Foley (born Joseph Lee McCreary, Jr. 6 November 1962) is an American

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

who is best known as the "lead bassist" with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

from 1987 until 1991.

Music career

Foley was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Growing up he listened to

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

, and after his mother bought him a bass (at age 12) he started playing with local bands. In 1987, he had a phone conversation with

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

, then Miles Davis's bass player, and afterward sent him a tape of his music. Weeks later he got a call from Davis, who'd heard the tape and asked Foley to send him a copy: Miles Davis was looking for a guitarist, but at that time Foley had been working on getting his bass to sound like a guitar. By May 1987 Foley was touring with Davis, and played with him until the fall of 1991. According to author George Cole, Davis gave Foley advice late in Foley's tenure with his band that changed the bassist's musical approach: In 1993 he played a lead bass solo on

Mint Condition Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collect ...

's R&B Top 40 hit "So Fine" and the interlude track "Gumbo" from their album ''

From the Mint Factory ''From the Mint Factory'' is the second studio album by American R&B band Mint Condition. The album was released on October 5, 1993 on Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' record label Perspective Records. The album peaked and charted at number 104 on the B ...

''. In 1993, during his time at

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, Foley released ''7 Years Ago...Directions in Smart-Alec Music''. The album included "If It's Positive". The

Cité de la Musique The Cité de la Musique ("City of Music"), also known as Philharmonie 2, is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed with the nearby Conservatoire d ...

showed a Miles Davis exhibition from October 16, 2009, to January 17, 2010, that included Foley's "lead bass".

Technique

Foley tuned his bass nearly an octave higher than a standard bass guitar using piccolo bass strings and processed it through various effects, allowing him to sound like a

lead guitarist Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

.Cole, George
"Miles's Musician Profiles: Foley,"
''The Last Miles'', 2005. Last accessed March 6, 2006.

Discography

As leader

*''7 Years Ago ... Directions In Smart-Alec Music'' ( MoJazz, 1993) *''Smart Alec Music?'' (SmartAlecRECORDS 1997) *''Life without Dat Vol.1'' (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2001) *''TIME:Clock of Da Universe'' (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2002) *''IN My Life'' (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2002) *''Tryin Mai Nerves'' (Single) (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2004) *''The Lost Sessions: LA'' (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2017)

As sideman

With

Keith Staten Keith Anthony Staten (born January 25, 1964) is an American gospel musician. He started his solo music career, in 1990, with the release of, ''From the Heart'', by Lection Records. This was his breakthrough release upon the ''Billboard'' magazi ...

* ''Take Me Now'' (Self-Released, 1984) * ''Don't Tell Me That'' (Self-Released, 1985) * ''Break Your Body'' (Self-Released, 1985) With George Clinton * '' Hey, Man, Smell My Finger'' (

Paisley Park Paisley Park Records was an American record label founded by musician Prince in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. ...

, 1993) – recorded in 1992-93 * ''

George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love ''George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love'' is a cover album by funk music pioneer George Clinton. The album includes guest appearances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sly Stone, El DeBarge, System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, Carlos Sa ...

'' ( Shanachie, 2008) With

* '' Amandla'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, 1989) – recorded in 1988-89 * '' Miles In Paris'' (

, 1990) * ''

Dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

'' (

, 1991) – recorded in 1990 * ''Black Devil'' (Beech Marten, 1992) * ''Live - From His Last Concert in Avignon'' ( LaserLight Digital, 1992) * ''Miles in Montreux'' ( Jazz Door, 1993) * '' Live Around the World'' (

, 1996) – recorded in 1988-91 * ''Miles And His Group'' (

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

, 1997) * ''At La Villette'' ( JVC, 2001) * '' Live In Munich'' (Pioneer, 2002) * ''

The Complete Miles Davis At Montreux ''The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux'' is a box set of twenty discs compiling the eleven sets Miles Davis performed at his nine appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1973 and 1991 released in 2002. Track listing References Ext ...

'' (

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

, 2002) * ''Munich Concert'' ( Deluxe, 2005) * ''Time After Time. Live At The Philharmonic Concert Hall'' (Standing Oh!vation, 2005) * ''The Very Best Of Miles Davis'' (

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

, 2007) * '' That's What Happened Live in Germany'' (Eagle Vision, 2009) – recorded in 1987 * On The Crest Of The Airways (Rock Melon Music, 2011) * '' Miles! The Definitive Miles Davis At Montreux DVD Collection'' (Eagle Vision, 2011) * ''1986-1991 The Warner Years'' (

Warner Music France Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels * Atlantic Records * Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * All Money In * Artist Partners Group * Asylum Re ...

, 2011) * ''

Merci Miles! Live at Vienne ''Merci Miles! Live at Vienne'' is a live album by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, released on Rhino and Warner Records in 2021. It was recorded in 1991 at the Jazz à Vienne festival. The album was released as part of Rhino's celebration o ...

'' (

, 2021) – recorded in 1991 With

Kenny Garrett Kenny Garrett (born October 9, 1960) is an American post-bop jazz musician and composer who gained recognition in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and for his time with Miles Davis's band. His primary instruments are alto and ...

* ''Prisoner of Love'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1989) With

* ''

'' ( Perspective, 1993) With

Paolo Rustichelli Paolo Rustichelli is an Italian-American pianist, composer, and producer, and the son of Oscar nominee Carlo Rustichelli. His music is eclectic but generally belongs in the genres smooth jazz, jazz rock, and progressive rock. Career Pioneering t ...

* ''Capri'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1991) * ''Mystic Jazz'' (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, 1992) With Lenny White * ''Renderors Of Spirit'' (Hip Bop, 1996) * ''Edge'' (Hip Bop, 1998) * ''Lenny White Live'' (BFM Jazz, 2013) – live recorded in 1997 With

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

* ''

Zingalamaduni ''Zingalamaduni'' is the second album by American hip hop group Arrested Development, released on June 14, 1994 by Chrysalis Records. The album's title is Swahili for "the beehive of culture." Despite spawning three singles ("United Front", "A ...

'' (

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

, 1994) With

Speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

* ''

'' (

, 1995) With Dean Francis * ''Black As All That'' (Soulciety, 1998) With Paul Brown's Science Gravy Orchestra * ''Science Gravy Classics'' (Self-Released, 2001) With Mavis Staples * '' Have A Little Faith'' (

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

, 2004) With Tree Thirteen * ''Rough Grooves Surface'' (Out The Box, 2004) With

Happy Chichester Harold "Happy" Chichester is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Early life, education and personal life Chichester resides in the Columbus, Ohio, area, where he began making music in 1986. Career Royal Crescent Mob Happy's first b ...

* ''Lovers Come Back'' (PopFly, 2007) With

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

* ''Chocolate City: London , P-Funk Live At Metropolis'' (Metropolis Recordings, 2015) With

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

* ''

Quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory * Energy quality, used in various science discipl ...

'' ( Rawkus, 2002) With Bobby Sparks II * ''Schizophrenia: The Yang Project'' (Leopard, 2019)

As an engineer

With

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

* '' The Comfort Zone'' (

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, 1991)

The Comfort Zone (album) ''The Comfort Zone'' is the second studio album by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams, released on August 20, 1991, by Mercury's Wing Records Label. Singles The first single from the album was "Running Back to You", an uptempo song tha ...

Music career

Technique

Discography

As leader

As sideman

As an engineer

References

External links