Having a strong sense of history and a forward-minded vision have always been John Patitucci’s two greatest strengths. His penchant for unshakable, authentic, band-driving grooves on acoustic and electric bass — which have made him the go-to choice for Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, and countless others — can be traced to his fervor for such feel-first fanatics as Ray Brown, Jimmy Garrison, Paul Chambers, James Jamerson, and Willie Weeks. Likewise, his way-ahead-of-the-pack pronouncements on the 6-string bass guitar, particularly as a soloing and chordal voice, are rooted in his passion for John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery. This dual-minded focus is once again on display on the 59-year-old’s latest outing, Soul of the Bass. Patitucci’s premise was to join the ranks of the major jazz acoustic bassists who have recorded unaccompanied solo albums, and indeed, the melodic, concise, beautifully captured acoustic-bass pieces that dominate the 13-track disc make this his most intimate and revealing recording to date. But with an eye to the future and his ever-present determination to have the bass guitar accepted and embraced in jazz, Patitucci includes a captivating 6-string interpretation of the Allemande from Bach’s “Cello Suite No. 5,” as an R&B throwdown with drummer Nate Smith that boasts overdubbed bass guitars in a nod to the instrument’s history, a 6-string-and-vocal track with his daughters, and boundary-pushing chamber writing via his cello/bass choir, featuring his wife, cellist Sachi Patitucci. We spoke with Patitucci amid a whirlwind of gigs and his teaching travels for Berklee and Artist Works to discuss his 15th studio album. What was the impetus for the record? Toward the end of my college days, in 1979, I bought Dave Holland’s solo album Emerald Tears [1979, ECM]. I was captivated by the idea of a solo acoustic bass recording, but I guess I knew instinctively I would have to wait until I was quite a bit older to attempt my own. Soul of the Bass came out of pondering the concept for years and decades. On recent tours I’ve been playing acoustic-bass improvisations in my hotel rooms and recording them on my phone. I deliberately left them short so the melodic aspect would be strong. I would think melodically, like I do when I solo, and try to find a little hook. From there I’d present the idea, develop it, and get out of the way. A good example is the title track, which has an almost AABA song form that you could write lyrics to. Some of the other acoustic bass improvisations were done at the Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, where I recorded the album. You’ve cited Wayne Shorter’s influence on this approach. It’s something I’ve learned from playing with him all of these years. He has a concept of improvising from nothing, sort of in zero gravity, or what [pianist] Danilo Perez dubbed “comprovising” — composing while improvising. In a group setting it’