TIM DRUMMOND -bass+ occupancy of the bass chair in James Brown's band, Tim Drummone’s short tenure was filed with controversy and rancor. As the lone white face on JB's stage, Tim continued to di the focal point of threats and verbal abuse directed at him by racial and musical purists who liked their R&B black. Leav- ing the country didn’t make matters any better. Dodging artillery fire in Vietnam with his boss, Tim came back to the States with a bad case of hepatitis, an illness that would knock him off the road before the end of the year. S= of the troubled times that ran parallel with his e ‘Thankfully, the politics of race and his physical ailment did not affect his bass playing. A study in contrasts from his sim- ple, bottom-heavy performance on “I Can't Stand Myself” Tim lays down a dynamic, high register bass ostinato in “Licking Stick”—a bass line that has humbled many aspiring funka- holics. The technical difficulty increases the more you dig in, so keep it light. Ifyou listen to Tim's original part, you'll find a relaxed, almost delicate feel. This type of approach will help a great deal when tackling the syncopated figures on the first two beats of bar one. ¢ VERSE (¢ = 102) Eb be cee ee aos 256 7 ¥ ~ ; +8 ing Stick” was reflected in the harmonic structure of the tune. The name of the game is “Hide The Third.” After the threenote, arpeggiated pickup figure that sets up each phrase, the bass line is made up of just roots, Sths, and 7ths. Jimmy Nolen only flirts with the elusive 3rd (“G") in the midst of slid ing his threenote chord structure back and forth. "Pee Wee" Ellis and his organ backbeats come to the rescue, firmly estab- lishing an B37 tonality. The subtlety of this harmonic mystery is one of the keys to sustaining the listener's interest for five min- T: ambiguity of James Brown's verbal message in “Lick- VERSE (d= 102) E49 utes of what is essentially a one-chord tune. ‘The organ is also the key to rhythmically locking in to this, groove. The guitar part is basically three separate rhythmic statements. Dah-ee-ah (breath), Dal-dak-dah (breath), Dah- dah-dak-dah-dah-dah (breath). The organ backbeat chord is, what happens in each of these breaths, functioning as a solid rhythmic landmark in the midst of all the drum and bass syn- ccopations. I's just like the old “hit it where they ain't” philoso- phy in baseball. When the guitar plays, the organ doesn't, and Vamp