Kevin Scott: Groove Titan

The latest bass-solo chops phenoms will likely always fly higher on the radar, but make no mistake, the art of laying it down is expanding and advancing, as well. Groove-first disciples like James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, Rocco Prestia, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Anthony Jackson, and Pino Palladino have laid the groundwork for modern-day pocket hawks like Tim Lefebvre, Adam Blackstone, Joe Dart, and MonoNeon. Another versatile groove devotee to add to that select list is Kevin Scott. 

The imposing but affable Scott received his musical baptism in Atlanta at the hands of Col. Bruce Hampton, leading to gigs with Jimmy Herring, John McLaughlin, and numerous Big Peach artists. Combining a stage-earned fearlessness and an aptitude for spontaneous improvisation, Scott headed to New York City, where he played with Wayne Krantz, Donny McCaslin, and FORQ, eventually forming Wednesday Night Titans, a highly original wrestling-themed duo with drummer Zach Danziger. Session calls followed from artists ranging from Fergie to Marcus King. Of late, he has circled back to his Southern roots, joining Gov’t Mule and the Warren Haynes Band to pump aggressive, conversational lines laced with tonal attitude. His recent relocation to Nashville has completed that trend.

Scott’s journey is steeped in musical history. His grandfather, J. Paul Scott, played acoustic bass with Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Tormé; his stepfather David Adkins and his brother John Rainey Adkins worked with B.J. Thomas and Roy Orbison’s Candymen and formed the band Beaverteeth. Born on Christmas Day 1984 in St. Petersburg, Florida but raised in Dothan, Alabama — a thriving music community with clubs and recording studios — Scott soaked up the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, Annie Lennox, and the Beatles via his mom Laura Scott, a professional singer. At age 10, while playing baseball, he heard Booker T. & the M.G.s’ “Green Onions” and asked his mom what that sound was. “She said it was a bass, and I said, ‘Well, I wanna get one.’ So she went to the pawn shop and got me a small Epiphone with a P-Bass configuration for $100, along with an Atlantic Soul compilation. I figured out how to play ‘Green Onions’ and ‘Tighten Up,’ and I was on my way.”

Over the next several years, Scott realized he wanted to be a professional bassist. His stepfather gave him pointers, and his fifth-grade band director turned him onto Yes, Rush, Jaco Pastorius, and Victor Wooten. By high school he was playing his Peavey Patriot in the jazz band while also gigging in bars with his stepdad and other Dothan musicians. “At the time, I wasn’t into jam bands; I was a jazz, fusion, and metal guy. I was regularly buying vinyl from a seller at a flea market. I gave him a list of records I wanted, everything from Zappa to Coltrane, and when I went to pick them up, he said, ‘I threw one in for free — I think you’ll like it.’” It was Outside Looking Out [1980] by Col. Bruce Hampton and the Late Bronze Age. A week later, a bartender who recommended that Scott “adjust his thinking” on jam bands asked him to go to the bar’s CD rack and pick a disc. “I reached for one, and it was Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit [1992],” says Scott. “Within a week’s span, Col. Bruce had invaded my life, and that was my introduction to Oteil Burbridge.”

Music school beckoned, but Berklee, Musician’s Institute, and the New School in New York all exceeded the family budget. Fortuitously, a band from Atlanta asked him to join, and in 2004, he began playing and hanging out at the Brandy House, an intimate venue and home base for Hampton and his various ensembles. Soon after, Scott took over the Tuesday night jam at the Five Spot, a downtown club where the city’s top players gigged and hung out. It was there that he instituted a highly successful improv night — and rediscovered his passion for laying it down.

When I heard the Shawn Lane Trio with [drummer] Jeff Sipe and Jonas Hellborg in high school, it was a revelation; players making up stuff over rock beats. It changed my musical trajectory.

Let’s talk about your early love of improv. 

