Anthony Jackson – Contrabass Guitar

The G.O.A.T. – Anthony Jackson was and will always be a legend. The more time I spend transcribing this guy the more I respect his concept, ideas, technique – everything about him was pitched at the highest possible level. It is no wonder he was the first call guy for so many artists. One of these, the first performer I heard where I was aware that it was AJ was providing the bottom end, was Al Di Meola (the album was ‘Land Of The Midnight Sun’). By the time ‘Tiramisu’ came out (1987), I was buying these albums as they appeared (I still do as I love the stuff he does with his bands now – especially the acoustic stuff). The track ‘Arabella’ opens the album and has one of those vocal parts that came to define the Pat Metheny Group but, by the end of this tune, all guns are blazing. I very much doubt that any of us will be able to read this one through without several attempts and there are passages that are impossible. I am not happy with one bar near the end but I blame the recording! I just couldn’t hear what AJ was doing and had to make some assumptions.