Is there a more fascinating bassist’s journey than the one undertaken by Bakithi Kumalo? From a scrappy beginning on the streets of Soweto, South Africa, where he embraced music amid much personal and political strife, to meeting Paul Simon and coming to the U.S. to record Graceland — a musical and social landmark that also ranks as a desert-island bass disc, thanks to Bakithi’s ear-grabbing fretless forays. In the years since moving Stateside, in 1988, Kumalo expanded his Western influences by playing with Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Randy Brecker, Mickey Hart, Gloria Estefan, Josh Groban, and Tedeschi Trucks Band — all while remaining as Simon’s recording and touring bassist, a stint that has now stretched to 35 years. That’s a lot of miles traveled and people met, and it’s the inspiration for Bakithi’s vibrant latest effort, What You Hear Is What You See [Ropeadope]. Bakithi explains, “Over the past few years, when I was on tour and we’d spend a few days