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BigDaveOnBass
Zen Peach   Posts: 21514 (22016 all sites) Registered: 1/2/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 11/9/2004 at 11:46 AM |
With the anniversary of Brother B.O.'s untimely passing only two days away,
I thought this would be a timely and fitting tribute to one of the most
innovative bass players ever. - BDOB
Originally published in Bass Player magazine, January/February ’93
issue
In Memory of Berry Oakley
April 4, 1948 – November 11, 1972
By Ray Conrow
Berry Oakley, founding bassist of the Allman Brothers Band, died 20 years
ago after a motorcycle accident. He was only 24. But even after two
decades, Berry’s distinctive playing still rings true, filled with the
qualities of conviction, drive, swing and melodic ingenuity that made it so
widely admired in the 70’s.
A Chicago native, Oakley started out in his teens playing guitar in blues
clubs; after moving to Florida, he switched to bass while working with
Tommy Roe’s Romans. Berry then joined up with guitarist Dickey Betts to
play in several Jacksonville and Sarasota psychedelic blues-rock bands,
developing his sound along the lines of his west coast contemporaries,
especially Jefferson Airplane’s Jack Casady. Around that time, Oakley met
guitarist Duane Allman; the two became fast friends and played together on
several R & B sessions. In March 1969, Duane and his younger brother Gregg
got together with Oakley, Betts and drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. The
Allman Brothers Band was born.
The band’s eponymous debut mingled blues and Latin flavors with a jazz-like
openness, reflecting extensive listening to artists like Miles Davis,
Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the Crusaders.
(The original Allman Brothers Band albums have been released in various
forms and are now available on Polydor CDs.) The jazz influence is obvious
on Gregg’s spacey “Dreams,” where Oakley’s hypnotic ostinato is punctuated
by a soaring walk through the changes. “Don’t Want You No More” is typical
of the band’s faster jam tunes, with Berry marshalling an intricate
Caribbean rhythm under Gregg’s organ solo and then returning to a swinging
medium shuffle. Joe Dan Petty (bassist for the Lifters and Grinderswitch as
well as a veteran Allman Brothers roadie) recalls: “Berry played
sub-melodies, as in New Orleans jazz, that were impeccable, surprising, and
always entertaining. He was a very insightful guy.”
“Revival,” the opener to the band’s follow-up album, Idlewild
South, proves Petty’s point; Oakley’s part is clever and contrapuntal,
from the catchy three-note fills under the intro to the octave hop in the
verse figure, which perfectly compliments the rhythm guitars. Oakley’s
studio setup included stock Fender (usually Jazz) basses, flatwound
strings, and a Fender Showman guitar amp. An important part of his sound
was provided by a heavy thumb pick, which gave lots of bite to the high
notes and a woody plunk to the lows. Certain other elements of Oakley’s
style – slides, hammer ons and occasional four note chords – probably also
originated from his guitar-playing days.
On the great Live at Fillmore East album (1971), which shot the
Allman Brothers from a smoking regional outfit to the hottest rock and roll
band in America, Oakley’s playing eclipses his past work, and his sound is
loud and clear. By this time, he had switched to Rotosound roundwounds and
acquired a customized concert axe, a Jazz with the neck pickup moved back,
next to the bridge pickup, and replaced with a big, thick-toned soapbar
from Berry’s old Guild Starfire hollowbody (see photo page 9.) Petty
chuckles, “I thought that bass was a piece of sh!t – I called it ‘The
Tractor’ – but Berry really liked it. He always used it on stage.” The
output was split between a hefty Fender 400 PS amp driving four 2 X 15
Orion cabinets and the Showman, out of phase, for the top end.
On the live album, Oakley is both instantly responsive to the soloists and
tightly locked with the percussionists. Among the blues selections, Berry’s
churning shuffle under Duane’s slide at the end of “Done Somebody Wrong” is
a simple but tasty example. “Stormy Monday” features a spacious, logical
line, full of tension-and-release, that breaks into a buoyant double-time
walk under Gregg’s organ solo. On “Hot’Lanta,” Oakley shows off some
serious aerobatics in the 12/8 walking form, and “In Memory of Elizabeth
Reed” finds him at his best, from the atmospheric counterpoint against
Betts’s guitar intro, to the modal harmony under the head (emphasizing the
E-G-B triad within the Am9 chord), to the furious two octave climbs when
it’s time to hit the fuel – especially under Duane’s incendiary wrap-up
solo. “Whipping Post” gives us more fast, torrid playing; an especially
fine passage comes at the end of the freeform section, where Berry plays a
majestic foil to Betts before pouncing on the riff and driving it home.
The live “Mountain Jam,” on 1972’s Eat a Peach, shows Oakley’s
knack for deftly directing a group improvisation. Among the album’s studio
cuts, “Stand Back” is outstanding, with a serpentine bass line as well as a
fine Oakley solo. “Blue Sky” is notable for very free bass playing within
the framework of a country jam, and “Melissa,” recorded after Duane’s death
in October 1971, is a showcase for Oakley’s eloquent lead bass. In the
following year, Berry revised his live sound for the new lineup, stripping
elaborate lines down to straight walking parts played with lots of attack,
overdrive, and burning intensity. In his last weeks, he began working on
Brothers and Sisters (1973) and made in onto two tracks – that’s
Berry on “Ramblin’ Man.”
Lamar Williams succeeded Oakley and stoked the rhythm section for the next
few years, while the band was simultaneously enjoying its greatest
popularity and disintegrating. David Goldflies served steadfastly as
bassist during a reunion in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Today’s Allman
Brothers Band, truest in sound and spirit to the original, features
rip-roaring bassist Allen Woody, a serious connoisseur of the instrument
with a collection numbering around 120. Woody, who has high praise for all
of his predecessors, is also an enthusiastic fan of Berry Oakley, Jr., 20,
rightful owner of The Tractor, who has played live with the Brothers. “He’s
a great, together kid who looks and plays like his dad.” Commenting on the
senior Oakley’s playing, Woody talks in depth about equipment and
technique, but concludes: “It was his attitude, coming through his
fingers.”
***
Thanks to Jimmy Haslip for his insights and to Mama Louise (H & H
Restaurant, Macon, Georgia), chef to the stars.
____________________
"If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." ~
Conan O'Brien~
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raven
A Peach Supreme   Karma: Posts: 2936 (2990 all sites) Registered: 1/6/2003 Status: Offline
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posted on 11/10/2004 at 01:07 AM |
Nice read Dave.
and great pic of Berry jr. playing the tractor  in the other thread ____________________
"and the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply"
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bluedad
True Peach   Karma: Posts: 10639 (10761 all sites) Registered: 2/25/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 11/10/2004 at 01:32 AM |
Thanks for that Dave,
I think overall Berry Oakley is overlooked as a bass player and musician
because he had the "unfortunate" fate to be in a band with another guitar
legend that passed. Everyone knows who Duane is and not enough people
other than the fans know who Berry is. I miss Berry and I will be playing
my favorite Berry stuff for the next couple of days.
See you this weekend,
Peace,
John
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