I’ve always liked the idea of creating on the spot in front of people with no safety net. But when I was coming up, improv gigs usually meant playing jazz standards, which was a language I couldn’t fully relate to because it wasn’t from my era. When I heard the Shawn Lane Trio with [drummer] Jeff Sipe and Jonas Hellborg in high school, it was a revelation; players making up stuff over rock beats. It changed my musical trajectory. I was looking for heavier, rhythmic-based improv, with effects. My drummer roommate said, “Have you heard of Wayne Krantz? Go to his website — he has bootlegs of gigs you can download.” When I checked it out it blew my mind. This was what I’d been hearing in my head! I started to follow all the players on that scene in New York City.

Amid your deep dive into improv and experimental music, you returned to more foundational, R&B-rooted bass playing. How did that happen?

There were a number of factors. At the time I was playing my Tobias Toby 6-string, and when I would do blues gigs with my stepdad, I’d try tapping and playing chords and he’d say, “Stop with the parlor tricks.” He’d tell me, “One day you’re going to end up on a P-Bass with a B-15.” By then I was friends with three great groove drummers in Duane Trucks, Chris Hunt, and Mark Raudabaugh, and they would say, “Why is your P-Bass under your bed? You should be playing it.” But the main reason was meeting Col. Bruce Hampton. He got me into Willie Dixon and spearheaded my return to foundational playing, and he gave me my first true understanding of the blues. His perfect bassist is Willie meets George Porter Jr.

What can you say about your time with Col. Bruce and the lessons you learned?

Looking back, it was both transformative and terrifying. I first met him when I was in a band that opened for his Codetalkers, and we had a brief interaction. I said hello but I was scared to death because of what a fan I was… and what an imposing figure he was. When Duane [Trucks] got the gig with Bruce, he told Bruce to come hear me play. Bruce called soon after and said, “I’mah make you an offer, and if you say no, I’ll have to kill you.” Eventually, we got on great. His nicknames for me were “The Pelican” and “New York.” 

The lessons from playing with Bruce were numerous, including getting past your ego and not being afraid to be yourself in any musical situation; how important the intent is when creating music, and how that can change the world; and how it’s not about partying, money, or status — number one is and always will be the music itself. My personal favorite was, “Take what you do seriously and not yourself.” Sadly, I was his co-musical director the night he passed away onstage. There are certainly many of us who were his proteges that feel a void in our lives since his passing.

Wayne Krantz has had a big impact on your career. How did you come to play with him?

Through the recommendations of Tim Lefevbre, who I’d met and gotten tight with, and Souvik Dutta, head of Wayne’s label, Abstract Logix. I’d known Souvik since I was 15, and he helped convince Wayne to take a chance on an Atlanta bassist. In 2015, I flew up to do a rehearsal, knowing a lot of his tunes, and Josh Dion was the drummer. Wayne scoped out that I wasn’t a great reader, but he said it was fine and to come back for the first gig at 55 Bar, which had Nate Wood on drums. But Josh and I became Wayne’s regular rhythm section, and we had a well-received run.

What concepts of Wayne’s do you utilize?

The first is his method of using formulas and fretboard zones to improve your bass line improvisation and soloing by opening your mind to different possibilities. His formulas can have anywhere from two to eleven notes — let’s say, for example, 1 b2 4 b5 6 b7 in A. You play that formula in every position on the fingerboard within a finger-per-fret, four-fret radius. It’s not a scale that relates to A or any key; it’s a phrase you can play in any key. By limiting the notes you can play and the zone you can play them in, it forces you to be creative and step out of your comfort zone. Now you’re truly improvising and not repeating old licks in your arsenal. I’ll use that concept for improvising bass lines, especially on one-chord jams where it’s easy to run out of ideas. The way I’ve extended it, borrowing from James Jamerson, is I’ll allow open strings in the formula, even if I’m playing it high up on the fingerboard.

