Jimmy Haslip – Bass

Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Spanish was Haslip’s first language and he learned to speak English in kindergarten. Haslip moved to Huntington, New York when he was four years old. At age seven, he began playing drums and then moved onto other instruments such as trumpet and tuba until playing bass at age 15. Although he took music lessons and went to a private music school, he considers himself self-taught. He has said that he went to a local music shop with his father and purchased a right-handed bass (he is left-handed) and learned to play it upside down (without restringing).

Haslip has said he was surrounded by music as a young boy, from visiting nightclubs and concert venues to his peers. He explains that there was music in his house as well, from his older brother Gabriel listening to classic Jazz, his father listening to Latin and orchestra jazz and his aunt listening to “sappy stuff like Jerry Vale and Johnny Mathis.  In high school, Haslip created his first band called Soul Mine with his high school classmates, playing Soul music at school dances and parties.

In the early 1970s Haslip played with New York glam band Street Punk, he toured alongside musicians, and moved to Los Angeles in 1976, where he played with guitarists Tommy Bolin and Harvey Mandel. In addition to the Yellowjackets, he has worked with Jeff Lorder, Eric Mariental, Bruce Hornsby, Rita Cololidge, Gino Vanelli, Kiss, Allan Holdsworth, Donald Fagan and Anita Baker.

Haslip has released two solo albums, Arc and Red Heat in 2000. He was active with the Yellowjackets between 1977 and 2012.

In 2012, Haslip took a year-long hiatus from Yellowjackets, which later turned permanent. Haslip wanted to devote more time to his family and other musical projects. He was replaced in Yellowjackets by Felix Pastorius, the son of Jaco.

The track ‘Homecoming’ opens the 1985 Yellowjackets album, ‘Samurai Samba’. I chose it because it was mostly very easy to play (although there are some tricky fills here and there).