 | | Ralphe Armstrong playing live with Jean-Luc Ponty. Photo Armando Gallo, courtesy www.armandogallo.com |
GibsonBass After Mahavishnu, you played with Frank Zappa.
Ralphe Armstrong After Mahavishnu, I played with Santana, and then Frank Zappa. We
did some recording. I was originally supposed to play with Santana, but John
McLaughlin had leeway and talked him out of hiring me. Santana bought my first class airline ticket to go
out to San Francisco to record. I also played with Jeff Beck. I played with
so many people man, I need to sit down and document.
GibsonBass What was it like working with Frank?
Ralphe Armstrong He was a disciplinarian, a lot of hard work. Like being in an army.
He gave me a lot of freedom, though. He was cool. We did a tribute; me and
Napoleon Murphy Brock were together recently; we played a jazz festival last year.
GibsonBass You are also known for your work with Jean-Luc Ponty.
Ralphe Armstrong I met Jean-Luc in Mahavishnu, and about two years after it broke up, he started a new band.
GibsonBass Did Jean-Luc let you play what you wanted, or was everything composed?
Ralphe Armstrong He had things written out but I was able to come up with my own bass parts.
GibsonBass You did some cutting edge stuff with Jean-Luc Ponty. He certainly gave you a lot of space.
Ralphe Armstrong Wait till you hear my fretless recording from 1998. It’s coming out
on my web site and I will have it for sale soon. I am with Harmony Network
and it will be for sale soon. Live At The Ford Festival. I just played at
New York at Carnegie hall with James Carter, playing string bass.
GibsonBass You've played with a lot more people than we've talked about so far. Would you care to name a few more?
Ralphe Armstrong I played with Marshall Tucker Band, Louie Bellson, Steve Allen,
Elliot Easton of the Cars, Kenny Burrell, Curtis Mayfield- I did his last
CD New World Order. I did something with Lenny White, a classical aura with the bow.
 | The Maestro BB-1 Bass Brassmaster and OB-2 Octave box
In 1976 Ralphe said of the Brassmaster, "It makes the bass sound like a trombone. I love it. It's the only device that I like, other than Maestro's Octave box" |
GibsonBass Tell me about your use of effects.
Ralphe Armstrong I was a big fan of Jimi Hendrix; I used this thing called Maestro Bass
Brassmaster, but now [I use] Digitech.
GibsonBass What kind of strings do you like to use?
Ralphe Armstrong I like half wounds for fretless, with low action. With a fretted bass with funk, I like round wounds
GibsonBass I read you
dropped out of the music scene to raise your family in Detroit, but play in
local Detroit music clubs?
Ralphe Armstrong Right now I’m back & traveling. I'm with a new company and am
working on a recording project with my self and Narada Michael Walden. We're
calling it the “Fusion Reunion”. Were going to have some concerts, and have
Wallace Roney do some trumpet and Vernon Reid (from Living Colour) to help too. Vernon came and
played at the festival two years ago. Maybe George
Duke. We might do something in October.
GibsonBass What’s your
Musical direction today?
Ralphe Armstrong I played with D-12; you know, Eminem’s group. I did two recordings.
I play hip-hop. I'm not into one thing; I’m like Miles: I got to keep pushing
forward. He even had had me wear gaiters & gangster hats and triple OG
and a DJ. These young kids- young guys have a fit, seeing me play all kinds
of stuff, man.
Thanks to John (Redbird) Fertig and Ralphe Armstrong for making this interview possible, Armando Gallo, Henrietta Bannister and Brian Patneaude for use of some great photos, and Nick Horowitz for making it more legible.
Why not check out some of these other great links
PBS TV show on Howard Armstrong
John McLaughlin Homepage
Jean-Luc Ponty homepage
and don't forget the other GibsonBass interviews
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Bassists
