(July 23, 2023) The best musicians are also good listeners. They know how to read the musical room and respond to what the other players are doing on the stage. And for bassis Paul Randolph, that musical empathy allows him to move from playing blues to performing with the jazz infused funk of the band Jazzanova
Randolph reflected on that during a recent interview with Nick Austin, who hosts the Soul Saturday radio program on WDET, Detroit’s NPR affiliate. Randolph told Austin that 1970s jazz fusion and funk (the bass performance in Slave’s 1979 his “Just a Touch of Love” is a Randolph favorite) greatly influenced his playing style, so when he took a job playing blues the band leaders wanted him to pull back.
“You’re playing too much,” they told him. He listened and adjusted, but Randolph listened as he played, and he thought about what adaptations and fills would work rather than what he thought might sound good (to him). Randolph was ready when the band leader told him to be himself. Randolph had a different challenge on “Let Me Show Ya,” his first performance with Jazzanova. The song had a lot of instrumentation and Randolph had to think about where the spaces in the music were and how to fill them.
Now Randolph is well into his own solo career. He has his own label, Sun Temple Records, and has a new song out called “Time 4 Us.” The tune is a blazing fusion of funk and rock that calls for Randolph to blend the lessons he’s learned throughout his career. Randolph deploys the subtle tempo switches on the bass that made drew him to funk hits like “Just A Touch of Love,” and retains that empathic ear that prevents him from doing too much while providing space of keyboardist Amp Fiddler and guitarist Michael Severson to do their things. Check out “Time 4 Us” by Paul Randolph here.
By Howard Dukes
Paul Randolph – “Time 4 Us”
