BASSPLAYER.COM Rocco Prestia: Looking Back on 50 Years with Tower of Power

Like B.B. King’s string bends, chuck berry’s two-note chords, and Larry Graham’s thumb slaps, Francis “Rocco” Prestia’s groove-defining use of muted 16th-notes has become an instantly recognizable fingerboard innovation that has remained a soul-soothing constant in a fast-changing world. Forged in the iconic R&B horn band Tower Of Power, the magic and mystery of Prestia’s playing—and how he’s able to fit so many notes seamlessly into the pocket—remains, 50 years on. Some have tried to explain the propulsive, percussive mastery found in such Tower bass anthems as “What Is Hip?,” “You Got to Funkifize,” “Soul Vaccination,” “Squib Cakes,” and “Credit.” TOP saxophonist/bandleader Emilio Castillo surmised, “Rocco is an original. He doesn’t have the technical knowledge of a lot of other great bass players, but that’s what makes his playing so special. Everything comes from the heart, the gut. A lot of bassists try to emulate his style using their heads, and that’s why none of them have come close to his feel.” Will Lee feels that “constant” is a better adjective for Rocco than “busy,” which implies a lot of moving lines across the neck. He points to Prestia often playing in one root-5th-octave position and developing patterns within that shape. Jeff Berlin cites Prestia’s mastery of space within a chain of 16th-notes, mostly created by applying muted or ghosted notes. For Rocco, it’s a simpler answer: “The key to playing that much without getting in the way is to lay it in the groove.” - CONTINUE READING...