Freddie Washington has had a career that has seen him play and record with some of the biggest artists in music history. In a span of over 30 years, about the only thing that Freddie has not done is release a collection of his own music. Until now that is.
Earlier this year, Freddie released his highly anticipated solo debut, In The Moment, to critical acclaim. Hailed by Bass Player Magazine as an “instrumental turn that’s much needed in the stagnant smooth jazz realm”, In The Moment is filled with Washington’s sweet-toned melodies and laid-back grooves.
While preparing for a Christmas Jazz gig in Barbados, Freddie fills us in on his new album and what’s next for one of the busiest bass players out there!

Freddie, I would to catch our audience up on some of the many projects that you have played on.
I first started with Herbie Hancock – I toured with him back in 1977. I’ve also toured with Kenny Loggins, Michael Jackson on the HIStory tour, Simon & Garfunkel on the Old Friends tour in 2004, Donald Fagan on his first and only solo tour in 2006 and from 2006 to 2009, I’ve been touring with Steely Dan.

I’ve also played with The Temptations, Debarge, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick on That’s What Friends Are For, Anita Baker’s Rapture album, Boz Scaggs’ blues album (Come On Home), Donald Fagan’s album, Morph The Cat… there’s a lot of stuff (laughs)!

You got your new Aguilar rig (AG 500, GS 212 & GS 410) just before the recent Steely Dan tour began – how has your experience with it been so far?
The cabinets have been working really great and the sound is very consistent – it’s a sound that I like, a sound that I hear me as a bass player having all the time. I’m not into the high-end thing where the bass sounds like a guitar; I want it to sound the way the bass really sounds. It gives me everything that I need on the low-end with a little on the mid and a little on the top. The entire rig works great and it gives me everything that I’d need or everything that I imagine I could use.

Did you have to make any adjustments to your sound/ style to fit Steely Dan’s ensemble?
I didn’t have to make any adjustments at all. The only adjustment that I’d have to make sometimes, depending on the kind of venue we were in, is that I might have to turn it down some. When I brought the rig in, Donald Fagan and Walter Becker could really tell the difference in sound - it really speaks to them as well. Sometimes what I do is, I stand by my amp and then I walk up to where Donald plays and hear it from his perspective and it ‘speaks’ really well.

This year you released your first-ever solo record, In The Moment. How is the album doing?
My album is out there and still doing well. I’m going to be releasing two singles to radio sometime around the first week of January - Set it Off and Freddie’s Groove. People are still becoming aware that it’s out there so it’s gonna be a slow-moving thing but I’d rather have it move slowly and make progress then putting it out and having it do nothing!

The album has also been getting some attention from radio hasn’t it?
Yeah, I get out of the blue calls from the radio guys that play it and say, “Man, I really love this record!” There’s a station in Jersey called, Harlem after Midnight and the guy really loves the song, I Can Make It Better. His audience has been requesting that one.

You have an incredible group of musicians on the record!
I’m really happy with everybody on the record. These are people that I respect and that I’ve enjoyed playing with over the years and I’m glad that I got them to do their thing and have their artistry on the record.

What do you bring to a session that keeps you in such demand?
When they call me to do a record, they pretty much know what they’re gonna get because they trust my instincts. They trust what I’m gonna play. If they have something written, I will read what they have and then if what they have written is not quite what they want, I can turn it into something else. I can embellish a written part, or I could just create something new.

Do you find that they have a set part or just a rough idea for the bass?
Sometimes it’s a set part and I’ll go along with that because I always want to play what they think they want or have written. If there’s music, I will always play that first until they ask for something else. Sometimes I’ll go in and they have music but not a set part and I’ll create a part for it.

Now that the Steely Dan tour is over, what’s next for you?
Right now I’m in Barbados doing a Christmas Jazz gig with various artists like Gerald Albright and Shelia E. Once I finished the Steely Dan tour, I got a call saying that they would love for me to come to Barbados and be a part of this thing. I wasn’t even in town for a good week and I’m out of town again!\

Thanks Freddie for talking to us today! Best of luck with the new singles!

For more information on Freddie Washington, check out his website at:
http://www.readyfreddiewashington.com/