Funk
PLAY FUNK LIKE PAUL JACKSON JR
ONTHE CD | —_ LA’ hottest funk sessioner has played with virtually every major '80s
eacxs 509 and '90s artist, so he must be doing something right!
Secs
PLAY FUNK LIKE
PAUL JACKSON JR
GT RATING ul jets Je
MODERATE ps eatin
Wilt improve your:
“Paul's main
strength lies in
his rhythmic
single-note
playing: he
often favours
licks that cut
YouR orTuToR
8/00 swe { theres one person that sums up the essence of
See p9 for more info tar playing within LAs stud @: SOUND ADVICE
onal the G Paul Jackson Jr. As an A-list sideman for GREAT ‘80S TONE
te has infiuenced the gular eae eae ees ae:
a riythmic drive and melodic ick to telco ae eee
pe Limetinctaeic ty angie Bey ee a
rock solos, 80 100 were requests for Paul Jackson Jr-sty! Sete Be eer ees x
rhythm guitar licks. SNe RER es: 2. ee
‘ook up rhythm guitar duties on numerous ‘80s and fiebecep mate aol/ abba nko alam
. = ‘similar to funksters like Nile Rodgers) or used amps like
4 Roland JC-120.These day, Pal has his ovm signature
Gibson (with F holes) and uses Rivers valve amps for hs
‘own jamtinged solos and ryehms. For che CO used
ny Fender Fat Strat (postion fur) with moderate
compression, a touch of stereo chorus and a touch of
1m EQ (lib) scooped out athe mixing desk The
‘90s American artists’ alburns and youll see him listed. A
ot. Mick on, Lither Vandross, Whitney Houston,
Lionel Richie, Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Al Jarreau,
Barbar nd, Madonna, Georg mn, Barl Klugh
4 George Duke have all used his talents; in particular
you may like to check his playnut on Luther Vandros:
‘Never Too Much’ or “The Power Of Love’, Anita Baker's
‘Rapture’ of ‘No One In The Work, crit Pol ERY baer Tee Pa hei Bom ase aa
Wo. hitney Houston's ‘Love Wil ve Day
or (even) the rock hero lead lick on lackson's
‘Why You Wanna Trip O
80 Guitar Techniques may 2003WORKSHOP
that is super tight with the song's groove. Then again,
he is also good at ereating a guitar rf that acts a songs
hook — his playing on Siedah Garrett's song ‘Kissing’
Js ust one example ofthis. n short, Paul rarely
dominates a song he's been hired to play on, and he
never overplays,
So, for your funk fix this month, Ive created eight
(mostly) single-note myth C minor licks that have a
New Jack Swing (see box) style backing track:
Thope some of Pauls chythm magic rubs off on you! Ml
PAUL'S STYLE
‘To my mind, Paul's main strength ies in his rhythmic
single-note playing In particular, he often. favours
playing guitar leks that cut through ‘holes in the mix’
‘where the other instruments are less busy or the vocalist
takes a breath, For example, there's a tasty doublestop
Jick during Luther Vandross's "Phe Power Of Love!
‘THIS IS FUNDAMENTALLY A TWO BAR IDEA that has the 2nd, 4th and 8th bars varied a
common way of structuriy a rill. Tb sound convieing, et the notes and syncopations
:memorised and then work at locking into the drum groove. A pointer ~ swing ehythims
often mean 10th notes ‘snap’ more quickly toa bar's main beats, which can inerease the
dlithculty factor. ‘This is mest obious with the G to Bh notes between beats and 2
bar and the doublestop slide in BAR 4, between beats and 4
dso JF d
cm
‘of each
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myRy ary. A avrg A Vinny]
‘May 2003 Guitar Techniques 81WORKSHOP
EXAMPLE
THIS IS QUITE: AN INSISTENT RIFF that clearly spells out the notes from a Cin?
‘chord (C Bs G Bs). Make sure to observe the picking directions, espectally for ty
tricky one-note-per-steing ending of wach bat
sessions should see you get the hang of it
d=no JJ*1d
cm
copes eeete
33
5
FRR RVRYRVRY Re Pom RURYRVAVA
Ee
THIS IS A CLASSIC PAUL JACKSON JR LICK, which shows him tipping bis hat to
funk legend, Jimmy Nolen (guitarist with James Brown), Based in € minor
pentatonic, i slips na sweet A note to imply a dorian vibe (C dorian - CD Bb FG A
14) inthe first bar's doublestops before movin into the second bar's sinile notes.
Although it des move at some pace, aim to add a stinging vibrato an the Ba note in
BAR 2. Rivilim plavers do occasionally use vibrato, you know!
d-m0 "1D
cm xa
EINE
"THIS ONE ISN'T A MILLION MILES AWAY from the first exa
uses a couple of pull:
trademark techniques.
nple, except it
intoa strong beat - one of Paul's more subtler
t=u0 Yd
on
10-8 #10)
RY omAVRY
vovmYA AS RyOoY Ymyms
82 Guitar Teinigues MAY 2003,THIS ONE IS REMINISCENT OF SOME OP PAULS mote sequiencer-like single note
Ticks that he has used to grace songs by Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross and George
Duke. Keep the notes tight with medium palm muting (too much and the notes won't
‘cut through due to thei low register). The prominent doublestops at the end of BARS.
and 4 act as ‘ils’ in te higher register imagine a vocalist drawing, breath here!)
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mye MYR oORYRY ORY
PART OF PAULS TRADEMARK SOUND dur the mid/late 80s was the use of
compression to even out his dynamies and sustain held notes better, Here the effect.
makes the siding doublestops: sound more like they were done by a
player using the pitch wheel (think Stevie Wonder!). Cool, eh?
mihesiser
ay 2003 Guitar Telugu 83WORKSHOP
CRETE
w
mn
SWITCHING BETWEEN BASS/GUITAR UNISON ideas and melodic lead fils is one of
Jacksons strengths and this lek demonstrates tow he ma
‘octaves and snappy thirds. For those keen on detail, I'd draw your attention to how
Paul often doesn't re-pick slides, relying instend on good fretting atthe end of ashe
and a studio compressor to even out articulation dynamics,
t-wo TS
0 this with chords,
ab eb
910-1010
jot
IS 1S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW HE MAY increase intensity for a songs outeo. Again
observe the picking directions closely and aim ta make a smooth connection.
between the two fretboard positions on the first and third repeats. Aru
tasty sliding fourths ~ they're straight fi i guitar playing as
Jaid out hy Curtis Mayfeldt
us for those
the textbook c
84 Guia Techies ay 2003,