From the Bottom: The Bassists of THE NIGHTFLY (1982)

#bass #basshistory #analysis #bassgrooves #paulthompson
This videos talks about 5 amazing bassists--Anthony Jackson, Chuck Rainey, Marcus Miller, Abe Laboriel, and Will Lee--and their incredible bass playing on Donald Fagen's 1982 album "The Nightfly". We'll talk about each player, where their career was at the time they cut the tracks, what gear they used, and what they later had to say about the sessions in interviews. We'll also break down the basslines on each track and analyze what makes them so special. Join me in exploring one of the great albums #fromthebottom.

Anthony Jackson/"I.G.Y." - 1:57
Chuck Rainey/"Green Flower Street" - 7:37
"Ruby Baby" - 11:21
Marcus Miller/"Maxine" - 13:23
Abe Laboriel/"New Frontier" - 18:02
"The Nightfly" - 23:39
"The Goodbye Look" - 26:17
Will Lee/"Walk Between Raindrops" - 28:36

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[pdbass]

I apologize for not giving the great Roger Nichols the credit he deserved regarding WENDEL and WENDEL II. Donald Fagen and company were definitely beneficiaries of his genius invention!

[jimbomak]

The Nightfly is one of the best albums of the 80's. I was astounded when I first heard it. In my opinion it is Fagen's finest album.

[leonardos.]

I'm a (lousy) bass player, bought this sacred album and my Fender ‘Power Jazz Bass Special’ in the 80s. I took both dusty, almost forgotten objects out of the cupboard today and had fun like a child. Thank you so much. Best regards from Germany.

[Grayham]

Anthony’s glamour profession bassline is insane. It blows my mind

[sharkusvelarde]

One of the greatest albums, it is absolutely timeless. I listen to it every Saturday.

[StoryeTime]

I love this album so much and the song Maxine so much that I named my daughter after it ;)
Thank you!

[glenn]

Cheeesch, I thought I was the only person who had and wore out the cd. I just happened upon this video. Thank you for the lesson.✌🏻🤪

[danielventura]

The Nightfly is probably one of my most favorite albums of all time. I got it on vinyl in 82, then CD in 2011 now on mp3 today in this phone.

[markburgess]

Wow! I love your music history. I listened to most of the Dan albums when they came out but didn't understand them musically. Now after 50 years of playing bass, these extraordinary musicians deserve all the accolades, videos and print that can be mustered.

[gcrush]

Man, once again going straight to my heart. I spent the end of one semester in a friend’s basement in the middle of the night, writing my finals on his Mac and listening to this album on repeat. When I moved to NYC to start gigging, these five players were burned into my brain. Thanks again for another great one.

[SimoNaapuri]

Thank You very much! This is exactly what i was tried to explain todays studiomixer who thought that "Nitefly" is outdated...NOT! Warm Greetings from nearby the Arctic Circle, Finland, where, also, Jaco Pastorius´s granndma came from :

[charlesvanderhoog]

Thanks a lot for making revelatory video. To me, The Nightfly album is the pinnacle of what pop ever has achieved.

[edwardmetzger]

I love this album so much! It is so alive with imagery of the early 1960’s It is up there with Pet Sounds as my favorite

[nervo]

I Loved it in 82... still love it today...so glad you did this video...

[crashboombang]

Fantastic presentation! I graduated HS (barely) in '82 and jumped out on the road immediately to chase my dream. I brought one cassette along, this one. With lots of downtime, I listened until every song was in my DNA. It changed my approach to really locking in with the bass player no matter the situation. I started getting a lot of work because of this record and to this day, I'm inspired by all of these brilliant musicians, and one in particular. JTP 4Ever. Peace.

[grvmeister]

Very nice review! Every bassist on this landmark album deserves all the credit you mentioned. 'Massive talent that we have all learned from! One thing I would question. On "New Frontier" I am 99% sure that Abe played a Yamaha BB2000. I have seen videos of Abe playing a natural-finished one, and I also have owned one since the mid eighties. I'd know that sound anywhere!

[ronruck]

Cannot thank you enough for this, it is superb! I’m not a bassist, but this album has been one of my favorites of all time, and you analysis will take the entire record to another level of enjoyment for me. The cats you profiled here - all bass royalty - have given us all years of sonic pleasure. I have SO much respect for all the work you put into this presentation. Wish you all blessings my brother!

[gcam]

Absolutely great! Thanks for that. BTW, I have an early 80s Roland G33 bass that I bought on ebay, from someone in CA, a long time ago. It was highly modified and was a total hack, but in a good way, if that’s possible. It was defretted and routed for a bridge pickup, which was missing. It has added fret lines that suggest possibly microtonal markings. Anyway, I remember the seller assuring me that despite it’s current looks and condition, it “plays great”. Well, it was kind of true and I just felt a vibe from this thing that made me treat it as a relic with some unidentified historical value. I made a project of it and kind of finished it according to the intentions implied by the unfinished mods. It really turner out amazing, IMHO. I know that “someone”would have been grateful and I’m wondering if anyone might have an idea of “who”, possibly of session fame, might have been messing with such a bass back in the day. Any ideas?

[PhilipvanderMatten]

I'm probably not that into bass playing as most of the viewers here, but I found this video very interesting and entertaining and very well recorded. Oh, of course I love Steely Dan and Fagen!

[scottmorales]

The Nightly is my favorite album of all time and Donald is my favorite song writer of all time.