Jun 25, 2021
On today's episode, I talk to bass guitarist and record producer
Melvin Gibbs. A native of Brooklyn, He has been called "the
greatest bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine and
was last year's winner of JazzTimes Magazine's Critics Poll in the
Electric Bass category. Melvin's wide-ranging musical resume
includes membership in bands ranging from the no-wave of Defunkt to
the avant-jazz of the Decoding Society, to Power Tools with Bill
Frisell & Ronald Shannon Jackson, Rollins Band (where he was
nominated for a Grammy), Socialybrium with Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
inductee Bernie Worrell, and the Zig Zag Power Trio with Vernon
Reid and Will Calhoun of the band Living Colour. As a bassist and
producer, he has worked with Femi Kuti, Caetano Veloso, dead
prez, David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, and Sonny Sharrock. He is
currently a member of the band Harriet Tubman, who The New York
Times twice called "The Best Jazz Performance" of the year, and his
latest album is 4 + 1 equals 5 for May 25, an EP he recorded
reflecting on the murder of George Floyd, was just released a
little while ago, and it's great!
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