IT'S TIME FOR SOME BASS BALLIN'!

Antone "Chooky" Caldwell

Chooky, Chooky, Chooky! I thought if I said it three times I could be as smooth as Antone "Chooky" Caldwell's bass playing... hmm, it didn't work. Oh well, check out this young brother who is ballin' on the bass from the Washington, DC area whose techniques will put you in a place somewhere between Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten. It would be unfair of me to paint Chooky into a musical box. His album, "Bassically Chook" has a very wide range of music styles, from a standard jazz foot tapper called "Fairwell Mr. Jones (R.I.P.)" to a west coast ride along song titled, "Westcoast Basstalk", to a harmonic interpretation of our Star Spangled Banner called "Chook's Spangled Bass"! My favorite song on the 16 song album is the smooth R&B crossover song called "Bassomatic". I guess you can see a theme in Chook's thinking; it's all about his bass! I was always told to choose one thing to be real good at, and if you are good at something, master it, Antone "Chooky" Caldwell seems to have found his thing with six-strings! 

"Bassically Chooky"

Now, don't get it twisted, Chooky isn't new to the music game. He has backed Andrae Crouch, Macy Gray, Heather Headley and Snoop Dogg. On the album "Bassically Chook" he worked with horn man Eddie Baccus Jr. and DC legend W. Ellington-Felton. Chooky gives his talents back to where they came from too, playing at one of suburban Washington's mega churches on Sunday's. Upcoming, on Tuesday April 5, 2011 you can catch Chooky and his band at Blues Alley in Washington, DC neighborhood of Georgetown. It should be fun and funky! 

A VOICE FROM THE PAST... BACK FOR MORE!

Chris Walker 1993

In the early nineties there was a voice that might have been lost amongst those of Glenn Jones, Peabo Bryson and D.J. Rogers... that voice belonged to Chris Walker. Chris didn't have a household name but if you are of a certain age and went to a Regina Belle concert, you saw a bass player that shared the mic with Ms. Belle on the song "All I Want Is Forever," that dude was Chris Walker. You see, Walker has an extensive background in both the vocal and instrumental worlds. He has toured with jazz legends Ornette Coleman, Bob James and more.

Chris Walkers first taste of success came with songs, "Love Tonight" in 1993 and my personal favorite "Giving You All My Love" in 1991 "Giving You All My Love" was one of my favorite slow jams because it was one of my secret weapon's with the honeys, both on-air and at home. Twenty years later, Chris Walker's "I Got That Love" is his attempt to rekindle his recording career and fill a void missing in the music world. 

In my opinion Chris will have to rebuild his audience. He has a sound resembling Donell Jones or Jamie Foxx (without the star power). "I Got That Love" is a good song but in today's world, you've got to have more. We will see if the powers-that-be can promote this song into relevance. If not, this will be another record that you can please a few friends with or serenade your favorite girl. Sadly, Chris Walkers voice will again fade into musical trivia. Not every good song can be a winner and "I Got That Love" is proof.