"I'm just a regular guy". This is how Victor Bailey considers himself. Listening to Bailey's work, with Weather Report, on thousand sessions and two critically acclaimed solo records, however, removes any doubt that Victor can be anything BUT a regular guy. His versatile style and approach bring forward a solid musicality rooted in a life filled with music. " My entire family are musicians" " My father, Morris Bailey, wrote a bunch of hit songs in the '60s and '70s for people like Patti LaBelle , the stylistics and the Spinners. My uncle, Donald Bailey, is a jazz drummer who's probably best known as the original drummer in the Jimmy Smith trio. There was music around from the day I was born." His supportive family environment was amplified by the music reality of Philadelphia which has been the cradle for some of the most renowned bass players. But the bass wasn't Victor's first instrument. He started with the piano at age 7 and moved on to the drums at 10 years old. Only at age 15, a twist of fate introduced him to the bass guitar for the first time. " I played drums in a band at that time, but the guy who played bass didn't want to play with me anymore, because I was too serious about it. Everything had to be right, and finally he said 'I don't want to play bass with you any more'. So, a friend of mine got on the drums, and I picked up the bass. I had never played it before, but I could immediately play all songs. I understood the instrument." The '70s were the live-bands years and Victor mastered his craft in R&B and funk cover bands, however his love for jazz kept him open to any style and challenged him musically. "I'm a guy who's very big on groove and soul but I'm also very academic. So I was drawn to Alphonso Johnson, Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke. Weather Report and Return to Forever were my favorite groups. I could pick up a funk song very easily, but the stuff Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius were doing challenged and intrigued me intellectually. I'd play those records over and over again and try to figure those things out". "I was very conscious of developing my own voice on the bass" " When I started playing, there were basically three guys that players copied. The funk guys were all doing Larry Graham or Louis Johnson, and the fusion guys were doing Jaco. Even though I was influenced by all of those guys, I consciously thought, even at 15 years old "Okay, I'm going to learn what this guy is doing, but I want to sound like me". When Jaco Pastorius left Weather Report, Victor was only 19 and becoming his successor meant confronting himself with countless doubters. Fans and critics wondered how this kid could possibly replace the void left by Jaco, but Victor not only encountered the band's support but also the one of Jaco himself. "Some people were even trying to say I couldn't play. But Jaco would always tell people, 'Oh no, you better listen to this kid'. I love him forever for that". His collaboration with Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter and Omar Hakim took Bailey to a deeper understanding of jazz music creating the ideal environment for further development of his voice on the bass. He has made a mark in the top ranks of renowned bass players contributing to thousand of R&B, pop and Jazz recordings by a wide variety of artists from George Benson to Madonna to LL Cool J. Victor is focusing on his solo career while continuing working on and off with Joe Zawinul and the Syndicate. When asked whether he considers himself a jazz player he often says "I consider myself a bass player" confirming his openness to any kind of music. He shows the same attitude towards practicing and doesn't hide that he keeps fresh by avoiding to set a practice routine. "I practice everyday but there is no routine to it. I just sort of play. I might play a groove for a while, then I might play chords. I never know what I'm going to do when I pick up the instrument. I just keep it loose that way".
Courtesy
from
David Hamilton
Accouont rep
A2Z Entrainement Group
info@azz-iz.com
http://www.az-iz.com/Victor_Bailey_pages/index.html
|
