John Perry – Bass

The man who ‘invented/ the Wal bass (reportedly, Ian Waller, a friend of Perry’s, built the first Wal bass to his specifications). John G. Perry is an American-born British bass player and singer. He was born in the U.S. to British parents and moved back to the UK when he was young.

In 1973–74 he played with Caravan, with whom he recorded one studio album and one live album. He also appears on various collections of BBC radio recordings released in subsequent years. He left Caravan to concentrate on a new band venture, Quantum Jump, led by keyboardist, vocalist and producer Rupert Hine, and consisting of musicians who had initially assembled to play together on studio sessions. The band had a belated hit with a re-release of their single “The Lone Ranger”.

In 1976 Perry released his first solo album, Sunset Wading, with an all-star cast of Geoff Richardson (Caravan) on viola and flute, Rupert Hine on keyboards and production, Michael Giles on drums, Morris Pert on percussion and two members of the Italian jazz-rock band Nova. The album was well received and moderately successful, and the same line-up recorded a follow-up album, Seabird, which was to remain unreleased for over 15 years.

During the second half of the 1970s he collaborated with Gordon Giltrap and Anthony Phillips on several studio albums, and also played on albums by Kevin Ayers and Curved Air.

The transcription is Perry’s part to the tune ‘Quest’ that opens the Gordon Giltrap album, ‘Perilous Journey’. A little dated but it something to practice your reading on. One point to note, the tuning is out on the recording so the track plays sharp on YouTube. Probably an iffy piano in studio.