In an era of bass specialists characterized by genre, instrument, effect pedals, and social media profile, there remain a number of devoted sidemen whose specialty is fitting seamlessly into a wide variety of genres while comfortable with their background role. Meet David Ginyard, the New York-based first-call of everyone from Solange, Blood Orange, and Boyz II Men, to Screaming Headless Torsos, Terence Blanchard, and pianist Aaron Parks. Two new recordings show Ginyard’s versatility and additional skills: Vocalist José James’ acclaimed R&B throwback 1978 [Rainbow Blonde] finds the lefty-playing bassist issuing phat, muted ostinatos with different pocket perspectives that summon ’70s soul grooves with a hip-hop aesthetic. Meanwhile, on jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti’s latest record, Plot Armor [GroundUp], Ginyard arranges a section of the twisting, odd-meter fuzer “Bucket of F’s” — a skill he first developed when Blanchard asked him to arrange an Art Blakey tribute set for his quintet.

Born in Winnsboro, South Carolina, on February 24, 1983, David Theodore Ginyard Jr. was raised on the gospel music in his Pentecostal church, where his dad played guitar and his mom directed the choir. He recalls, “My dad started me on guitar when I was five, but I couldn’t play chords because of my small fingers, so I asked if I could play bass, instead. When I was seven, he got me a ’78 Fender Jazz Bass, and when he put it in my hands, it didn’t feel natural — so, being a lefty, I flipped it around and played upside down. As I became aware of slap players like Larry Graham and Louis Johnson, I switched the strings to right side up.” A quick study, he took on the additional influences of local bassists Tyrone Mack and Mark A. Miller, as well as legends James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, Paul McCartney, Anthony Jackson, Abraham Laboriel, Marcus Miller, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Joel Smith, Reggie Parker, and Maurice Fitzgerald, and was playing in the Benedict College Gospel Choir when he was only a 10th grader. In high school he made a deep dive into jazz, inspired by Jaco Pastorius and Charlie Parker, also checking out upright giants like Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Scott LaFaro, and Christian McBride, and taking theory lessons with local guitarist Robert Newton.

Ginyard hit the Columbia, South Carolina scene with his Spector Euro 4-string, playing venues and restaurants, while also studying architectural engineering at a local college. “My family saw my passion for music and supported me. So when Mr. Newton recommended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, I went up to an audition they had in Charlotte, and I got accepted on the spot.” At Berklee he studied Matthew Garrison and the late Lenny Stallworth, encountered fellow student MonoNeon, and played in bands with his roommate, drummer Justin Tyson, and drummer Louis Cato. Enrolling in guitar expressionist David Fiuczynski’s labs, he learned about odd meters and microtonal music, and the guitarist took him under his wing. Upon graduation he returned home to South Carolina, and he would visit and crash with Tyson and Cato in New York City. They encouraged him to make the move, which he did in 2009.

Taking any gig he could, David’s first break was backing pop singer Estelle, which required him to get a 5-string — first a Ken Smith, and then the Pensa he still plays. He also began to tour with Solange, and he later recorded Blood Orange’s Cupid Deluxe [2013, Domino]. On the jazz side, Fiuczynski reached out upon hearing he was in town, leading to a few years of touring with the Screaming Headless Torsos and their self-released 2013 record, Code Red.

Gospel Chops

For Ginyard, the transformational call would arrive in 2015. Renowned trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard was doing a week at the Blue Note in New York City with music that had a more electric, funk direction, and he needed a bass guitarist and a keyboardist. Blanchard mainstay Derrick Hodge had seen David play with Solange at a Roots Picnic and recommended him, while Aaron Parks (who had played in Blanchard’s acoustic band) got the keyboard call. What was Ginyard’s first impression of Blanchard? “Terence was the opposite of what I’d done in New York to that point, which was to learn the song in advance and play your part as close to exact as possible. He didn’t say anything about how or what to play on his songs! I had complete freedom. Finally at one point, he said, ‘Hey man, you can open it up even more.’ Blanchard was obviously impressed with how easily Ginyard grasped his role, sarcastically flipping him the bird after every set. A week later he was invited to join the band, leading to more tours and the 2018 album Terence Blanchard Featuring the E Collective: Live [Blue Note]. David reflects, “Terence would regularly put his new songs in front of us at soundchecks, and he’d say, ‘Let’s do this tonight!’ You’re not in Terence’s band for him to teach you what to do. He comes from the old school where you have to learn it on your own. He empowers you.”

