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Joe
Zawinul Italian Fansite Interview
to Victor Bailey M:
First many thanks Victor for accepting our interview. Can
you tell us something about your first approaches with the
bass instrument? V:
I started playing in 1975.From the very beginning I played
every style of music-Funk,r&b,fusion,jazz,rock.I was
always interested in every different approach to the
instrument.I was looking for unique things from the very
beginning as well.But I always put special importance on
feel and groove. M:
Why did you choose to play bass? What are the
characteristics of that insrument that fascinated
you? V:
I was playing Drums in a band and the bassist quit the band
right in the middle of rehearsal so I said "ok,I'll play
bass".And I had never played before but I picked the bass up
and played all the songs right away.So there was no question
what I should do after that. M:
What do you remember about your beginnings with jazz
music? V:
My father is a saxophonist and arranger so I had great jazz
musicians in my house every day.Jazz is not something where
there was any big,special moment when I discovered it.It was
always there and I always played it. M:
What are the musicians who mainly influenced your music and
your way to play bass? V:
My music is influenced by everyone I have ever heard.Name
any great jazz,funk or r&b musician,they're an influence
on my music.Bass playing wise,Stanley Clarke,Jaco Pastorius,
Alphonso Johnson,Larry Graham,Paul Chambers,Ron
Carter. M:
What are the experiences that you consider most important
for your musical formation, before joining the Weather
Report? V:
The most important moments in my life are times hanging with
my father Morris Bailey Jr. as a kid.My father composed some
great r&b hits in the 60's and 70's for artists such as
Patti Labelle,The Stylistics,The Spinners,Nina Simone,Billy
Paul just to name a few.My fathers brother,Donald Bailey was
the original drummer in the Jimmy Smith Trio.So we had a
parade of great jazz guys coming to our house on a daily
basis. Also I had been a working musician since I was ten
years old,starting on drums. So by the time I joined Weather
Report I had done hundreds of gigs including playing with
cats like Roy haynes,Sonny Rollins Hugh Masekela and Miriam
Makeba to name a few. So I was young when I joined Weather
report,but I was no rookie. M:
Can you tell us the story of your first approaches with
Zawinul and Weather Report? V:
I was playing with South African vocalist Miriam Makeba and
Omar Hakim played on two shows with us.After the second show
he told me he had the gig with WR,that Jaco had left the
band.He gave me Zawinul's address and told me to send him a
tape. I taled to joe on the phone before he got the tape and
he said "I haven't heard you yet but you're the guy I gonna
hire.I can feel it".As soon as he and Wayne Shorter listened
to the tape they called and I was in. M:
You was only 19 at the time, and you had the unenviable task
to replace Jaco Pastorius in the band... V:
What's "UNenviable" about getting the gig with WEATHER
REPORT after JACO PASTORIUS? On the contrary,it was a very
ENVIABLE position to be in. It's really interesting, it's a
very recent developement that people are asking what it was
like to play with WR after Jaco as if I had something to
worry about. Nobody asked me that at the time,or until very
recently. If I wasn't as secure as I am I could almost find
the question insulting. Maybe I think I'm better than I am
or something but there isn't a man dead or alive that I
would have any problem picking up a bass after,now or EVER.
I stood on the bandstand more than a few times with Jaco (he
sat in with WR once and around NYC at that time everyone sat
in on everyone else's gig) and believe me,I had NOTHING to
worry about then or now.And I say that humbly and with all
due repect to Jaco as the great innovator of the instrument
that he is. But I didn't get the gig for nothing.My role in
the band was to function more as part of the rhythm
section,which was exactly what was needed after five years
of such a dominating bass presence as Jaco.That wasn't my
choice.If were up to me I would have been playing solos and
melodies on everything too. But that wasn't what was asked
of me.And the response to the new more functional role of
the bass was overwhelmingly positive. M:
What can you say about your relationship with Omar Hakim at
the time? V:
Omar and I didn't really know each other at the time we
joined the band.We had just played together a few times.But
we always knew that we had a special connection when we
played.because of that connection there was always a deep
mutual repspect and out of that respect has grown a great
friendship.That's my brother! M:
There is a video of one of your first concerts with WR at
Playboy Jazz Festival 1982. You were playng mainly the "old"
WR repertoire from the previous albums; also it was a
participation of Manhattan Transfer to that concert... What
do you remember of that period? V:
Actually we NEVER played "old " music when we joined the
band.At the end of the show we did a medley of old tunes as
an encore.But that was about it.We did play one tune from
the previous band called "Fast City" but other than that we
played all new music.. There's a video clip where you see us
playing that medley and if that's all you see you might get
a different impression.but that was about five percent of
what we were doing. M:
And then the recording sessions of "Procession". By the way,
for me it's one of the best WR albums. What do can you tell
us about these sessions and the subsequent
tour? V:
The only thing i can say about that time is that my head was
spinning!I told everyone since I was 16 years old "I'm going
to play with WR after Jaco" and it happened!So I was in
heaven.I was just out of Berklee College of Music about a
year so I felt like i was still in school. The best one on
earth!
