Larry Graham was the man who invented the “slap bass” technique. Or, as he preferred to call it: “thumpin’ and pluckin’.”

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George Porter Jr once considered becoming a Catholic priest. Thankfully for funk fans, he changed his mind and became bassist and singer of The Meters.

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Alphonso Johnson is the man whose funky basslines keep this slice of jazz fusion by Weather Report on what I can only call a pleasingly uneven keel.

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Louis Johnson’s squelchy slap bass is the signature sound of Strawberry Letter 23 by The Brothers Johnson; and much more besides, including Billie Jean and Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.

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Ron Carter is the epitome of class and elegance: a jazz icon best known as a member of Miles Davis’s second great quintet of the Sixties.

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Bootsy Collins is as famous for his eccentric persona as his funky “space bass.” But there’s no doubt he’s an all-time great funkster.

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Chuck Rainey is one of those Zelig-like bassists who turn up everywhere, yet never became a household name. Probably because he never tried to steal the limelight.

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Basslines #6: “The incomparable James Jamerson,” as he was first credited on this album’s sleeve notes, was the beating heart of Motown’s house band The Funk Brothers. Even when he was blind drunk.

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Do we like to funk on a sunny summer’s day? Yes we do. And we very much do when the soundtrack is Big Time by Rick James.

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