooves. Michael brought me in
to do “Say, Say, Say,” and I figured it was a demo
that Paul McCartney would play bass on. He took
it to Paul who listened and liked the feel, so he
left my bass part on there—and then he sent me
an autographed copy of his album. My demo
track for Michael’s song “Muscles,” for Diana
Ross, was also kept. I owe a lot of my career success
to him and I miss him every day.
Louis Johnson
Off the Wall [Epic, 1979]; Thriller
[Epic, 1982]; “We Are the World,”
Columbia, 1985; Dangerous
[Epic, 1991]; HIStory [Epic, 1995]
Michael was a super-nice person and I was
deeply saddened by his passing. I was fortunate
to have worked with him on his solo albums,
and he always let me be my creative best. My
job was to come up with bass lines, and Michael
had complete trust in me. Occasionally, he’d
hum a variation of something I played or ask
me to make it more this way or that, or he’d say,
“This section should be really hot—play extra
strong here.” Quincy Jones and engineer Bruce
Swedien were equally open to my suggestions
on everything from how to EQ my bass, to using
bass and synth bass together. I worked with
Michael on his two albums after he moved on
from Quincy, but it wasn’t the same. I’d come
in and play to a track or a drum machine, or
even just to get a note sampled. The last time
I saw Michael was at his home studio to do
“Come Together” [from HIStory]. What I’ll always
cherish is the fun and excitement of playing live
together on the Off the Wall sessions—Michael
and everybody laughing, knowing we were making
magic. After a take we’d all race to the control
room, knocking each other out of the way
for the best seat, while yelling, turn it up!
Nathan East
Victory [Epic, 1984]; Bad [Epic,
1987]; HIStory [Epic, 1995];
Invincible [Epic, 2001]
Michael was a sweetheart of a
guy in the studio—just one of the cats, telling
jokes, sharing meals. I remember there was a
7-11 down the street, and for fun he would get
into disguises and see if he could go in there
without being recognized; it was the highlight
of his day! He was very gifted and knew just
what he was doing on sessions. We never had
much bass interaction, but a few times Quincy
Jones came out of the control room and sang
me the most brilliant little turnaround or transition
phrase, that Michael had hummed to him—
which I was always grateful for. Just getting the
call, you knew you would be seeing the best
assembled talent, and you’d have that sense
you were making history. I remember thinking
while recording “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
how it would be all over the radio, around the
world. Michael was one of the all-time great
artists; he was an amazing singer, dancer, songwriter,
producer—he had the whole package. There’ll never be anyone quite like him again,
it’s a huge loss for all of us.
“Ready” Freddie Washington
Motown 25 TV special, NBC,
1983; HIStory world tour 1996-
1997; bass overdub session for
unreleased track, circa 2000
As an entertainer and performer I think Michael
ranks right up there with legends like Sinatra,
Sammy Davis, Fred Astaire, and James Brown.
He was great to work with on the world tour;
he was down to earth and liked to have fun and
laugh. I remember he told us the band had the
kind of groove he liked, for playing his music.
What stood out to me was his incredible sense
of time and feel. I used to watch him during the
shows, and you could see the entire groove and
pocket in his body movements. It was like listening
to a drummer’s subdivisions and accents.
He really knew all his songs inside and out. I
would just feed off his moves and his amazing
energy, both musically and inspirationally.
OTHER GLOVED-ONE GROOVERS
Jermaine Jackson
The bass-playing brother
of Michael (seen plucking a Gibson EB-3 in
early Jackson 5 clips) became a successful
solo artist who stayed at Motown when his
brothers left for Epic. He can be seen via
YouTube thumping and singing his 1979 hit
“Let’s Get Serious” on the Arsenio Hall Show.
Wilton Felder
The legendary saxophonist/coleader
of the Crusaders and busy L.A. session
bassist in the ’70s played on many Jackson 5
recordings, including “I Want You Back” [from
Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, Motown,
1969], which Wilton discussed for BP’s July ’98
complete transcription. He recalled, “The bass
part, which essentially mirrors and counters the
melody, was mostly written out. I added just a
bit of myself to it. As a sax player, I related to the
line’s hip chromatic movement—but being selftaught,
I found the fingerings a bit intimidating.”