M:
There are in circulation some videos of the 1983-84 period.
The band seems to be at its best, very creative, a lot of
new compositions.... V:
The live version of our band was much better than any of the
records we made.This was a great period for Joe and Wayne
because there was a lot of room for expression.With Jaco
there was a tendency to always fall into the "burning", high
energy thing,but with us Wayne could get back to that thing
where he plays three notes in five minutes and says more
than most people say with a hundred notes! M:
People say that "Sportin' Life" can be considered one of the
best WR albums, comparable with Heavy Weather, but the
musical world was changed and that album had a limited
success with public. What is your opinion about
it? V:
The only difference between Heavy Weather and every other WR
album is that it had a bonafide hit single (Birdland).That
and that alone is the difference in sales not of WR
albums,but ANYBODY"S albums.A hit is a hit,and Birdland is a
true hit.
M:
What were for you the causes of the end of the
Zawinul-Shorter collaboration with Weather Report? And why
did you decide to continue the partnership with Zawinul into
Weather Update? V:
You'd have to ask Joe and Wayne that.As for me there's no
real separation between WR and W Update.We were supposed to
tour and Wayne wasn't going so we kept going and that's
it.
M:
You had also an experience with Steps Ahead, what can you
tell us about it? V:
The first Steps Ahead band I played with was a KILLER!
Michael Brecker,Mike Mainieri,Chuck Loeb,Peter Erskine.That
was one of the few bands I've played with where I was
totally ready to go out on stage every night,and knew we
were going to kill. It was just one of those groups where
the chemistry was just right.It's the only thing I've done
that comes close to the musical highs I used to get with
WR,aside from my own band. M:
And then you was the Madonna's bassplayer for 7 years. It's
a very different kind of music! Can you tell us something
about your first contacts with Madonna and about your
experience in these years? V:
Madonna is a very different kind of music than WR but that
doesn't mean it's a different kind of music for me.WR was
Joe and Wayne's music.I'm honored and blessed to have been a
part of it but it's something I did,not who I am. Before
during and after WR I've done tons of pop,r&b and hip
hop records,so the idea of me playing with a pop star is
nothing unusual.Anyone who bought a lot of other kinds of
records besides fusion knew that I wasn't just a fusion guy.
Madonna knew my work in all different areas of music,and
when she called me it wasn't because I could solo.It was
because I could give her what she needed,a big humongous
pocket,and play damn good synth bass as well. M:
Then you resumed your collaboration with Zawinul into the
Zawinul Syndicate and it was a great period for this band.
Why did you choose to play again with Joe, and what are your
memories about that period? V:
In 1997 the head of our label ESC Records asked if I would
be interested in playing with Joe.Of course i said yes.I
hadn't done anything as inspiring as playing with him since
WR.So I was happy to join him.It's been great.
M:
In 1999 you released also a solo album with ESC Records,
Lowblow. It was your first solo album after 10 years, and
you played also a Jaco tribute (Do You Know Who/Continuum).
What can you tell us about that album? V:
Just listen to it and whatever you feel that's what it
is. M:
Then you started also your own band. What are your comments
about it, and you're planning to continue your activity with
that band? V:
It's difficult in this time to start a band.The music I do
doesn't sell a million records, and if you're not on tv with
videos or on radio it can be tough to get a band started.but
I had a very successful tour so I know I can do it. Of
course I'll do my own band when we can get things
going. M:
What are your general opinion about Joe Zawinul, as man, as
musician, as friend...? V:
He's a great guy and a great friend.And a very great
musician of course. Victor
Bailey's biography
An
accomplished composer with an inherent musicality that goes
well beyond the bass, Bailey strikes a nice balance between
virtuosic chops and solid tunesmithing on Lowblow, his
second recording as a leader and his debut on ESC Records.
