Bass Magazine – Issue 4 2019

66 BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 4 ; bassmagazine.com

Pocket Full Of Drummers

IN

his nearly five decades of creat-

ing bass magic, Abraham Laboriel

has played with most of the great

drummers of the 20th century, so we had to

ask him about the rhythm-section partners

he’s most associated with — and his all-time

favorite drummer.

When you moved to L.A., did you get a

chance to play with Hal Blaine?

Yes. It was mostly jingles, but it was

amazing to play with Hal. It was always in-

stant love. We just loved and respect-ed

each other

Let’s talk about your time with Jeff

Porcaro.

My time with Jeff was very special. [Andy

Pratt’s] “Avenging Annie” was his favorite

record, and when I moved to Los Angeles in

’76, Jeff played on my first demo, along with

Freddy Tackett on guitar and keyboardist

Bill Payne, who would both later join Little

Feat. He was unbelievable, instantly part of

my life. He started to recommend me for all

kinds of things, and I began to record with

him. In fact, when I first came to town, Jeff

went out of his way to recommend me and

to help me.

Mateo Laboriel How would you de-

scribe Jeff’s playing?

Abraham Laboriel No matter what the

tempo was, every beat felt huge; because of

the way he placed things, you had all the time

in the world. His natural gift was like no one

else’s, and you knew the music was going to

be excellent just because he was there.

You’ve played with Vinnie Colaiuta a lot, too.

Vinnie learned a lot from Jeff. Vinnie and

I coincided at Berklee for about two years,

and he stayed in the practice room 24/7.

When he started to do studio work, produc-

ers would be overwhelmed by his technique,

but Jeff kept insisting that they hire Vinnie,

who could go on rhythmic tangents that were

absolutely impossible for producers to relate

to. But Vinnie and I always liked each other

— there was always an implied trust.

ML You’re one of the few people that when

he goes there, you don’t lose track of time.

AL Exactly. My ongoing joke with Vinnie

is that he’s the only musician I know who can

subdivide the week against the month. And

you know what he says to me? “The month

is rushing.” [Laughs.] Because he can hear

those nanosecond things.

Your connection with Steve Gadd on

tracks like Lee Ritenour’s “French Roast” is phe-

nomenal.

AL When Anthony Jackson went back to

New York in 1978, Lee Ritenour started to use

me, and pretty soon, we did “French Roast.”

Steve Gadd and I ... it was an instant thing.

ML You guys agree where the one is, for

sure.