What The Funk? 10/1/2009 1:25:00 AM  HIP-HOP, R&B, URBAN
CONTEMPORARY, rap, drum-n-bass, nu-jazz—call it what you want,
but it’s got to be funky. The term “funk” has become a blanket
description of anything with a booty-moving bass. You know it
when you hear it, but what is it exactly? Let’s look at some
funk basics: the must-know music, the players, and their
techniques.  Producer-Bassist Tommy Sims Getting A Master’s From
Jamerson U. On Michael McDonald’s “All I Need” 9/1/2009 2:55:00
PM  IT’S MASTERCLASS, EVERYONE, WHICH means a detailed
dissection of a bass line played by a high-level pro, along with
insight from the player who gave us this amazing thing to learn
from. But this one’s different in that our featured artist,
Nashville-based A-list producer/bassist/ songwriter Tommy Sims,
consciously sought to emulate someone he’d been studying for
years: the immortal James Jamerson. And when someone who’s
written, played, and produced for Eric Clapton (“Change the
World,” anybody?), Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie