The one thing you really notice about the very, very best musicians is that they are NEVER short of praise for other performers, producers, engineers, and people who make them sound their best. It's the insecure amateurs who spend all their time talking about themselves. The very best spend so much time talking about the people they admire. You can really hear the whole world of music and musicians that went into making these masters who they are.
It was the bass playing that first caught my ear when I first heard "You Can Call Me Al" that caused me to run, not walk, to the record store to buy "Graceland". I just couldn't get enough of it, that bouncy joy which makes that album sound tremendous.
I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel. As an adoptee with African heritage, Graceland was one of the first albums that connected me to the motherland. Thank you Bakithi!
This MAN has nothing but kindness and gentle words not only for the people who influenced his work, but also for those who worked with him. We all have so much to learn from people like this. Thank you so so much!
Also I could just listen to Bakithi all day long he has such a beautiful voice and such a wonderful personality. And of course he plays majestically too one of my major influences I have to say.
I grew up with the Graceland album always playing in the house or car. We loved "Call Me Al" because the youngest among us was my brother Alan and we would always point to him and single him out as kids. Now this song stays in our heart, my brother passed away May 10th a few years back. And now we learn that is the calendar date that Bakithi added the bass solo....
I was just starting to learn Bass When I heard Paul Simon Call Me Al Video. Bass Solo blew my mind. Then I got chance to see Graceland Concert in Africa, I finally saw who the Bass Player was. Loved the Bass Playing on that Concert.
Hard to hear this sweet man talk about how many of the people he made Graceland with are gone now.I'm very glad & grateful he's still with us. I'm scouring RU-vid now looking for gear & tracking tips on bass tracks to improve my bass sound on my next album, and Bakithi Kumalo was hands-down the first or second bass player I thought of by name. A humble man who somehow manages to serve the song he "plays behind" and deliver unbelievably iconic bass lines at the same time.
Wow. A great ambassador of humility and humanity. Like many others, I was blown away by how musical and percussive his playing is. Learning diamonds on the soles of her shoes was like learning a completely new instrument. Thank you Bakithi, and thank you Scott for this format and bringing such as amazing guest. Inspiring.
I grew up listening to Graceland, it was my favorite music when I was a kid, especially Boy in the Bubble. Bakhiti is not the reason why I started play bass (Steve Harris is) but definitely one of my heroes. Legend on his own rights. When he said "menories ..." I had a tear in my eye too.
I have enjoyed these bass lines by this dude for decades. Only saw him in a couple live videos. I am so grateful to see him for who he is as a human. I'm enamored.
Love all the Bakithi videos. Grew up lisyening to Graceland. I've loved this guy and his lines since childhood. Literally before I even knew what a bass was.
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes is my favorite baseline of all time, hands down. I'm shocked it's not talked about enough, especially when there's a whole version of Diamonds with just bass and Acapella vocals
I remember there used to be a video on youtube with Bathiki playing the bassline solo on a fretless - if Bathiki did a solo cover of everything on graceland, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I'm honestly not much of a Paul Simon fan... but Bathiki made the album one of my favorites.
Probably one of my top three bass players, Abraham Laboriel and Jaco Pastorious being the other two. I had tears in my eyes listening to him speak...the knowledge, the experiences and his humbleness spoke to my emotions. Bless you Mr. Kumalo. You are among the greats.
Bloody brilliant! I remember watching the SA Paul Simon gig in the 80's as a kid and there he was, Fretless bass, shades and Afro....1st song they played "Boy In The Bubble"...
I've been listening to bass players for as long as I can remember and I think Bakithi Kumalo is my absolute favourite of all time, ever since I first heard the Graceland album. And he seems to be a very friendly and down to earth guy too.
Love love love this!! Bakithi Kumalo was such an influence on me when Graceland came out but I never really realised it. His sound is so distinctively him, especially the fretless work. Love this concept so please do more Scott. Michael League would be awesome but you know who the players are so surprise us. Who would YOU like to do?
In general, this is a great format. It doesn’t even have to be insanely popular players, tho that’s great. I just love hearing bassists talk about their craft and influences. We’ve got plenty of videos out there about Internet personalities talking about great bassists, but if you can do this as a standard format for featuring working or once working bassists who talk about the players that influenced them, I think it’d deepen the channel’s appeal and create vids tailor made for sharing and repeat viewing. As a player who started as a 13 year old in 1989, I’m continually blown away at the state of bass playing in 2021. Back in the day, people used to give me side eye when I’d say, “I play bass.” Nowadays, more and more people recognize the significance of the instrument and pay more attention to bassists. Your channel along with several others has helped do this. I hope you consider continuing this video format and take my feedback. We don’t always have to hear from already popular bass players. There’s a lot to mine from underground and indie acts from the 90s and 00s that have gone untapped and unfeatured. Not saying they’re all somehow “amazing” players in the sense of a Pastorius, Wooten, Dey, Flea, Thundecat, etc. but they’re all players that we can appreciate, learn from, or just be exposed to.
right now he is performing live in East Setauket New York... right near me... for all days for my car to fail!... I'm stranded at home... luckily wUSB is broadcasting it live... (in between sets he's teaching kids bass off stage)
This might be one of the most valuable music-learning videos I've ever seen on the internet, and I've spent a LOT of time learning music on the internet.
What a lovely soul, and such an inspiring bass player! Every bass player should listen to Graceland. And possibly learn a couple of Bakithi's wonderful bass lines!
I recall seeing Bakithi on the live broadcast of the "Live in Central Park" show. I was so excited to see him live. At the time 19 year old me had no idea of how to pronounce his name. As a result he will always be "Uncle Funkypants" in my heart. GREAT player!
Wow, Graceland is a favorite album, and this vid opened my eyes (ears) to why I like it so much. The bass lines lines carry so much of the beat and groove that you can just feel it. Thanks for the vid!
I wonder how many of them will be as inspiring, enlightening and considerate as this giant but _hell yes_ why would I not want hear more such insights? I recall Ron Thal and Billy Sheehan do something similar and it’s just great! I also loved that you did not constrain it only to other people’s lines - why should he not love his own playing, it’s gorgeous and influential!
I'm a bass player that has been a fan of Bakithi Kumalo since the '80s. He has a number of albums of his own music, and its quite good. He pulled off the bass solo for "You Can Call Me All" pretty well, twice, in the 1987 Harare concert. Already knowing that the album recording was doubled and reversed, it was quite impressive.
His right hand seem to be so rigid. He looks tense but can still play with accuracy ! Incredible player, really ! Did not know much about him to this day so thanks Scott !
Bakithi seems like such a beautiful calm person, as well as a monster iconic player. Those African musicians also know rhythms so much better than most western players. Love this video ! FYI my Scott’s Bass Lessons name is MantisKungFu. Peace !
Really cool video! 86 comments, so not sure if anyone recommend Geezer Butler, but he'd be very interesting to see and hear, what influenced and still influences him. Thanks Scott!
