Even the least funk-lovin’ listeners will get the urge to
move with the very first notes from Alain Caron’s bass. When it comes to the music of Mr. Caron, there
is simply no way to listen to his playing and not feel it. He is often quite
melodic, and sometimes muddy in the sound. But, first and foremost, he has that
all-important rhythm that you can’t resist and can’t ignore and I, for one,
can’t get enough of.
There’s not so much of the over-thinking that sometimes
accompanies a bass-led group so that, even on a full-length CD of original
compositions, I seldom get tired of the sound and style. That’s because there
is a finely-honed use of dynamics in tempos, tones, and textures, which
supplies a necessary freshness to Mr. Caron’s driving foundation. He slaps and
pops and solos creatively, yet, never losing that gotcha groove.
I was introduced to his playing in recent years as a radio
show host gave the lineup following a tune that had grabbed my ear and made my
body rock. Next, it was a matter of buying, and getting as gifts, several of
his CDs and enjoying the heck out of his music.
Then came the research to be sure I wasn’t missing any of
Mr. Caron’s discography. When had he started his career and what groups had he
played with? The first thing I found out was that he and a group called UZEB
(it was originally Eusebè-Jazz but later shortened) had been making wonderful
jazz fusion music in the late 1970s. Listening to it, I soon realized why, to
this day, that group has an ardent and extremely knowledgeable following. Some of
the finest representation of synthe-centric, fantastically-funky bass-driven
jazz fusion music came from this Montreal, Canada group. Just two examples of their many, many fine
performances are here:
And: Pork Chops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2GkPFMGLI
You may like the music of Alain Caron as much as I do, or
you may not. What will happen, I guarantee, is that you won’t be able to just
sit still when he’s playing.
Now, to give you a taste of his more recent recordings are
the following links:
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