The Art of the Bass Choir

Playing more varieties of bass that could be listed in a review, Lincoln Goines celebrates the bass with a wide variety of guests including Tom Kennedy, Goins Vasileva, Victor Wooten, Susan Hagen, Gal Aviram and Mike Pope (am I missing anyone?) supported by a clever support team of drummers. The choice of famed stick man Dennis Chambers is a brilliant one, getting funky with an overdubbed collection of rubbernecked strings on "Spank A Lee" a bass quartet on "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" or the Bulgarian folk song "Kaval Sviri" with bassist in trio or solo format by the leader. There's even a Tower of Power mooded take of Jaco Pastorius' "Liberty City" with some MC/rap work, while Goines simmers on the Afro Cuban "Mambo Influenciado" and broods on bow with 5 other basses on "Orphic Hymn/Good Morning, Midnight". A chambered "Common Threads" with arco basses and cello is peaceful and a read of Charles Mingus' "Vassar Llean" is flavorfully impressionistic. This one takes a few listens to really appreciate the depths (sometimes literally) of this album.