Although it has been ten years between albums (his Bottom's
Up on Atlantic came out 1990), the timing of Bailey's
Lowblow is right on the money. "In the last 20 years, by the
time that my generation of guys was mature enough to become
artists, everything became so different," he says. "Straight
ahead became the sound of 30 or 40 years ago. And electric
music became smooth jazz. I think a lot of us reached a
point where we got fed up. I hadn't made a record in ten
years because every label wanted the radio thing. It took me
that long time to run into a label guy (ESC Record's Joachim
Becker) who would let me just play my bass and record the
music I wanted to record." In
tandem with a pair of unparalleled drummers in Omar Hakim
and Dennis Chambers, Bailey grooves with authority on tunes
like "Sweet Tooth", "Knee-Jerk Reaction" and the exceedingly
funky Larry Graham tribute "Graham Cracker". Special guests
Bill Evans and Kenny Garrett contribute their own virtuosity
on soprano sax while stellar support is also given by Wayne
Krantz on guitar, Jim Beard, Michael Bearden and Henry Hey
on keyboards. The burning samba flavored "Brain Teaser" is a
stunning showcase of Victor's single note prowess while the
lovely, melancholy ballad "She Left Me" features some of his
most lyrical playing on the record. He affects a warm,
rounded upright bass tone on the piano trio ballad
"Babytalk", which features Jim Beard on the Wurlitzer piano
and Dennis Chambers flaunting some supple brushwork. The
title track highlights Victor's vocal scatting in union with
his tight, staccato basslines and "Feels Like a Hug" is a
melodic vehicle underscored by cleanly picked arpeggios and
synth bass while also featuring some two handed tapping
excursions on Victor's solo. Easily the most inspired track
on Lowblow is Bailey's vocal treatment of the Jaco
Pastorious signature piece "Continuum". Having memorized the
song and the solo note for note when he was still a
teenager, Victor would later put heartfelt words to the tune
in memory of the late, great bassist who was such a towering
influence on so many players. "I wrote those lyrics about a
week after Jaco died," says Victor. "I can't even say that I
wrote it... it just came through me. I wrote the lyrics
exactly as they are in about ten minutes. I didn't change a
word from that first writing. They just kind of flowed out
and it just happened. Of course, I knew the whole thing
intimately because I spent half of my childhood practicing
it. Every day after school I had my routine of things that I
would do. And one was to play 'Continuum'. I mean, I layed
that song every day. To this day I can put that record on
every day and listen to it. So I really knew the solo well
and it seemed like the words already there. It was one truly
inspired moment. It just happened and I'm very proud of
it." A
native Philadelphian and current resident of Los Angeles,
Bailey is a link in that long lineage of Philly bass that
has produced such extraordinary players as Jymie Merritt,
Tyrone Browne, Alphonso Johnson, Stanley Clarke, Jaco
Pastorious, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Charles Fambrough, Gerald
Veasley and Christian McBride. And yet, he maintains that
his mission on Lowblow went beyond that deep bass tradition.
"The main thing that I'm trying to show as a recording
artist is that I'm not a bass player," he maintains. "I
don't play the bass, I play music. It just so happens that
the instrument that I specialize in is the bass. In this
post-Jaco and Stanley Clarke era, there've been a lot of
records with a lot of phenomenal bass playing on them but
not as much phenomenal bass music... things like Jaco's
'Teen Town' and 'Baha Mama' or Stanley's 'Schoold Days',
which hold up as great pieces of music in spite of the fact
that they were done on the bass. And on this recording I
really wanted to show the music that I have inside of me and
show that I'm more than a bass player but also a writer,
arranger and composer." Growing
up in a musical household (his father Morris Bailey was a
respected saxophonist and writer-arranger for many of the
acts on Philadelphia Sound Records), Victor was exposed at
an early age to a constant flow of great Philly musicians.
