Tribute To Abraham Laboriel, Sr.
(The following is excerpted from spectrasonics.net)
Larry
Carlton once said, "There are a lot of great bass players in this world, but
there is one, and only one Abraham Laboriel."
This tribute best describes the unique artistry of the Mexico City born virtuoso
of the Bass Guitar. To witness Abe play one immediately understands that music
is essentially about passion and he is truly one of the most gifted
interpreters.
Originally a classically trained guitarist, Abraham infused his flamenco style
on the bass guitar when he made the transition to four strings at the Berklee
School of Music. Since the day that the late Henry Mancini encouraged him to
come to Los Angeles, Abe has played on over 3000(!) recordings and soundtracks,
prompting Guitar Player to succinctly peg him as "...the most widely used
session bassist of our time." You have undoubtedly heard the diversity of
his contributions to recordings by music's creme de la creme including:
Stevie Wonder, Robbie Robertson, Joe Zawinul, George Benson, Barbara Streisand,
Al Jarreau, Dave & Don Gruisin, Elton John, Joe Sample, Dori Caymmi, Quincy
Jones, Justo Almario and Michael Jackson to name a few. He was also a founding
member of the internationally acclaimed fusion groups Friendship and Koinonia.
Abraham's solo albums,"Dear Friends", "Guidum" and "Justo
& Abraham" are stunning collections of contemporary urban and jazz
originals that gather super talents from all over the music industry such as:
Steve Gadd, Alex Acuņa, Al Jarreau, Jim Keltner, Ernie Watts, Greg Mathieson,
Paul Jackson Jr., and Phillip Bailey.
I can't think of anyone that embraces the joy of music more than Abraham
Laboriel.
