Charles Palmer, B.B. King, Hux Brown, Roy Buchanan, Teenie Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Leo Nocentelli, Dougie Bryan, Winston "Bo-Pee" Bowen, Dwight Pinkney, Steve Cropper, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Mick Taylor, Alvin Lee, Peter Green, Little Beaver, Bobby Eli/Norman Harris/Roland Harris/T.J.Tindall, Lyn Tait, Ollie Halsall, Albert King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Al McKay, Wayne Bennett, Lloyd Parks, Jackie Jackson, George Porter, Jr., Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Dionne Warwick, Joe Pass, Jimmy Nolen, Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Ed Bradley, John Hall/Larry Hoppen, Carl Sturken, Mick Bolduc, John Frisell, James Jamerson, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Jackie McLean, Paul Douglas, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Carly Barrett/Family Man Barrett, Devon Richardson, Earl "Chinna" Smith/Tony Chin, Marks Makwane, Peter Frampton, Bobby Bland, Wayne Bennett, Willie Mitchell, Sylvan Morris, Errol Thompson, Franklyn "Bubbler" Waul, Robbie Lyn, Winston Wright, Carl Harvey, Dave Davies, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Aubrey Ghent, Rob Hykys, Dean Fraser, Nambo Robinson, Chico Chin, Leslie Butler, Ted Greene, Steve Hunter, Ron Wood, Curtis Mayfield, Rick Derringer, Johnny Winter, Leslie Butler, Santa Davis, Carl Sturken, Bill Flowerree, Rick Sigler, Elizabeth J. Bassford, Leadbelly, Glen Campbell, Buck Owens, Leslie West, Barry Melton, Leigh Stephens, James Gurley, George Harrison, Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, Jeff Ganz, Eddie Palmieri, Shirley Scott, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Roland Alphanso, Don Drummond, Coxsone Dodd, Larry McDonald, Dennis Brown, Toots Hibbert.
Andy Bassford has been playing on reggae records since 1977, making his recording debut on Horace Andy's classic album "In The Light." Growing up in Connecticut, he first played classical violin and viola in school orchestras. Andy then took up guitar after seeing B.B. King for the first time on TV in 1968. He played in a succession of local rock bands during high school and college. Andy's first exposure to reggae came through seeing "The Harder They Come" at the college movie theater, and he became determined to learn more about the music he had heard in the film.
After graduating from Trinity College in 1976 with honors in philosophy, at the suggestion of Hartford record shop owner and entrepreneur Dwight "Beltone" Barrett, Andy joined the Mighty Venturians, a Hartford reggae band, and began playing the local West Indian circuit. It was at a Venturians rehearsal that Horace Andy, also living in Hartford at the time, first heard him play and asked him to record. After the success of the "In The Light" album and its accompanying dub remix, which reached number one on the Black Echoes charts in England, Horace suggested that Andy accompany him on a working trip to Jamaica.
After some delay, the two arrived in Jamaica in July, 1980. Horace, dismayed by the violence accompanying the 1980 election, left after several weeks, but Andy stayed on, hoping at least to meet some of the musicians he admired so much. The transition from fan to colleague came quickly. Rather improbably, Andy became a working session player within a couple of months of his arrival in Kingston, recording 80s classics Michael Prophet's "Gun Man" for Junjo Lawes, Cornell Campbell's "Boxing" for Joe Gibbs and tracks for Dennis Brown's first major label album "Foul Play" before the year was out.
At the beginning of 1981 Andy joined Lloyd Parks and We The People, the top stage band of the era, and his session career exploded as a result of his increased visibility. From 1980-85 he was never out of the Jamaican top 40, playing on dozens of hits with Roots Radics, Sly & Robbie, the Wailers band, and many others. In addition to backing nearly every reggae artist of the period on stage, We The People was also the legendary Dennis Brown's touring band, and the de facto Reggae Sunsplash house band. They appeared with Dennis all over the world, and played on the first Reggae Sunsplash international tour backing both Dennis and Gregory Isaacs in 1985. We The People also backed Peter Tosh during his last ever stage appearance, at the Reggae Awards in 1985.
Andy left Jamaica for family reasons in 1985 and moved to New York City. But he continued to play with Dennis Brown until 1988, when he joined Toots and the Maytals while Dennis was on sabbatical in Ethiopia. He continues to play with Toots off and on to this day. In 1989 and 1990 he also toured the States with Yellowman and the Sagittarius Band, the most popular dance hall band of the time, in between Toots tours. In fact, Andy is the only guitarist to have toured with both of the most popular reggae bands of the eighties, We The People and Sagittarius.