"I can't say that I really had any mentors, per se, but I'd
come home from school and my father would be there
rehearsing with guys like Tyrone Browne. So naturally
hearing somebody like that when you're 16 and you'd been
playing for only a year... it was inspiring to me. After
Tyrone would leave I'd want to stay up and practice until
midnight... like six hours straight. So he was a big
influence on me though I wouldn't say mentor." While still a
teenager, Victor honed his chops on local gigs with the
likes of organist Shirley Scott and jazz drumming great
Mickey Rocker. "Philly is a great place to get your
musicality together," he maintains. "The standard of playing
is so high and there is so much competition. But it's a
great education. If you're 16 and you think you can play and
you wanna go to a jam session, you gotta get up and play
with the older cats who run all of the club scene. So you
have to learn how to play tunes and you have to learn how to
play changes. You never step on the stage in Philly unless
you really got it together." Larry Graham was a particular
bass hero of his in those formative years. "I was a Larry
Graham nut before I ever played bass," says Victor. "I
played drums when Graham Central Station first came out. I
went to see him at the Capitol Center in D.C. and just to
sound of the bass alone... it was the first time I had ever
heard anybody slapping, and just the sound of the bass was
in my head for weeks. I knew he was hitting the bass in some
kind of way but my seat was so far back, I really couldn't
see what he was doing. But the tone of the bass being
slapped and humped was just so phenomenal to me." "And like
most guys of my age who are known as jazz guys, I grew up
playing in a funk band, covering tunes by Larry Graham, Kool
& The Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bootsy Collins. I
kind of always played it in a real jazzy style and over time
it sort of just became what it became." After
a stint at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Bailey
migrated to the New York scene. It was on his first
recording date in town, guitarist Bobby Brown's Clean Sweep
(GRP), that he met drummer Omar Hakim. They also did two
gigs with singer Miriam Makeba before joining Weather Report
in 1982. "As far as chemistry, it was immediate," says
Victor. "It's that thing that every drummer and bass player
dream of. You have certain guys that you just hook up with,
and with Omar I never have to think about where the time is,
where the groove is, where the feel is. We just play and
it's like instant communication. I think we have a good
combination of the virtuosity and the education and the
heart and the soul and the groove and all that, in equal
proportions to each other. I think our styles fit each other
because we're both funky but we're not really funk guys, and
we're jazz but we're not really jazzy guys. When we get
called for something and we know that the other guy is on
the gig, we instantly know that it's going to be happening,
it's going to be grooving and there's going to be a lot of
energy. If it's an improvising situation it's going to be a
lot of fun improvising. It it's a groove thing like Madonna
was, it's going to be a GROOVE thing... capital letters,
please." The
Madonna gig came after her 1982 appearance on "Saturday
Night Live". As Victor explains, "They were just putting a
rhythm section together for her appearance on the show and
she knew who we were and asked the musical director to see
if he could get us. So we did that show and she really
enjoyed it and she said at the time 'Whenever I do a tour,
I'm gonna use you guys.' And we were surprised at how hip
she was. I mean, like, at the end of a songs at rehearsal
we'd play certain things and she'd turn around and say
'Don't play that Weather Report shit at the end of any
tune'. And we both said to her, 'You know about that?' And
she sure did." Considering his deep-seated love of groove,
Bailey was fulfilled in the pop setting of Madonna's music
as he was in the jazzier realms of Joe Zawinul's world beat
fusion music. "That is something that I've always been
fighting, that notion that I'm a jazz guy," he says.
"Fortunately, I've been able to transcend some of the
boundaries. I mean, I'm just as happy laying it down with
Madonna, and in her band I'm playing with the same heart and
the same passion that I play with Joe." While he remains the
bass anchor in the Zawinul Syndicate, Victor also eargely
awaits the opportunity to spread the bass gospel on tour
with his own band. "There's a whole new generation of kids
out here who have never seen Jaco or Stanley Clarke. That's
like my slot now, that's my audience right there. There's a
whole new audience that I can turn on to that genre, that
thing. It's like I'm carrying the torch. For real. I'm at
the age where I'm one of the torchbearers." Victor carries
the torch in fine fashion on Lowblow (Bill
Milkowski) SELECTED
DISCOGRAPHY Solo
Album Bottom's
Up - Atlantic With
Weather Report Procession
- CBS With
Steps Ahead Magnetic
- Electra Musician With
Bill Evans Escape
- ESC Records With
Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate World
Tour - ESC Records With
Michael Brecker Now
You See It, Now You Don't - GRP With
Lenny White Present
Tense - Hip Bop Records Victor
Bailey Biography courtesy of EMMECI Srl Click
HERE to read the transcription of our live chat session with
Victor Bailey - June 17th of 2001 Many
thanks to Victor Bailey for releasing us this interview.
Clicca qui per la versione
italiana di questa pagina
Interview with Victor Bailey
June
2001
by
Marco Piretti
The
Weather Report group in the "Procession"
era
The
last incarnation of Weather Report, 1984
Victor
Bailey with the Weather Update, circa 1986
Photo by Fabio Di Biagio
Victor
Bailey with the Zawinul Syndicate
A
true champion of the electric bass guitar, Victor Bailey has
distinguished himself as one of the greats on that
instrument in the service of Weather Report, Weather Update,
Steps Ahead, The Zawinul Syndicate and Madonna. As a leader
he brings his impressive facility and undeniable groovepower
to bear in the service of his own songs.
Domino Theory - CBS
Sportin' Life - CBS
This is This - CBS
NYC - NYC Records
Touch - ESC Records
For more info about Victor, see his official
website
(currently under construction)