Behold the almighty groove. That musical construct created by the rhythm section, upon which countless great songs have taken flight. But what about the essence and vibe of the groove itself? That’s the focus of King Canyon, a nuance-driven instrumental trio featuring guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce), drummer Otis McDonald, and bassist Mike Chiavaro. On the unit’s self-titled, seven-track debut—which also boasts guest spots by guitar god Derek Trucks and vocalist Son Little—Chiavaro initiated five of the songs with his hook-filled bass lines. The Long Island-born New Yorker, whose credits range from recordings for producers Jack Douglas and Phil Ramone to stints with Richard Marx and Kasim Sulton, explains the band’s genesis. “Otis and I are always sending ideas back and forth, he’s a great drummer and producer in the Bay Area. During the pandemic I sent him ten groove ideas—just my bass lines to a click. He put down drums and we liked what we had and we felt we could turn it into something. Otis had wrapped up producing Eric’s latest record and he thought Eric would be a good addition. Eric dug the music and recorded guitar on all ten tracks, while Otis added keyboards, percussion, and some ambient background vocals. Then Eric started writing for the album, too, and sent us tracks to play on.” When it comes to King Canyon’s concept, Chiavaro offers, “It’s instrumental music, heavy on vibe. As Otis likes to say, ‘We’re groovers, not provers.’ So no solos, no showy chops, just music that feels good. It’s influenced by everyone from the Meters to Khruangbin.” He continues, “The original idea was bass and drums, and then Eric brought it to a whole other level that completed the picture. From there, Otis and I decided we wanted the mix to be bass and drums forward. On most records the bass and drums are kind of in the background and the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are loud. We wanted the bass and drums to be upfront. Eric’s guitar is in your face at times, but most often he’s playing rhythm guitar, melodies, doubling the bass part, and adding atmosphere. We didn’t tell him to, he just did it instinctively. He’s incredible.” Chiavaro played his 1976 Fender Mustang Bass strung with old flatwounds on all seven songs—two fingerstyle and the other five with a Dunlop .88 Tortex pick, while muting the strings with his palm. The Mustang was sent into a Noble DI and a miked 1974 Amepg B-15N. He allows, “I tried using my P-Bass initially, but it sounded like everything else I do; I wanted to have a different texture and I got that with the Mustang and a pick, which I don’t use that often.” The other secret ingredient to his tone is a JHS Prestige Buffer/Booster pedal before the Noble. “I saw Sean Hurley using it on a video and I thought, What is that little thing? Now I can’t play without it. I keep it at about 10 O’Clock. At that setting it gives you a little bit of volume boost, a lit