Ron Brown
The ’70s L.A. session bassist (Marvin
Gaye, Beach Boys, Barry White) and James
Jamerson aficionado—see September ’04 for
his complete transcription of Jamerson’s part
on “I Can’t Get Next to You”—played on various
Jackson 5 tracks, most notably “Never Can
Say Goodbye” [Maybe Tomorrow, Motown, 1971].
Michael “Sugar Bear” Foreman
Upon arriving
at Epic, the Jacksons recorded two albums
at Philly International with producers Gamble
& Huff: 1977’s The Jacksons and 1978’s Goin’
Places. The bassist on the bulk of those tracks
is the late Foreman, a TSOP session bassist
best known for his work with Teddy Pendergrass.
Among the more bass-compelling tracks
on both discs are “Blues Away,” “Think Happy,”
“Jump for Joy,” and “Music’s Takin’ Over.”
Anthony Jackson
The contrabass and session
master played on the film soundtrack of The
Wiz [Atlantic, 1978], specifically backing Michael
on “You Can’t Win” and “Ease on Down the
Road” (with Diana Ross).
Gary King
The late New York studio vet (Bob
James, Roberta Flack) played on the Jacksons
album Destiny [Epic, 1978], including the hit
“Blame It on the Boogie.”
Bobby Watson
The onetime Rufus bassist provided
one of Jackson’s baddest bass tracks
on “Rock With You,” from Off the Wall [Epic,
1979]. For the complete transcription in July
’05, Watson told BP he recorded three Rod
Temperton tunes during his Off the Wall session.
All of these were recut by Louis Johnson,
with only “Rock With You” making the
album. “Engineer Bruce Swedien told me later
that Louis played a tighter bass part, but it lost
the magic. He said, ‘Man, we pulled up that
“Rock With You” track and we had to keep
your bass. You were pumpin’ it! We took out
your bass and the whole song died. Your bass
made the tune.’ That made me feel really good.”
Michael McKinney
Road bassist for the Jacksons
(recommended by Nate Watts). Credited on the
Jacksons album Triumph [Epic, 1980], and is the
bassist heard on Jacksons: Live [Epic, 1981].
Clay Drayton
Also credited on Triumph.
Paul McCartney
The lone Beatle to collaborate
with Michael, Macca appeared on “The Girl Is
Mine” from Thriller [Epic, 1982], with Jackson
returning the favor, co-writing and singing on
“Say, Say, Say,” from Paul’s Pipes of Peace [Capitol,
1983]. Bass, however, was handled by Louis
Johnson and Nate Watts, respectively.
Steve Lukather
The Toto and session-guitar
legend played P-Bass and rhythm guitar behind
Eddie Van Halen’s lead guitar on “Beat It,” from Thriller. “Maniac” guitarist Michael Sembello
is also credited with bass on Destiny.
Andrew Gouche
The gospel bass giant featured
on BP’s January ’10 cover provided
backup vocals on Bad [Epic, 1987] as a member
of Andrae Crouch’s singing section.
Abraham Laboriel
The L.A. session legend is
credited on Dangerous [Epic, 1991].
Muzz Skillings
Living Colour’s original lowend
man, Skillings appears playing bass in the
video for “Black or White,” from Dangerous.
Don Boyette
The veteran touring bassist (Lionel
Richie, Cher) can be seen on the DVD Live in
Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour [Epic, 2005],
filmed in 1992.
Terry Jackson
Credited on Dangerous and
HIStory [Epic, 1995].
Wayne Pedzwater
The late New York session
bassist appeared on the sessions for HIStory
at the Hit Factory, including a four-hour date
for the song “Money.” He shared a little insight
in BP’s November ’95 review of the CD: “Michael
kept stuffing things under my strings to get
just the right muted tone. Then he brought in
all kinds of playback speakers to hear how the
part sounded. At one point he was turning the
knobs on my bass while I was playing!”
Guy Pratt
The London session bassist (Pink
Floyd, Madonna) is credited on HIStory.
Colin Wolfe, Keith Rouster, Doug Grigsby
All
credited on HIStory.
