Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 · Scott Baker, Gary Johnson, Fred Reif, Mike Beattie

MMHP Season 6 Ep:12--Chuck Bartels: Detroit's Humble Bass Ace To The Masses Part 2 of 2

·34 min·2 clips

Chuck's 1973 P Bass sat in a basement with "the same strings from the 80s" until he rescued it in 2000.

1. MMHP in the 989 covers Chuck Bartels in part two, focused on his session work, bass gear, and current playing plans. 2. Scott Baker hosts with Dr. J, Sir Fred, and Mr. Mike, while Chuck Bartels is the guest because his bass work sits inside Michigan music history. 3. The episode asks what Chuck has recorded, how he learned to play, and where his musical path is headed next. 4. Chuck names Tasha Owens' "Wrong Side of Right" and says Brett Lucas and Lucas produced that record. 5. He describes Tasha Owens as sounding like "a young Gladys Knight" mixed with "a bar fight," which is his reason for being proud of the album. 6. He also praises Tracy Cash's "Fierce" as "very, very Carole King" with "a little bit of Barbra Streisand" in it. 7. Chuck says Tracy Cash produced her own record after rehearsing outside the studio and cutting the tracks with an engineer. 8. He mentions another session outside Ypsilanti near a small town off I-94, though he cannot immediately name the studio or the city. 9. The conversation returns to Bettye LaVette, and Chuck says he has no Bettye albums because she worked with him as a touring band, not a studio band. 10. He recalls seeing Bettye at The Ark in Ann Arbor and calling it "a perfect room for her" and "a great room for any performer." 11. Chuck says Wayne State required "terror practice," with three-hour mornings just to "not suck" and summer practice days that stretched to five hours. 12. He names Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Ray Brown, John Patitucci, Jaco Pastorius, and Gary Willis as major influences. 13. He says Jaco was "the reason that I decided to go to school" and that hearing those players taught him to hear melodic lines over chords. 14. Chuck says he now studies with Gary Dial in New York and that the work makes him feel "like I'm 22 again." 15. He recalls 1990s projects including Joe's garage and Rhythm and Rain with Sean Blackman and John Arnold. 16. Chuck says clubs like the Blue Moon Cafe on Woodward hired young quartets and trios, and that a $50 gig nearly covered his $62.50 Detroit rent. 17. The bass story centers on a 1973 P Bass that sat with "the same strings from the 80s" until he and a friend rescued it from Torch's house for $250. 18. Chuck says the P Bass sits in the mix, keeps him honest, and is the session instrument he reaches for before his 1963 Jazz Bass. 19. The tone stays conversational, technical, and reflective, with Scott Baker steering through names, places, and gear details. 20. Listeners who like Michigan session players, bass gear, and Detroit jazz-fusion history will get the most from it, while people wanting a fast celebrity story may skip it.

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