Rare Jersey-Centric Bass Project
Longtime Seattle bassist-composer Chuck Bergeron has worked with everyone from Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, James Moody, Stanley Jordan and Elvis Costello. His new album, Bass & Face: Duets With 10 Premier Vocalists (Summit Records) has him in duet mode, co-producing 13 tracks from Mingus to The Meters. Recorded, mixed, mastered and performed at Skyline Productions in South Orange, Bennett Studios in Englewood, as well as locations in New York and Florida, the performances are, in a word, perfecto. To hear the late Sheila Jordan, who recorded “Fair Weather” at the age of 95, is swoon-worthy. Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer gets two tracks, one of which, “When I Drink,” is the absolute highlight. Kevin Mahogany [1958-2017] did his two tracks just months before he passed. Pete McGuinness brings his scat to “Emily” (hear it below). Roseanna Vitro, George Rabbai, Lisanne Lyons, Deborah Silver (fresh off her Grammy-nominated project with the Count Basie Orchestra), Kate Reid and Nicole Yarling are the other faces.
The concept of just bass and vocal (with just a pinch of added accompaniment on a few tracks) is a rarity. As Bergeron says, “pianists and guitar players get to do that sort of thing all the time. The harmonic range of the bass is a bit more limited, so it’s rare that I get that opportunity—but I really loved it. It’s a really naked and vulnerable situation, and requires a different approach to playing the instrument.”