In 1987, Andy began playing sessions for the seminal reggae producer Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label. This relationship continued up until Dodd's death in 2004, with Coxsone recording basic tracks in Jamaica and bringing them back to New York to add Andy's guitar parts. During this period, Andy overdubbed guitar onto some vintage Wailers tracks (including an unreleased gospel album), fulfilling a lifelong dream through the magic of recording technology. Andy recorded hundreds of tracks at Studio One, while also continuing to record for just about every reggae producer in New York at one point or another. He long ago lost count of the total number of songs he has played on, but guesses it must be at least 3500.
In addition to performing and/or recording with a terrifying number of reggae artists, outside of reggae Andy has performed or recorded with Percy Sledge, LaVern Baker, Ron Wood, Bobby Keys, Rosco Gordon, Coati Mundi, Trey Anastasio, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Merchant, and Graham Haynes, among countless others.
In May 2003, Andy received an award from the Jamaica Federation of Musicians for outstanding contributions to the Jamaican music industry. He received a Grammy in 2004 for Best Reggae Album for Toots and the Maytals'"True Love." Andy also played on Burning Spear's "Our Music" and Shaggy's "Clothes Drop" albums, both 2005 Grammy nominations. In 2006 he played on Bajan songstress Rihanna's worldwide hit album "A Girl Like Me," which is currently certified triple platinum worldwide, and toured briefly with the Skatalites, a long-held dream.
In 2007 he recorded tracks for Lady Saw's, Burning Spear's, and Shaggy's newest albums and appeared on two jazz records—with Afro-Cuban percussionist Tracey and pianist/trumpeter Rob Silverman. Andy also appeared on reggae artist Rob Symenon's latest critically acclaimed release as well as the Grammy-nominated Toots album "Light Your Light" (on a second duet with Bonnie Raitt.) He also toured Japan with dancehall legend Super Cat in August.
In 2008 Andy played on original "Rent" lead Adam Pascal's new album "Larry and Me," along with sessions for Ansel Meditation, Kayla Bliss, and Ozzie Dellimore among many others. He toured with Toots and the Maytals opening for Sheryl Crow and James Blunt, and played at the Theater at Madison Square Garden with Super Cat. Andy recorded a track with Natalie Merchant for her upcoming album of children's songs, and recently played on a reggae remix of "Superwoman" for Alicia Keys.
So far in 2009 Andy has recorded an album with Rough Trade artist Rox, tracks with Dutch artist Denis, and enjoyed watching Burning Spear's album "Jah Is Real," which he played on, win the Grammy for Best Reggae album of 2008. (He also played on two of the other nominated albums in the reggae category, "Light Your Light" by Toots and the Maytals and "Intoxication" by Shaggy.) He also toured briefly with Toots and Tanya Stephens and played a number of shows with Marcia Griffiths, Gregory Isaacs, and Mikey Spice among many others.
Currently Andy lives in the Bronx, where he plays sessions, tours occasionally, and performs locally with Derrick Barnett and the Statement Band, Collateral Damage, the Turnstyle Jumpers, the Robert Silverman Jazz Quartet, the Moody Jews, Kristina con Vita, NY Ska-Jazz Ensemble, Tropical Groove, Amy Coleman, Parti Gras, and his own group The Blue People. He doesn't sleep much.
Andy has written articles for Guitar Player and Onstage magazines. His online reggae guitar lessons (and an essay about Alton Ellis) are available here.
These lessons can also be found in the anthology "Rhythm Guitar: The Basics and Beyond" published by Backbeat Books (available here), and are used as reference material by instructors at the Jamaica School of Music. Andy is also writing a book about his experiences in Jamaica in his copious spare time and trying to compile his discography, which lengthens monthly.
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Download the latest Coast 2 Coast Mixtape for FREE by clicking the cover below!!
Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes are always officially hosted by a Major Artist and bring you new and exclusive music from the biggest names in Urban music! Download all the mixtapes for free at www.coast2coastmixtapes.com
Artists submit your music at www.coast2coastsubmissions.com to be considered for the next Coast 2 Coast Mixtape hosted by a Major Artist!
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