Terence [Blanchard] would regularly put his new songs in front of us at soundchecks, and he’d say, ‘Let’s do this tonight!’

From that point, Ginyard’s role with Blanchard continued to grow along a similar arranging and composing path that Hodge previously took with the trumpeter. He appeared on Blanchard soundtracks for BlacKkKlansman and the documentary Guilty Until Proven Guilty, arranged for the aforementioned Blakey tribute tour, and stepped forward on the 2021 side Terence Blanchard Featuring the E Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet: Absence [Blue Note]. “Terence had asked the band if we had any tunes. I was working on one called ‘Absence,’ but it wasn’t finished. We had a three-hour drive to our next tour date, so I asked if I could ride with him and get a composition lesson. He talked about devices like theme and development, inversions, and how there are many ways to write three notes — tools that enabled me to finish the piece. It was like he was teaching me how to fish so I could eat.” For Absence, which was an homage to Wayne Shorter featuring six Shorter compositions, Ginyard contributed the title tune and “Envisioned Reflections,” performed by the Turtle Island String Quartet. Of the latter, he allows, “I was studying writing for strings, so I was in that mindset.” Absence led to Ginyard’s first Grammy nomination.

Keyon Harrold NPR Tiny Desk Performance

Terence Blanchard E-Collective Live, “Absence”

Terence Blanchard E-Collective Live at New Morning, Paris

You’re not in Terence [Blanchard’s] band for him to teach you what to do. He comes from the old school where you have to learn it on your own. He empowers you.

Meanwhile, Ginyard seemed to naturally bond with Blanchard’s rotating pianists, Aaron Parks and Taylor Eigsti. “Aaron and I had a natural connection after that first week at the Blue Note, in 2015. I did some gigs with him and then his first and second records [Little Big and Little Big II, 2018 and 2020, both on Ropeadope]. He began to like the sound of the 5-string and wrote detailed parts for it, and he encouraged me to use the B string. He writes great odd-meter pieces, as well. One of the songs, ‘Professor Strangeweather,’ is in 39/4!” As for Eigsti, Ginyard had food poisoning on the tracking day for Tree Falls [GSI, 2021], his first record with the pianist, so he had to come in and overdub the whole record. On the first five songs he played what he thought were run-throughs, and all were used on the record. For Plot Armor, Eigsti wanted two of every instrument, so Ginyard splits the record with upright ace Harish Raghavan. “Taylor is such an accomplished composer who understands and values the contributions of the musicians. Even though he has charts for everything, he gives you total liberty to create the part most comfortable.”

Aaron Parks Off the Cuff Concert

Taylor Eigsti, “Bucket of F’s”

New York’s Blue Note was the site of another fortuitous relationship, as Ginyard subbed on one night of José James’ 2023 run. Afterward, James asked the bassist about recording together. “José wanted to try a new lineup for his upcoming record, 1978, with [keyboardist] Chad Selph and me joining his drummer, Jharis Yokley, and his guitarist, Marcus Machado. We went up to Dreamland Studios in Woodstock. José brought demos that ranged from him singing a vocal into his phone, to more complete home recordings, and we brought them to life. He told us Marvin Gaye’s I Want You [1976, Motown] was the direction he was going for. We cut live as a rhythm section with no punches or fixes, and we used a click only for the count-offs — very old school. I played my newer Pensa 5-string, which has a warmer sound, recorded direct.”

José James, “Saturday Night”

Ginyard’s schedule remains packed, while his skillset grows. Blanchard recently sent him in to be the musical director of a tribute to Patti Austin, featuring guests like Ledisi, PJ Morton, and Chris Potter, for which he had to write the arrangements and lead the 12-piece band. He also returned to Dreamland to record Aaron Parks’ upcoming Blue Note record, for which he contributed a song. The record was produced by Don Was. “Don was there the whole time, and we got to talk about bass and how that led to him becoming an accomplished producer. During the session, he listened intently and said very little. That kind of ease allowed Aaron to be himself.” Amid 2024 dates with Blanchard, James, Eigsti, and Parks, and an upcoming album with L.A. keyboardist Dan Siegel, Ginyard is planning his first solo record. “I have about eight demos that I need to bring to life. Time management is the toughest part, because I have a family and career. My wife, Robin, plays a key role in keeping things balanced as well as encouraging my creativity. I’m grateful for that.” Through it all, he regards Blanchard’s band as his main gig. “I’ve been very fortunate to have Terence pushing me to new heights.”

