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Julian cut an unassuming figure on stage. He beamed warmly as we entered, his Fender
Jazz comfortably strung around his neck. He was introduced and began to play a solo
bass piece, along with Erik Stams on drums. It was intricately arranged, full of depth and
colour. At times melodic, at times chordal, and at times groovy and rhythmic, dusted here
and there with harmonics and tap and pop flourishes.
And how does one achieve this. "Well I know you've heard it all before, but it's all about
sitting down with a metronome, playing it quite slow for half an hour, then coming back to it
again 5 bpm faster." The amount of hours he must have put into his playing makes my
mind boggle. "Well, yeah I used to do that whole 8 hours practice per day thing, but I could
back then, I was getting paid to play "
And it's not just the modern electric bass that Julian can get to grips with. After another
solid 8 hours per day practice stint for a good two years on the Upright bass Julian took
and passed his audition for the Royal Academy. "I got kicked out for playing Jazz," he
confesses. "I've always been into Black Music really." It shows too. All the great bass
grooves come from that side of the bass coin. However with Julian's playing you can feel
the mix of the more western classical melody orientated lines, intertwined with the soul,
funk and rhythm and blues grooves of the 20th century.
"When constructing grooves I tend to either play off the bass drum or the high-hat," he
explains, "I'm always listening to the drums, I should have been a drummer really." He
shows us some examples of what he means, playing a groove firstly that sits on top of
Erik's bass drum pattern. He then plays a second example where he plays just in the
gaps between the bass drum beat, giving the whole groove more of a linear feel.
He holds aloft a chord chart for "Killing Me Softly", a chord chart which myself and my
fellow bass students struggled to play through during our chart-reading class the week
before, and he brings it to life. Melody and chords intertwined. There is something very
lyrical and soulful about his bass playing, which really grabs the listener. When probed
deeper about how he approaches chord charts he replies, "Well, you can get quite into the
theory side of things with your modes and that, but if you look at the whole chart it's
basically in A flat major, apart from one or two places, so I just think of it as A flat major."
Trust a bass player to get to the root of things.
He plays some more with Erik Stams, modestly allowing for a drum solo section, drifts
towards his amp, taking up what seems like a comfortable position away from the
limelight. That is what strikes you most about the man, with all his amazing chops and
musical prowess, he has the humility of a bass player, disciplined with real depth to his
groove.
Julian's performances were awesome, and it is clear that he is extremely dedicated,
though perhaps more to his instrument than to his career. It strikes me that his career has
calmed down lately because he is maybe a touch too humble. He admits that selling
himself is not his strong point, and I for one think that's a crying shame. It would be great
as a bass player to hear more from the likes of Julian Crampton, he was a joy to listen to.
Mike Hayden (Higher Diploma bassist)
More:
One Year Higher Diploma
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