Pino Palladino: the perfect session player
Being the perfect session player is a beautiful contradiction. How is it possible to be one of the top musicians in your field yet try to play a role so muted that you all but fade into the background of every artist you’re working with? While many artists may try to flex their musical muscles every time they go into the studio, Pino Palladino is the perfect example of being a tasteful virtuoso with every record he performs on.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Palladino always gravitated towards the complex side of rock when he first picked up the bass, loving the sounds of progressive rock acts like Yes and the primal stomp of Led Zeppelin. Outside of traditional rock, his cursory knowledge of every genre under the sun would serve him well later, being indebted to the sounds of classical music and the trademark low end on every single from the Motown hit factory.
By the time he had arrived on the session scene, one of his earliest opportunities came when working alongside singer Paul Young, playing the signature bassline on the song ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat’. Although he may have been right at home playing the sleek 1980s basses for the rest of his life, his career changed on a dime when he switched to his trademark Fender Precision bass.
Quickly becoming one of the most exciting players on the scene, Palladino would find himself working among the biggest rock acts of the day, with everyone from Elton John to Don Henley asking him to lend his talents to their records on tracks like ‘New York Minute’. However, what is it about Palladino’s approach to bass playing that makes him so unique?
Besides providing the traditional bottom for the record, Palladino also has a distinctive pulse, unlike any other player on the scene. While many artists tend to be confined to the metronome on every single track, Palladino’s sense of time tends to be fluid throughout every song, making for a distinct heartbeat that few can match.
Take one of his most high-profile stints working with John Mayer on the album Continuum. Since a handful of shows saw Mayer operating with a trio lineup with Palladino and Steve Jordan, the bassist found just the right way to occupy his space in the mix, keeping everything rooted to the ground without getting in the way of Jordan’s fills or Mayer’s trademark guitar flourishes.
Even when working with countless artists, Palladino has never forgotten to make his voice heard among the other session musicians. Although he may have a history of working with atypical musicians like D’Angelo and Nine Inch Nails, the bassist has refused to compromise his sound every time he plays, constantly keeping that signature pulse for the song instead of Frankensteining his sound for something different.
No one gets to where Palladino is without chops, though, and he has been able to fly off the handle now and again. Although his best performances tend to fade into the background so much that it’s hard to pick him out, his time working with artists like Manu Kache showed his versatility, playing the kind of incredible runs that would be reserved for jazz fusion players.
Palladino’s journey has only continued to get more expansive as the years have gone by, working with pop idols like Ed Sheeran while lending his skills to indie darlings as of late, playing on Maggie Rogers’s brilliant sophomore release, Surrender. In a world where most session players prefer to remain faceless behind the scenes, Palladino is the ultimate example of finding one’s sonic identity. As many sessions may thrive on players serving the song, Palladino has left his sonic thumbprint on every song he has played bass on.
