Doug Wimbish

Doug Wimbish stood among the decade's most adaptable bassists, shifting fluidly between mainstream pop and rock studio dates on one side and heavy metal, funk, or experimental realms on the other; that same breadth carried him through the 1990s until he finally issued his debut solo statement, Trippy Notes for Bass, in 1999. His most prominent credit remains his role in the house band for the historic rap imprint Sugar Hill, where he supplied the low end for Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's landmark Message album and numerous additional releases. By the later 1980s Sugar Hill had been eclipsed by fresh hip-hop currents emerging beyond its roster, yet the label's core rhythm section had already established a fertile alliance with the British dub reggae innovator Adrian Sherwood.

Alongside guitarist Skip McDonald and drummer Keith LeBlanc, Wimbish joined Sherwood on multiple ventures, among them supporting ex-Pop Group vocalist Mark Stewart on his individual projects and releasing their own 12-inch singles as Fats Comet. Major Malfunction appeared in 1986 credited solely to LeBlanc, though the effort was in truth a collective undertaking; the three musicians formalized that partnership by adopting the name Tackhead and cutting complete albums under Sherwood's guidance. Their pair of long-players—Friendly as a Hand Grenade in 1989 and Strange Things in 1990—fell short of reproducing the boundary-pushing Funkadelic-meets-Lee Perry explorations that had defined their prior recordings and LeBlanc's earlier "solo" outings.

Following the 1992 exit of Living Colour bassist Muzz Skillings, Wimbish stepped in as replacement. After the 1993 release Stain the band dissolved, sending Wimbish back into session work that encompassed albums by Madonna, Annie Lennox, Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones, Ron Wood, Seal, Joe Satriani, and countless others, interspersed with further Sherwood collaborations. He also rejoined Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun in the experimental funk/electronica trio Jungle Funk. In 1999 Sherwood's On-U Sound imprint released Wimbish's first solo album, Trippy Notes for Bass.