The second concept of Wayne’s that I use is rhythmic improvisation. The idea comes out of his formula method because if you’re limited to the notes you can play and where you can play them, then why not concentrate on being more rhythmic when you improvise? In other words, focus more on the rhythm of the phrase than the notes. Wayne has mastered time and the ability to play anywhere in the pocket, so the depth of his rhythmic variations is staggering. I can’t remember him ever playing the same thing twice in my years in his band. To up my rhythm game, I’ve worked through snare drum rudiment books, practicing them in my right and left hands.

Warren called on a Sunday and said, “Can you learn 40 songs by Tuesday?” I said, “Count me in.”

How did Wednesday Night Titans come together?

Zach and I hit it off when we were on a tour with Wayne, and we realized we were both huge wrestling fans. We got together in Atlanta, where I was still living, to record some music. Not long after, Zach sent me the tracks and I got the idea to add in audio clips of pro wrestlers. Meanwhile, Zach had his band Edit Bunker, with Owen Biddle, playing to video clips of All in the Family. He made the logical leap of us playing to video clips of wrestling and he booked some gigs. At one of our first shows in Atlanta I started talking shit on the mic as this wrestling villain character I had previously developed on performance-art gigs, and the crowd got riled up. From that point on, Zach and I both got on our mikes as wrestling characters; he was a good guy at first, but then we both became villains. We began with wigs and track suits, and then my wife Kara, who is a costume designer, took our stage show over the top. She created our entire stage look, made us full wrestling-leotard outfits, and came up with the character “Ted Technical,” as well as her alter ego, “Klassy Kara.”

What’s happening musically onstage and what’s your bass approach?

The songs are more written than you’d think — maybe a 70/30 split between written and improvisation. We play to what’s on the screen. If you catch me looking at the video occasionally it’s to figure out where I’m at in the tune. Stylistically, we’re all over the place, from drum and bass and jungle to R&B and jazz, but there’s always a funky, dubby groove going on. I just try to write something that feels and sounds good, though a lot of the written bass lines are pretty angular, with big jumps in them. If the written part is something programmed, I’ll improvise my accompanying bass line. For the soloing sections it’s difficult because we’re only a duo. Usually, I kind of stay in groove solo mode over the changes, but more recently I’ve been applying a concept I call “live producing” or “production-style improv.” I try to think more sonically and texturally by creating progressions and soundscapes as opposed to linear blowing.

How did you get the Gov’t Mule gig?

Several years ago, I got a call from Dave Schools saying [Mule bassist] Jorgen Carlsson had COVID, and that Dave had recommended me to Warren to fill in. Warren called on a Sunday and said, “Can you learn 40 songs by Tuesday?” I said, “Count me in,” and I flew to Asheville, North Carolina the next day with a mix of the songs to try to memorize on the plane. I had listened to Mule for years and was a big Allen Woody fan. I came in to rehearsal without needing any charts, which they appreciated, and Warren recognized me from our meeting a few times prior. The run went well and I remember thinking in the back of my mind that something good could come out of this. Almost a year to the day later, they called and offered me the gig, explaining that Jorgen was ready for a change after his 14-year run.

Usually, I kind of stay in groove solo mode over the changes, but more recently I’ve been applying a concept I call “live producing” or “production-style improv.” I try to think more sonically and texturally by creating progressions and soundscapes as opposed to linear blowing.

What’s your role and concept with Mule?

It’s challenging; I’m basically taking Allen Woody’s sound and style combined with my improvising approach, and adding in elements of Jorgen and [former Mule bassist] Andy Hess. There are a ton of songs to learn by three guys who were utterly different tone and feel-wise. Woody played with a pick and was aggressive, Andy was more of a “lay back and groove” fingerstyle player, and Jorgen was somewhere in-between. On some songs, I play as close as possible to the original versions; on others I remain faithful while making them my own, and others are a wide open opportunity to play something new. With Mule, all the albums are different. Their latest [Peace… Like a River, 2024] is a prog record with crazy unison lines, and then other nights we’ll do long stretches of dub tunes. We’ve been doing some of the Dark Side of the Mule [2008] Pink Floyd stuff, as well. Essentially, Mule is a guitar power trio, so you have to know the history coming in: Cream, Hendrix, Tim Bogert’s bands. Tim and Jack Bruce were basically thinking of themselves as jazz dudes in a rock setting, and Woody had that, too.

