Abraham Laboriel – Bass
A special request from a website user, I realised I hadn’t done any Abraham Laboriel transcriptions and then, having done this one, I remembered why. Laboriel is a profoundly idiosyncratic player and it is very hard to get some of what he does on paper. I have similar problems with Percy Jones and Stanley Clarke, amongst others. They just don’t cooperate and are all over the place with weird slides and thumps and whatnot!
Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player magazine called him “the most widely used session bassist of our time”. Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo Laboriel.
Laboriel was born in Mexico Cirt. His brother was Mexican rock singer Johnny Laboriel, and his sister is Mexican singer, film and television actress Ella Laboriel. Their parents were Garifuna immigrants from Honduras. The family was devoutly Catholic. His father Juan José Laboriel started as a cab driver but in the 1920s became an integral part of the entertainment business in Mexico as a founding member of the actors’, musicians’, composers’ and film worker’s associations, eventually becoming involved in over 200 films in various capacities.
Abraham received classical training as a guitarist, but he switched to bass guitar while studying at the Berkless College of Music, graduating in 1972. During this time, he learned the importance of versatility as a musician.
Career
Henry Mancini encouraged Laboriel to move to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a recording career, which he did in 1976. He struggled to find work for two years, before finding his first gig on a road tour with Olivia Newton-John. After a consequent European tour with Al Jarreau, Laboriel settled into a full-time studio career in Los Angeles.
Laboriel has also worked with Alan Silvestri, Alvaro Lopez and Res-Q Band, Alvin Slaughter, andrea Crouch, Andy Pratt, Andy Summers, Barbara Streisand, Billy Cobham, Chris Isaak, Christopher Cross, Crystal Lewis, Dave Grusin, Bebarge, Djavan, Dolly Parton, Don Felder, Don Moen, Donald Fagan, Dori Caymmi, Elton John, Engelbert Humperdink, Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, Hanson, Herb Alpert, Herbie Hancock, Johnny Halliday, Keith Green, Kelly Willard, Lalo Schifrin, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Leo Sayers, Lisa Loeb, Luis Miguel, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Nathan Davis, Paul Jackson Jr., Paul Simon, Phil Driscoll, Quiny Jones, Randy Crawford, Ray Charles, Ron Kenoly, Russ Taff, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Smith and Umberto Tozzi.
Laboriel was a founding member of the bands Friendship and Koinonia. With the latter, he recorded four albums.
In addition, he has recorded several solo albums on which he recruited a cast of musicians that included Alex Acuna, Al Jarreau, Jim Keltner, Phillip Bailey, Ron Kenoly, and others.
The requested tune is ‘Miles’ from the 2013 David Garfield album, The State Of Things. A tough read as it is fast, especially when the walking bass lines start.