Lesson: Throwback Throwdown

Although he’s heavily influenced by such Marvin Gaye bassists as James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, and Wilton Felder, David Ginyard brings a unique sound and approach to José James’ 1978, due in no small part to his technique. He states, “I use my index and middle finger to pluck, and my thumb and index finger to slap — both the standard way. But thumb plucks have become key for me. If I’m plucking with a palm mute, I only use my thumb, not my index finger. And if I’m playing steady eighth-notes or even 16th-notes, I use all thumb downstrokes. In the left hand, I got into using one finger per fret through Jaco, but later I checked out the Simandl books [New Method for Double Bass: Books 1 & 2], even though I don’t play upright, and I adapted the approach of not using my 3rd finger in the lower positions.”

All of which sets up interesting tone and note choices, as shown in the following 1978 examples, all played on his newer Pensa 5-string. Example 1 is from “Let’s Get It.” Letter A is the four-bar verse groove, and letter B is the four-bar chorus groove. For both, Ginyard fleshed out his part based on James’ demo bass line, which included his walk up the F melodic minor scale in the second measure of B. David plays fingerstyle and shortens the notes with his left hand — but the key to the whole track is how he lays his part back. He explains, “It’s something I did once we started playing. It felt right to me, and everyone dug it. I was inspired by one of my bass heroes, [Aston] “Family Man” Barrett. If you listen to Bob Marley’s 1978 live album [Babylon by Bus, Island], Family Man is way back throughout, but it feels completely natural. In this case, Jharis [Yokley] instinctively knew not to slow down when he heard me laying back, which is the only way to make the concept work. As the bassist, you have to be aware of where the time is in order to lay back from it, and that’s usually provided by the drums. I also lay back on ‘Isis & Osiris,’ but it’s in more of a Dilla-inspired way.”

“Let’s Get It”

Examples 2a and 2b are from “Saturday Night (Need You Now).” Example 2a is the verse groove, which was written by the song’s composers James and bassist Kaveh Rastegar. Ginyard offers, “I put my own spin on it and played fingerstyle, shortening the notes with my left hand. The part is slightly pushed, because it has to drive the song.” Example 2b is the chorus, as heard at 2:17. “Here it was wide open for me to create my own part, so I thought of bass playing from that era of dance music.” Listen as David develops the choruses, never playing them the same.

“Saturday Night”

Example 3 contains the main groove from “Black Orpheus (Don’t Look Back).” “The song called for me to stay true to the demo bass line and keep it steady, consistent, and square in the pocket. I was thinking of the sound of the synth bass Marvin Gaye played on his hit, ‘Got to Give It Up’ [Motown single, 1977], so I used my Boss OC-2 octaver.” David played fingerstyle and performed the part at the 10th and 12th frets, for a fatter sound. Note also the tension of the bluesy Cnaturals against the A7#5b9 dominant chord in bar 2.

“Black Orpheus”

Finally, Ex. 4 shows the main, Latin-tinged groove of “38th and Chicago.” “The demo was very basic, so I added some syncopations and pitches, including laying off the first downbeat and playing on the upbeat instead. I used my thumb and palm mute to get an Ampeg Baby Bass vibe, and the part sits in the pocket while leaning forward a bit, which is what Latin bassists usually do.” Dig also his harmonically correct use of the Bb (flatted 5th) in the Em7b5 chord in bar 3.

“38th and Chicago”

Gear

Basses Smoke green metallic Pensa J-535 5-string (35″ scale); natural Pensa J-535 5-string (35″ scale, custom designed with Makoto Noguchi)

Strings DR Strings Lo-Rider Stainless Steel Mediums (.045, .065, .085, .105, .130)

Amps Ampeg SVT-CL Classic head and SVT-810E cabinet

Links

Instagram

YouTube