How about on the instrument side?

That’s key. One instrument ain’t gonna cut it. The first time I subbed, I only had my sunburst Moollon ’64 P-Bass copy with flatwounds, but they had Jorgen’s basses, so it was the first time I got to play a Thunderbird, giving me a new appreciation for Gibson basses. When I landed the gig full-time I got some Gibsons together, including a Ripper I bought in high school, a Gibson SB-300, a Thunderbird from Banker Guitars, and my Aluminati custom Orion and signature Helios basses with Thunderbird-style pickups. I run all of my Mule basses overdriven or distorted, and I have a custom Acorn boost pedal for when Warren solos. Amp-wise, I use either an Ampeg SVT-CL head or my custom Jad Freer Volta head into an SVT-810AV 8×10 cabinet, and all of my pedals go into an Osiris Philter, which smooths everything out.

You’re also a member of the Warren Haynes Band, and you’re on his 2024 album, Million Voices Whisper. How does that contrast with Mule?

On Warren’s gig my approach involves more of my R&B, funk, and soul side — and singer-songwriter, too. Some of the songs touch on Van Morrison and the Beatles, so I got to do my Macca thing. Warren did a record called Tales of Ordinary Madness [1993, with Michael Rhodes and Lincoln Schleiffer on bass] that’s similar to Million Voices Whisper. Live, we also do some Warren songs from Man in Motion [2011], which has George Porter Jr. on bass, so I get to make his lines my own. The other great part of the gig is the band, with John Medeski and Matt Slocum on keyboards, Greg Osby on sax, and Terence Higgins on drums. Terence is like the history and evolution of New Orleans drumming, but he can play all styles. Live, we open up the music, so I’m playing differently every night.

What led you to your recent move to Nashville?

Honestly, a rooster named Lo Mein! My wife and I run a non-profit called Vermin Sanctuary. Our Brooklyn apartment was cool, but the space was limited, so we decided to head to Nashville to get more space affordably. A lot of friends who moved here from N.Y. and L.A. talked up the great music scene, and they’re right. My first session was with drummer Chris McHugh and guitarist Tom Bukovac, two Nashville session aces. Touring has limited my sessions, but I’ve set up a lot of live gigs around town, including improv nights and my Stuff cover band, which Chris has been playing drums in.

What’s upcoming for you?

I’ll be busy with Gov’t Mule and Warren Haynes dates in 2026. On my own, as I mentioned, I’ve been setting up residencies around Nashville. One is the Kevin Scott Trio, with Ryan Clackner on guitar. We have a record coming out in the spring with Matt Chamberlain on drums, and Mark Raudabaugh will do the local gigs. Another is the return of King Baby, with Mark on drums, Matt Slocum on keyboards, and Rick Lollar on guitar and vocals. Also, the return of Wax Paper, my Atlanta trio with drummer Darren Stanley and keyboardist Spencer Pope. Wednesday Night Titans will be back soon, too. I have a project I did in N.Y. with Greg Osby, Ryan, and drummer Kenny Grohowski called Resonant Paths. I’d like to revive that here. Greg has been a huge influence on me harmonically. Duane, Ryan Clackner, and I are starting a super-secret project. And I just released my instructional video series on volume.com. Lots of moving parts, which is how I like it!

