# John Patitucci finds the soul of the bass, alone and in excellent company: Video, Photo

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2019/06/28/john-patitucci-finds-the-soul-of-the-bass-alone-and-in-excellent-company-video-photo/
- Published: 2019-06-28T20:59:26+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**John Patitucci has long been easily identifiable by his warm, singing tone on 
the bass, and by the nimble authority of his playing. **

A linchpin of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and a longtime associate of Chick Corea,
he recently added an intimate new entry to his own discography: a first-ever solo
recording, _Soul of the Bass._

During a recent edition of the WBGO Yamaha Piano Salon in midtown Manhattan, Patitucci
performed selections from the album. “He’s been an innovator, whether playing his
beautiful antique acoustic bass or his hand-made (and also beautiful) electric bass,”
says Michael Bourne, who served as the program’s emcee.

Patitucci began the evening with several pieces from _Soul of the Bass_, including
the meditative title track and a saunter through Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not.” In
a concert highlight, he also played his stirring solo version of “Morning Train”—
signaling his deep feeling for the blues, and in particular the trailblazing hill
country bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell.

The variety of approaches and styles in Patitucci’s solo performance could easily
have made for a satisfying whole. But he came to the Yamaha Salon with two colleagues,
guitarist Steve Cardenas and pianist Jon Cowherd, each a composer and bandleader
in his own right.

Each musician joined Patitucci for an emblematic duet: “New Moon,” a drifting reverie
by Cardenas, followed by the spiritual “Since I Laid My Burden Down,” which Cowherd
dedicated to the memory of New Orleans legend Dr. John.

Then the musicians converged as a trio, playing a suite of three pieces from Cowherd’s
album _Mercy_, which was released in 2013 on ArtistShare. The Mercy Project, which
has toured widely, consists of Cowherd, Patitucci and Cardenas alongside drummer
Brian Blade. This special chamber-like reduction of the group played “Mercy Suite
Part One,” then “Baltica,” and finally “The Columns” — striking a deep chord of 
communion, and delivering no small amount of beauty.

The Mercy Project appears on Saturday at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival.

**MUSICIANS**

John Patitucci, acoustic and electric bass

Jon Cowherd, piano

Steve Cardenas, guitar

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.wbgo.org/sites/wbgo/files/styles/medium/public/201906/
patitucci_1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

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