Derrick James: Talking Loud, Saying Everything

Cool Cleveland culture correspondent Vince Robinson investigates our city's diverse creative class, bringing to light the personality and mindset of local individuals who produce music and literature while revealing the person behind the artist, and identifying the foundations of Cleveland's urban culture.

He walks softly, but carries a big bass. That’s what you might notice about bassist Derrick James. James does double duty, serving as the bassist for Horns-N-Things, one of Cleveland’s premiere jazz groups, and Vince Robinson & The JazzPoets, a spoken word ensemble using music to enhance the performance of poetry.

James took an interest in guitar at the tender age of six when he received his first instrument, a plastic guitar. Shortly thereafter the two higher pitched strings broke. After playing the four remaining strings, he began to realize that playing bass came naturally for him. As a result, he decided to focus on bass. He grew up taking a liking to rock bassists, following those who played with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and John Paul Jones of the group Led Zeppelin. Eventually he discovered Stanley Clarke, the first bassist in history to double on acoustic and electric bass, and the inventor of the piccolo bass and the tenor bass. The exposure to these artists changed James' whole approach to playing.

His primary influence, however, is bassist Abraham Laboriel. James had the pleasure of meeting him sometime back in the '80s. Laboriel shared with him that he has to play with his heart. “I usually play with my eyes closed. It’s like I’m outside of myself watching the performance on stage.” His soulful approach to playing allows him to play multiple genres of music, including jazz, R&B, Hip Hop and gospel music.

His instrument of choice is the Yamaha TRB-6 six-string bass. 8 years ago he saw John Pattitucci playing one and it inspired him to do the same. Prior to that, he played a Fender Jazz bass. His first experience in a group was in 1977 with some musicians who called themselves “We Funk”. While attending Kent State University in the early '80s, he joined a band called The Midnight Poets.

James has enjoyed moderate success as a member of Horns-N-Things. The group has released 3 CDs and has received measurable notoriety on the local jazz circuit. He serves as the musical director for both groups he performs in. When asked how it came to pass that he became the musical director, he remarked, “It just came naturally. People look to me to give them cues, it just seems to work out that way.”

James admits that it’s been a challenge to perform jazz in the Cleveland area. Jazz clubs are not as numerous as they once were. “When the economy went down, they were the first to go.” He characterizes Cleveland as a Rock and Roll town. He says club owners began to shy away from live music. Many do not like to pay musicians a decent sum for what they do. As a result, many have to resort to day jobs. Others teach or play in as many bands as they can. His day job involves computer networking. Once upon a time, he taught music.

Eventually, he would like to release his own CD and engage in a tour. In the meantime, he’s hopeful that Horns-N-Things can cross the bridge from regional success to having a national audience. According to James, they’ve been doing their own distribution and have done quite well. There’s so much of a demand for some of their CD’s that they’re considering re-releasing one of them. HNT is optimistic that they can get airplay outside of the Cleveland area, a key factor in being able to sell their product. He’s also slated to co-produce a CD for the other group he plays in. James describes the experience of playing for poets in one word: interesting. “I usually listened to their first few words and find out what key they’re speaking in." He then tries to create a rhythm that complements what they’re doing verbally with their poetry.

Ironically, Derrick James does not speak on a microphone while he’s on stage. One might wonder why, but if you’ve ever seen or heard him play, it’s obvious. He lets that Yamaha TRB-6 do the talking for him.
from Cool Cleveland music correspondent Vince Robinson

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