Substructure

Kevin Scott brings a hefty tool belt to his bass line construction, from his deep studies of classic session rhythm sections to countless free improvisation gigs to his groove experiences in numerous styles. Example 1 is from “Check the Hand” by Atlanta quartet King Baby [from The Big Galoot, 2017]. Measures 1 and 2 show the main verse groove, while 3 and 4 show Scott’s fill at the 3:51 mark. The track was cut live with drummer Mark Raudabaugh, keyboardist Matt Slocum, and guitarist Rick Lollar, and Kevin plucked his ’73 Fender Precision. Of the Tower of Power-reminiscent track he recalls, “That was during a peak period of studying Rocco Prestia and I’m mostly muting with my left hand, like he did. I was also going for a Hammond B-3 sound, so it’s sort of Rocco meets Chester Thompson.”

Example 2 is from “How Many Times, How Many Lies” [from Diamond Street Players, 2019]. The track was cut live by the Diamond Street Players, the in-house band at Diamond Street Studios in Atlanta, led by organist Spencer Garn. Ex. 2 shows the eight-bar bass breakdown, with Scott playing his ’73 P-Bass. He explains, “I was thinking Anthony Jackson for the breakdown, using his thumb-plucking-with-right-hand palm muting technique.” Among the Jackson signatures are bluesy, pentatonic licks in unexpected places rhythmically (measures 2-4 and 5-6); the double G in bar 3; the syncopation and chromatic notes in bar 4; and the phat quarter-notes in the last two measures without ever playing the root.

Example 3 is from “Shine” a 2022 single by Pennsylvania keyboardist/vocalist Tuck Ryan featuring vocalist Aime. The first four measures show the basic verse groove, played on Scott’s white Moollon ’57 P-bass copy, while bars 5 and 6 show his fill at the 1:33 mark. He relates, “We cut this live as a rhythm section at a studio in New Orleans, and I was in an Oakland frame of mind, combining Rocco and Paul Jackson. I was mainly using my left-hand index finger on the root and 7th, my pinky on the 5th and octave, and muting with those fingers, as well. Try to play it as staccato as possible.”

Example 4 has the main riff from “EAV” by FORQ [from Four, 2019], co-written by Scott and keyboardist Henry Hey and played on Scott’s white Moollon ’57 P-bass. Dig the interesting tonality (E with a major 7th instead of a dominant 7th) and the wide interval leaps. He reveals, “The riff is inspired by the Wayne Krantz school of formulas. Before I played with Wayne, I studied out of his book, An Improvisor’s OS [2005], which I have all of my students buy. I took two or three formulas I had written out and combined them for the riff. The key is the line is both pushing and pulling at the same time. I lay back on the middle two measures.” Dig Kevin’s solo later in the track (at 2:03).

Example 5 is from the Marcus King ballad “Hero” [Mood Swings, 2024], produced by Rick Rubin, with Chris Dave on drums and Cory Henry on organ. Shown is the second verse, at 1:07. Scott nails down the changes with the groove’s 16th-note subdivision in mind, adding cool syncopation in measure 3. His big melodic moment in bars 5 and 6, starting with a leap up two octaves to the major 7th of A is actually cleverly set up by him playing the major 7th an octave lower in the first verse. Also dig his inclusion of the flat 9 G against the F#7 chord in bar 6. He offers, “I first met Marcus when he was 13 and would come to my jam sessions. He called me up and said, ‘I need you to do your Jamerson stuff on this track.’ I recorded it in my Brooklyn apartment with my sunburst Moollon ’64 P-Bass copy with a sponge under the strings, through a Jad Freer Capo. The track had only vocals, guitar and drums so I keyed into Marcus’s vocals and played off of that, like a countervoice.”

Example 6 is from the Warren Haynes funky riff-rocker “Terrified” [Million Voices Whisper, 2024]. Scott played his sunburst Moollon P-Bass on the live-cut track. Letter A shows the main verse riff. Letter B is the basic riff from the four-bar guitar solo at 2:25. Letters C and D are from the bass breaks at 3:53 and 4:03, respectively. C has a descending line with some cool chromaticism. Letter D has an angular Anthony Jackson influence, from the rhythmic push on the 6th of the chord at the end of measure 1, to the double note on beat two in bar 2, to the descending licks outlining F#and G#m7. He notes, “It was my first time in the studio with Warren, and he just told me to go for it across the board. Here, he wanted some bass breaks, and as always, I tried to come up with lines that aren’t so linear and predictable. One way to do that is to play in the lower positions and incorporate open strings.”

