Funk Brother No. 1: The genius of James Jamerson, the bassist who helped create the Motown sound (by Mark Stryker)

[Mark Stryker]

A deep dive into the music and legacy of James Jamerson. Proud to have been able to write this for Tablet magazine, which gave me the space to really stretch out for nearly 5,000 words. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/funk-brother-james-jamerson

Edited August 21 by Mark Stryker

[T.D.]

Thanks, Mark. Highly informative. I knew a little about him but had no idea of the underlying story lines. 

Edited August 22 by T.D.

[JSngry]

Jamerson remains an archetype. If you don't know What's Going On inside out from the bottom (literally) up, you music education is fundamentally flawed. Simple as that.

Nice article, and thanks for not muddying the water with Carol Kaye ( much respect, but c'mon....)

[Big Beat Steve]

Motown and 60s Soul are a side note in my musical interests but this is really excellent and informative and expands everyone's knowledge. I've filed a printout of that article in my copy of the fat "Motown Soul & Glamour" book by Florent Mazzoleni and Gilles Pétard (Editions Le Serpent à Plumes 2009) where Jamerson is mentioned numerous times - but (as far as I can see) only for his presence in this or that group or session lineup.

[Dan Gould]

I did not know Tablet for doing this sort of piece. Good on them and thanks for alerting us Mark.

[Mark Stryker]

1 hour ago, Dan Gould said:

I did not know Tablet for doing this sort of piece. Good on them and thanks for alerting us Mark.

There's a culture editor there, Tony Badran, who is an avocational musician with real knowledge and some skills, who is responsible. He really likes my stuff -- we've never met but he has followed me for years on social media -- and the idea to do a story about Jamerson came from him unsolicited. He asked for 4,000 words and when I gave him nearly 5,000 he didn't even flinch. Believe me when I tell that's RARE. In July, Tablet published a big Louis Armstrong piece by Ethan Iverson that also ran through Tony.

I've got another piece coming in the October issue (2,000 words) that I think folks here will like too. (Apologies for being coy about the subject but it's not my place to reveal any details.)