Bakithi Khumalo

Bakithi Khumalo is a South African bassist, composer and vocalist who has worked with a wide variety of diverse artists including Gloria Estefan, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Harry Belafonte, Cyndi Lauper and Paul Simon. Khumalo is most known for his fretless bass playing on Paul Simon's 1986 album "Graceland".

He was born in the Soweto township of Johannesburg surrounded by relatives who loved music and actively performed, and got his first job at the age of 7 filling in for his uncle's bass player. During the summer of 2006 he played with Paul Simon on tour.

Discography

* "Step on the Bass Line"

A native of Soweto Township outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Bakithi Khumalo's musical career has been characterized by a series of serendipitous events, ranging from his debut gig as a precocious seven-year-old filling in for the bassist in his uncle's band to his enlistment into Paul Simon's group during the recording sessions of the pop star's landmark 'Graceland' album in 1985.

Khumalo creates a singular electric fretless bass sound that teems with double stops that sound like human voices and the African grooves of his homeland and has garnered him a stellar reputation as a sideman. In addition to touring with Simon on his current North American tour, he's also recorded and/or toured with the likes of Gloria Estefan, Chaka Khan, Harry Belafonte, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Josh Groban and Chris Botti.

Khumalo has also been active as a solo artist, with two fine albums to his credit (1998's 'San' Bonan' and 2000's 'In Front of My Eyes'), as well as three children's albums recorded with his wife, vocalist Robbi K. He breaks fertile new ground with his latest CD, 'Transmigration,' on Guru Project. "This record is me," says the leader, who is based in Long Island, New York. "On my earlier albums, I played a lot of African songs, for this new project, I wanted to show the other side of me. I wanted to try something different, to show my bass style, to play melodies on my bass and to showcase the wide range of music that moves me."

Produced by Chris Pati, who also performs throughout the disc, 'Transmigration' displays Khumalo's multifaceted talent in a variety of jazz-infused, deep-grooved musical settings including those steeped in contemporary/lyrical jazz, R&B funk and straight-ahead acoustic jazz (with Khumalo setting aside his electric bass for an upright acoustic) as well as an African rhythm jam.

"Every track is different." says Khumalo, who in addition to bass plays keyboards, drums and a variety of percussion instruments. "Some albums stick to having a certain sound, with all the songs having a similar feel but I wanted to show all the sides of my playing. Working with Chris was great because he allowed me the opportunity to be myself and just create." Khumalo says that Pati didn't approach the sessions with preconceived concepts in mind: "Chris told me, this is your record. You've got to go with what you feel."

Khumalo's bass-playing history began in Soweto where he grew up surrounded by music. His mother sang in a church choir and his uncle, a saxophone player, was always at his house rehearsing his band. "Every weekend, everyone would be at my house singing and playing all day." Khumalo says, "Plus there were bands on every block of my neighborhood. So, music surrounded me. There was traditional African rhythmic music as well as a cappella vocal groups. I picked up the bass early and realized I could follow the groove of a tune with it. I could play the bass lines from acappella music, and I learned how to develop lines based on the left-hand work of accordion players in the township bands."

However, it was an 18-month road trip with his uncle's band to Zululand when he was 10 that helped to solidify his bass voice. The band gigged as well as played at schools and hospitals, but got stranded there. During that downtime, Khumalo had a dream where he saw someone playing, using his thumb in a particular way. That set him on the path of bass discovery.

Khumalo says it wasn't until later that he heard people like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Bailey. And, of course, there was Jaco Pastorius, he says. 'I heard him, and I thought, hey, that's like me.'

While Khumalo became a professional at an early age in his uncle's band, life in apartheid South Africa posed many challenges; so many, in fact, that Khumalo began to look for work outside the music field. However, a producer friend introduced him to Simon, whose music he was largely unfamiliar with. Despite his nervousness in meeting the American pop star in a studio setting, Khumalo says Simon immediately gravitated to his bass style.

Khumalo's work on 'Graceland' opened the doors for him to pursue other avenues, including, recently, recordings with Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker and Cyndi Lauper. Plus, he hooked up with former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, who took the bassist on tour with him. 'Mickey was great, Khumalo says. There was no audition. He told me to pack up my bass and not to worry about learning the music because that would happen on the road. It was a great time.'

'Transmigration' opens with the lyrical beauty, 'Twilight Fire,' featuring the bass in a prominent role. The piece is a collaboration of Khumalo and Pati. I sent Chris tapes before the sessions of some of my ideas, Khumalo says. 'He came up with the groove and then I came up with the melody. We got together, and just locked in.'

The funk-inflected tune 'Step by Step,' based on a groove Khumalo had been working on it for a long time, didn't fully bloom until he brought it into the studio. I took it step by step, he says. The final step was bringing in saxophonist Morris Goldberg, a Cape Town horn player who had been the musical director for Rosie O'Donnell's TV show band, to add his lines to the mix.

The R&B/Jazz number 'Only Your Love,' a Pati composition, soars with the vocals of Penny Ford, a very talented singer that spent many years backing Chaka Khan, while the albums jazz-light sway through 'Looking Forward,' reminiscent of fellow South African Jonathan Butler's style, is another Khumalo piece developed in his home studio. The lyrical 'Light Rain' ended up being a family-affair tune. 'It's a song for my wife, says Khumalo. She's been a great inspiration for me. While I was working on it at home, my 10-year-old daughter, MBali, listened to it and suggested an organ part. She told me, 'If this is for Mommy, then I have to play the keyboard.'

Additional tracks on 'Transmigration' include the joyous, melody-rich 'Make Me Smile' and two numbers, 'Seems Like Old Times' and 'Your Point Being?,' that Khumalo says were unplanned studio journeys. 'I had no idea where these songs were going to go. I just told Chris, let's start and I'll see you at the end of the song. I kept the groove and he followed. We didn't have anything planned. We just jammed and then Chris later layered in parts.' The concept, Khumalo explained, was to employ the organic process used in previous decades in Jazz Fusion projects.

The aptly titled 'Trio' is Khumalo's acoustic bass tune (with a pulsing walking bass line) supported by pianist Bill Smith and drummer Damon Duewhite. 'This was also not planned out,' Khumalo explains. 'We developed this together in the studio. We played straight-ahead, starting slow, then speeding up and slowing down again at the end. I love playing the big bass.'

The finale on 'Transmigration' is 'Africa,' a return to Khumalo's Roots and a fitting end to the album. It's a solo excursion with bass, guitar, wood flute and percussion in the mix. 'I do this in concert, he says. I start my shows with percussion and chanting my traditional things. I always have that African groove in mind. So, in the studio, I told Chris, push the red button and I'll just play. I recorded the percussion part first, then the guitar part and ended with the bass.'

'Africa' is a pleasing reminder of why he decided to pursue a career in music in the first place when he was a child. He recalls how happy people were when they would play at his house and how he desired to do the same when he grew up. 'This song reminds me of people in the villages who celebrate life through the music, he says. Everyone has a good time, which is what this last song, and even the entire album, is all about, that is why this is a good song to end the album with. It's Africa, my way of saying that I'm going back home now.'