Episode 488: Melvin Gibbs

On today's episode, I talk to bass guitarist and record producer Melvin Gibbs. A native of Brooklyn, He has been called "the greatest bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine and was last year's winner of JazzTimes Magazine's Critics Poll in the Electric Bass category. Melvin's wide-ranging musical resume includes membership in bands ranging from the no-wave of Defunkt to the avant-jazz of the Decoding Society, to Power Tools with Bill Frisell & Ronald Shannon Jackson, Rollins Band (where he was nominated for a Grammy), Socialybrium with Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Bernie Worrell, and the Zig Zag Power Trio with Vernon Reid and Will Calhoun of the band Living Colour. As a bassist and producer, he has worked with Femi Kuti, Caetano Veloso, dead prez,  David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, and Sonny Sharrock. He is currently a member of the band Harriet Tubman, who The New York Times twice called "The Best Jazz Performance" of the year, and his latest album is 4 + 1 equals 5 for May 25, an EP he recorded reflecting on the murder of George Floyd, was just released a little while ago, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.