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Bass
player DEWAYNE PATE is so busy working as a sideman that it has
taken him 14 years and a pandemic lockdown to find the time to record his
second album as a leader. ON THE UPSIDE comprises funk,
blues, and fusion jazz tunes performed with a variety of instrumentations.
Besides being an in-demand bass player, Pate is also an accomplished
composer and included five of his original compositions.
Pate
released his first CD, Melting Pot, in 2008 featuring an all-star
band. Reviewer Andrew Gilbert called the album “an impressive array of
grooves.”
ON
THE UPSIDE
features an all-star band that includes ROBBEN FORD (guitar), BARRY
FINNERTY (guitar), CHRIS CAIN (guitar), STEF BURNS (guitar),
RAY OBIEDO (guitar), JIM NICHOLS (guitar), DENNIS
CHAMBERS (drums), BRIAN COLLIER (drums), JASON
LEWIS (drums), KEVIN HAYES (drums), PETER HORVATH (piano),
DAVID KIRK MATHEWS (synths, B3 organ), FRANK MARTIN (Rhodes,
synths), NORBERT STACHEL (tenor, soprano saxophones, flute), JOHNNIE
BAMONT (tenor, baritone saxophones), JOEL BEHRMAN (trumpet),
RITA THIES (flute), MIKE OLMOS (trumpet,
flugelhorn), MARC RUSSO (alto saxophone), MICHAEL SPIRO
(percussion), KARL PERAZZO (percussion), AMIKAEYLA GASTON (vocals),
TONY LINDSAY (vocals), JUAN LUIS PEREZ (vocals).
Pate is
a master of many styles and has performed around the world in a variety of
styles with many top acts, like Arturo Sandoval, Huey Lewis, Boz Scaggs,
Tower Of Power, Maria Muldaur, and Robben Ford, to name a few. Pate was
born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. His first gig was in his
grandfather’s country western band. His grandfather was a guitarist and
semi-professional musician, and the band performed at state fairs and other
public venues. Pate played some upright bass in junior high, and by the
time he was in high school, he wanted to play guitar in the school jazz
band. However, the band needed an electric bass player, so Pate switched
instruments. It was the beginning of his long and successful career.
After
graduating, Pate took some lessons from John Patitucci and went down to Los
Angeles to the Musicians Institute, one of the top music schools in the
country, where he studied with Jeff Berlin, the jazz fusion bass icon. He
also met drummer Patrick Ford and joined his band, the Ford Blues Band,
touring around the country and throughout Europe. Ford’s brother, Robben
Ford, one of the premier blues guitarists today, needed a bass player for
his band, and hired Pate at his brother’s recommendation. Pate spent two
years touring the world in Robben Ford’s band.
Pate
enjoys the comradery and creativity of playing with other musicians in the
band, but after being a sideman for so long, he felt it was time to express
his own musical ideas. With live performances shut down because of Covid,
he was finally off the road long enough to concentrate on his own music.
Pate
played the 4-string bass for most of his career but switched first to the
5-string and then the 6-string bass because he wanted to expand his musical
vocabulary, especially for jazz and fusion gigs. Pate quips, “Whenever I
show up for a blues gig with my 6-string bass, people look at me funny. But
for those gigs, I just play it like a regular 4-string bass.”
Pate
opens the CD with his composition “4 the 5 of It.” Written in 5/4 time, the
title is a play on words. The tune features Norbert Stachel on soprano sax
and a fiery drum solo by Dennis Chambers. Other Pate originals include
“Ellen,” a romantic ballad featuring a solo by Stef Burns on guitar
sounding much like Jeff Beck, and “Oliver’s Twist,” which was inspired by
Oliver Nelson’s writing and features a hip, extended bass solo by Pate.
“Blues for Monmouth” is another Pate original. He says, “This tune has my
dream rhythm section with Kevin Hayes on drums, Dave Mathews on organ, and
Robben Ford on guitar.” “On the Upside,” the title tune, is the final Pate
composition on the album. It’s a funky fusion number with the melody line
written on the upbeats.
Other
tunes on the album include “Iceman,” which has a funky organ/horn Tower of
Power groove. “Imperial Strut,” was written by Russell Ferrante of the
Yellowjackets. Ferrante’s original composition has a funk groove, but Pate
rearranged it with a 6/8 Latin feel. Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” is
rearranged here in 3/4 time with heartfelt vocals by Amikaeyla Gaston. The
band here has an organ trio feel but with Pate on bass rather than the bass
line played on the organ pedals. The album closes with Curtis Mayfield’s
“People Get Ready,” with Pate’s melodic bass playing pared with Gaston’s
soulful vocals and the subtle conga playing of Karl Perazzo, a long-time
member of Santana’s band.
From
jazz to fusion to Latin to funk to the blues, Dewayne Pate’s superb
musicianship has been an essential component of so many different
recordings and live performances that audiences may not have realized just
how accomplished and versatile he is. ON THE UPSIDE is a
musically rich, formidable introduction to Pate’s talents as a composer and
performer.
# # #
ON
THE UPSIDE is
set for release on March 3, 2023 and will be available everywhere.
WATCH:
"People
Get Ready" (feat. AMIKAEYLA GASTON )
Online:
Patebass.com
Youtube.com/channel/UCYH2-XAFQm9F-uGgRJpCvDQ
Facebook.com/dewayne.pate
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