Album Notes

"...one of today's most inventive and original sounding voices on the electric bass...a pioneering innovator in the art of looping." - Cliff Engel, www.bassically.net Solo bass players - truly solo bass players - are a pretty rare breed. Jaco did it, Stanley did it, Michael Manring does it, but it's a relatively short list, leading to the conclusion that not many players feel drawn to it, perhaps due to the perceived role of the electric bass in contemporary music. Steve Lawson is a bassist for whom 'perceived' roles mean next to nothing. And thank God for it. If Steve had follow the generally held view that bass guitar is purely for backing up other musicians, we'd never have been treated to his marvelous debut CD '...And Nothing But The Bass, Live @ The Troubadour.' And what's more - what makes it even more remarkable - is that all but one of the tracks on the album were recorded live, no overdubs, no retakes, in front of an audience (as the applause at the end of each track testifies, a highly appreciative audience at that.) Utilizing sampling technology in a way that tips the hat to celebrated loop performers such as Bill Frisell, Robert Fripp and Michael Manring, Steve layers up sounds both ambient and melodic, creating a sonic collage that is both a combination of many influences and the product of many years of exploration into what's musically possible with solo bass. "I've never been interested in doing a 'chops' album" he says, adding with a smile "besides, I'm not sure that I could! "This album is the product of a few years of exploring how to get the music in my head out in a live setting. Layering up bass in the studio would've been easier, and I may yet do some tracks like that, but for this album, the challenge was to perform the tunes live." In fact, '...And Nothing But The Bass...' was never intended for release, "I record all my gigs, just for reference... and narcissism," he grins, before continuing, "but after putting some of the tunes on my website, a surprising number of people asked where they could get hold of the tracks." Thus the idea of doing a live album was born. With a number of live recordings in the can, it became clear that his two performances from London's legendary Troubadour club had something special, particularly the second of the two. And it's from this show, on the 31st March 2000, that most of the tunes on the album originate. The opening number 'The Inner Game' was inspired by Steve's reading of the book 'The Inner Game Of Music,' "I apply so many Inner Game principles when I'm performing, and even the choosing of this particular tune to open the set was informed by it," he explains. The track showcases Steve's fluid melodic fretless playing, and his uncanny ability to sprinkle an improvised solo with so many hooks, you'd think much of it was composed. The second track, 'Drifting' explores the more ambient side of Steve's musical journey, moving from the haunting chordal loop into a freely improvised abstract soundscape that makes liberal use of his beloved E-Bow, "I first encountered the magic of the E-Bow through listening to Michael Manring," he says, "and have discovered some great applications for it, particularly in the soundscapes." You'd be forgiven for thinking that there was a guest guitarist on 'The Virtue Of The Small', (the title's taken from the book 'The Te Of Piglet') such is the richness of the distorted solo. Steve's searing legato phrasing weaves in and out of the ebb and flow of the loop, giving way to another slice of lyrical fretless improvisation. The sole studio track, 'Bittersweet' is a trio for two basses (both played by Steve) and Piano. In keeping with the general feel if the album it was "recorded as live as possible without growing extra limbs," says Steve, "The chordal bass and the piano were played in one take, first take, and the straight afterwards the melody and solo bass were put over the top, again i