Kevin Scott’s Top 10 Influential Lesser-Known Bass Performances

Kevin Scott went to school on such top bass guitarists as Chuck Rainey, Paul Jackson Jr., Anthony Jackson, Jaco Pastorius, Rocco Prestia, Oteil Burbridge, and Tim Lefebvre. But he was also influenced by the following nine lesser-known bass aces (plus a rare side by Lefebvre).

1. Robert “Pops” Popwell

Dr. John & James Booker, Live at the Aragon Ballroom, Dallas TX – April 11, 1974 [radio broadcast]

2. “Handa Wanda,” George French

Wild Magnolias, Wild Magnolias [1974]

3. “Kentucky Rain,” Tommy Cogbill

Elvis Presley, From Elvis In Memphis [1970]

4. “The Awakening,” Dexter Redding

The Reddings, The Awakening [1980]

5. “Misdemeanor,” Leon Sylvers

Foster Sylvers, Foster Sylvers [1973]

6. “Life Goes On,” Jimmy Williams

The Jones Girls, The Jones Girls [1979]

7. “A Subway Called ‘You,’” Mick Karn

Gary Numan, Dance [1981]

8. “Into Light’s Graven Womb,” Menetekell

Nocturnal Triumph/Halopelagyal [2016, reissued 2023]

9. “No Need to Suffer,” Allen Woody

Gov’t Mule, Life Before Insanity [2000]

10. Blüth, Tim Lefebvre

New York Jazz Guerilla [1998]

Gear

Basses: ’73 Fender Precision; Aluminati custom Orion and Kevin Scott Signature Helios 4-strings; Serek Midwestern 4-string custom (“Possum”) and Midwestern 5-string (“Cannoli”); Moollon P-Classics (with roundwounds and flatwounds), Moollon J-Classic, and Moollon P-Classic 5-string; Banker Guitars Dirty Bird Bass; Gibson Ripper; Gibson SB-300; 1979 Rickenbacker 4001; ’77 Music Man StingRay; ’90s fretless Music Man StingRay 5-string. “I have signature Avedissian P and J pickups in my Moollon, Aluminati, Banker, and Gibson basses.”

Strings: Dunlop Standard Series Stainless Steel, Nickel, and Dual Dynamic Hybrid [all .45-.65-.85-.105-.125]; Dunlop Stainless Steel Flatwound Medium and Short Scale [.45-.65-.85-.105]

Amps: Jad Freer Audio Sisma and Volta heads (“I helped with the brainstorming and design of the Sisma and Volta,” he says); Capo preamp, and 410 Venere cabinets; 2000s Ampeg SVT-CL head and SVT-810AV cabinet

Effects: Custom Acorn Amplifiers booster; Osiris Philter; ’90s Boss OC-2 Octaver; Way Huge Pork & Pickle Overdrive/Fuzz; Foxgear Echosex Baby; Red Panda Tensor time warp pedal; Red Panda Raster delay + pitch/frequency shifter; MXR Envelope Filter; MXR Echoplex Delay; MXR Vintage Bass Octave; Does It Doom Fuzzcoven; Meris Ottobit Jr. bitcrusher/stutter; Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler; TC Electronic Sub ’N’ Up Octaver; Electro-Harmonix Frequency Analyzer; Yamaha UB99 Magicstomp; DigiTech DOD Meatbox synth pedal.

Other: Dunlop yellow tortex standard picks, .73mm; Boss tuner; Shure in-ears; MXR straps and cables; Reunion Blues cases.

Links

www.kevinscottmusic.com

www.instagram.com/thekingseye/

www.youtube.com/@Kevinscottbass

www.patreon.com/Kevinscottbass