And on keyboard bass
Greg Phillinganes is
the best-known of the Michael Jackson keyboard
bassists, starting with his propulsive
piano-and-synth bass line on “Shake Your Body
(Down to the Ground)” [from the Jacksons’
Destiny] through his teaming with Michael
Boddicker on “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough”
[Off the Wall], and “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,”
“P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” “Billie
Jean,” and “Thriller” [all on Thriller]. Other lefthand
luminaries include Steve Porcaro, David
Paich, Brad Buxer, John Barnes, David Foster,
Larry Williams, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and
Teddy Riley.
THE WAY THEY MADE HIM FEEL
TO TRACE MICHAEL JACKSON BASS LINES
is to trace the evolution of pop bass—from iconic names
like Jamerson, Rainey, and “Thunder Thumbs,” to the
emergence of synth bass and multiple bass tracks, to
Alex Al’s cutting-edge interpretation of all of the above.
Example 1a shows Chuck Rainey’s bouncing opening
groove on “Dancing Machine.” He smiles, “In retrospect, I’m
proud of how I was able to represent the Jamerson style.”
Example 1b contains two bars of his typical verse groove.
“This was not long after ‘Rock Steady,’ which is what my
approach here reminds me of.” Example 1c has Chuck’s killer
second fill in the transition, at 1:09. “A mix of styles, here; I’m
index-popping the high notes and returning to Jamerson with
the climb.” Examples 2a and 2b are from “Music’s Takin’ Over,”
on the Jacksons’ Goin’ Places, during their lesser-known twoalbum
period at Philly International. In Ex. 2a, the late “Sugar
Bear” Foreman applies some craft to the disco-era song’s
verses, via chromatic pickups and 10ths. For the chorus in Ex.
2b, listen to how he lets the high C ring almost throughout
the phrase.
Example 3 features Louis Johnson’s four-bar chorus
groove from Off the Wall’s “Get on the Floor.” Louis, who
has co-writing credit, recalls, “I was in my car after a session,
playing a tape I’d made at home of some song and
bass ideas. Michael came out to say goodbye and he heard
this particular part. He said, ‘Man, that’s bad—can I write
a song around it?’” Example 4 contains Johnson’s onebar
groove from “Billie Jean.” Note his use of F# octaves
on the downbeat and the “and” of beat two, something
Alex Al duplicated in This Is It. Says Johnson, “I plucked
them using my thumb and 2nd finger, to match the accents
of the keyboard part.”
Examples 5–8 are from
This Is it. Example 5 finds Alex
Al stretching with thumb and
Jazz Bass on the breakdown section of “The Love You Save.” He notes, “We took the call-and-response the Jacksons
did vocally on the original, and adapted it to our parts in each measure.” In Ex.
6, Al melodically fills the spaces between sparse vocal melody in the chorus of “I’ll
Be There.” He allows, “I just wanted to spice it up, because Michael was all about
high energy.” Example 7 shows the sequenced keyboard bass part from the bridge
of “Black or White,” which Al chose to play on his Minimoog. “I used my right hand
only, to make it sound more musical. If I was going for a sequenced vibe I would
have used both hands.” Finally, Ex. 8 occurs during the chorus of “Earth Song,” as
Al emotes on his fretless Music Man SR5 with an EBS OctaBass pedal. “The song is
a warning about the environment, with both an ominous and hopeful quality, so I
wanted the pretty sound of the fretless with the menacing sound of the octaver.”
THIS WAS IT
With the help of bass tech and rhythm-section programmer Scott Eric
Olivier, Alex Al had all the basses covered for the This Is It tour:
Basses ’75 Jazz Bass (maple neck with EMG pickups), Music Man StingRay
SR5 5-string (maple neck), fretless Music Man SR5 (rosewood neck);
seven other basses, mostly Fenders
Strings DR Hi-Beams or Lo-Riders; Ernie Ball roundwounds on the Music Man
basses; La Bella flatwounds; various old sets (Alex prefers well-worn strings)
Effect pedal EBS OctaBass
Amps Two Ampeg SVT-VR heads, two SVT-810AV cabs (one for bass,
one for keyboard bass)
Monitors Sensaphonics in-ears; plenty of drums, percussion, and Jackson
vocals—plus some guitar and keyboards—in his monitor mix
Keyboards Vintage refurbished Model D Minimoog, Minimoog Voyager,
Roland Alpha Juno 2 (as a controller); rack keyboards: Studio Electronics
SE-1X, Yamaha TX802, Roland XV-5080, Roland D-550