Below the Bassline

by Ernest Ranglin

Overview

Below the Bassline is a successfully smooth integration of traditional reggae and jazz: two music forms that may not immediately spring to mind when contemplating the flawless mixture of music styles. However, the collective featured in this album -- and Ranglin (a reggae and ska rhythm innovator) is a chief among them -- plays 55 minutes of island tree-swaying, soul-backed precision. Ira Coleman's bass playing is not the focus of this album, even though the title seems to suggest so. Nor does the focus of this album fall upon the popular funk and fusion (and yes, even disco) drummer Idris Muhammad. In fact, there is only one brief drum solo by Muhammad on Below the Bassline, and it is the first thing you hear. Muhammad opens up "Congo Man Chant" with a snare-laden solo whose rhythm quickly involves Ranglin and Coleman, who collaborate to play eight bars of a rapid but laid-back bassline. Monty Alexander jumps in with the piano and brings Ernest along with him as they determine what ends up being the refrain for a moving piano solo sandwiched between two adept Ranglin solos. There are two ska rhythm selections on this album, "Ball of Fire," on which Roland Alphonso plays saxophone, and "Bourbon Street Skank," which features some of Ranglin's most dexterous playing (also heard on "Nana's Chalk Pipe"). The title track is immediately identifiable as reggae, with its organ stabs on the down side of the beat, Muhammad's gentle but consistent treatment of the hi-hats, Ranglin's lyrical playing on the guitar, and the overall slow, relaxed tempo and feel of the tune. It is an accurate capsule of Below the Bassline, another testament to the skill of the legendary Ernest Ranglin and the other musicians featured here. ~ Qa'id Jacobs

Product Details

Release Date:	04/28/2023
Label:	Imports
UPC:	0602448714022

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ernest Ranglin   Primary Artist,Guitar
Roland Alphonso   Guest Artist,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Monty Alexander   Guest Artist,Piano,Melodica
Idris Muhammad   Guest Artist,Drums
Ira Coleman   Bass (Acoustic)
Gary Mayone   Keyboards,Percussion

Technical Credits

Augustus Pablo   Composer
John Dent   Mastering
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd   Composer
Frederick Hibbert   Composer
Toots Hibbert   Composer
Ernest Ranglin   Composer
Roydel Johnson   Composer
Mark Van Den Bergh   Coordination
Robert Michael Johnson   Composer
Linford Elijah Manning   Composer
Steve Barrow   Liner Notes
Trevor Wyatt   Executive Producer
Donald Manning   Composer
Miriam Gonzales   Assistant Engineer
Andrew Page   Engineer
Winston Rodney   Composer
Leslie Kong   Composer
Johnny Clarke   Composer
Mark Wilder   Mixing,Engineer
Bunny Lee   Composer
Robert Schwartz   Assistant Engineer
Monty Alexander   Producer
Anson Dawkins   Composer
Cedric Myton   Composer