Leland Sklar interview

[David Houck]

Just finished watching Rick Beato's interview with Leland Sklar; enjoyed it and thought some of you might like it, especially those of you who are bass players.

[garyhead]

Down to earth guy. Old skool work ethic.

[JimmyJ]

Sklar is definitely one of the greats and on the short list of players who influenced my playing. I don't think I've ever heard him play a bass solo (!!) but he always plays exactly the right thing to support the music and manages to sign the part with some subtle moves.  He's created a great body of work throughout his long career - and he's still at it which is very cool!

Jimmy J

[BeenDown139]

i can remember being a stoner 18-year-old in my boss's apartment (getting stoned) and he puts on jackson browne's "saturate before using".  the outro to "looking into you" knocked me outta my shoes and set me down the road to where i am now.  it still knocks me out whenever i hear it..  watched him play "doctor my eyes" in an interview a coupla months ago.  unbelievable.

[edwardofhuncote]

Seems like I read somewhere he is the most recorded session bassist there is. Good reason for that, if true.


This is a weird thing to associate with Lee, but his contribution to Vince Gill's "High Lonesome Sound" album still just floor me. I was playing through it the other night. In my youth, I scoffed at that record, because it won Bluegrass Album of the Year, for the one namesake track with Alison Krauss & Union Station that truly was a bluegrass tune, but I later (much later) came to appreciate the artist Vince was, and is, and the immense push he was giving both Alison and bluegrass players everywhere with that album. Nobody even knew what 'High Lonesome' meant outside our very small little world.


That said, Lee Sklar killed it on every other track. Especially "Down To New Orleans".

[lbpesq]

Old and in the Way’s album “That High Lonesome Sound” was released in February of 1996, threes months before the Vince Gil record.   The Grateful Dead world knew about the high lonesome sound.

Bill, tgo

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[StephenR]

Old and in the Way’s album “That High Lonesome Sound” was released in February of 1996, threes months before the Vince Gil record.   The Grateful Dead world knew about the high lonesome sound.

Bill, tgo

[/youtube]

One of the books about the Dead mentioned Garcia and Grisman driving around the country in search of "that high lonesome sound" checking out and recording bluegrass music. This was when Jerry was playing banjo in the early 60s pre-Dead. Pretty sure the title for the Old and in the Way album was a nod to that.

Thanks for the link to the video David. Leland Sklar is one of my favorite bass players, his lines are always well-crafted and tasty, tone and articulation right on. All indications also point to him being a kind and gracious human being.

[lbpesq]

IIRC, Jerry’s cross-country road trip in the summer of 1964 in search of bluegrass and roots music was undertaken with Sandy Rothman.   Grisman was doing his own bluegrass pilgrimage.  Jerry and David met in the parking lot in Pennsylvania at a Bill Monroe concert.

Bill, tgo (who got to hang out in the green room with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys at the tender age of 14 back in 1969.   I had no idea who these guys were, but as we all sat in a circle while they jammed with Tex Logan - opening act- and passed around a bottle of whiskey, I remember thinking “this old guy can really play!”)

[pauldo]

Leland describes “the magic” very nicely.




Can someone clue me into what the Highand Lonesome Sound thing is?

[edwardofhuncote]

It's a reference to the music of Bill Monroe, Paul.  I think he coined the term to describe what his perceived notion that "Bluegrass" music should sound like. And since the genre' is largely recognized as his creation, (I would argue it was the perfect confluence of several factors...) it was his prerogative I reckon.

Jerry Garcia was very much influenced by that sound, as were many others. Sure enough, there's a lot of first generation bluegrass found in Grateful Dead music. Not too coincidentally, there's a fair amount of Grateful Dead music crossed back over into the modern bluegrass scene now.

How we got to here was, I derailed Dave's thread by griping about Vince Gill winning an award for a bluegrass album called High Lonesome Sound, that had a total of ONE bluegrass track on it. Leland Sklar played bass on the rest of the album and once I got over myself some years later, I really drew from his playing on it.

[goran]

Lee is just great bass player and really nice person.. and all that counts! Love him

[pauldo]

Thanks Gregory.

Leland is my father in-laws favorite bassist.  I have a better understanding of why.   His description of how he approaches each song individually and his engagement throughout the entire process is admirable.   

Today is when I found out he played on Children of the Sun.