“Was that open-string a mistake or pure brilliance? Who cares? It’s a masterpiece”: Did bass maestro Willie Weeks miss a note on this Donny Hathaway classic?

Bass player Willie Weeks performs with The Verbs at Club Nokia on January 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On the hallowed list of essential bass guitar albums, Donny Hathaway, Live stands shoulder to shoulder with seminal Motown and Beatles sides. Although the incomparable career of bassist Willie Weeks has since taken him to all the major studio cities and concert venues with artists like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, John Mayer, and Eric Clapton.

The Hathaway experience was so intense for the then-25-year-old Weeks, that he took a year off when he couldn't find a follow-up musical setting as rewarding.

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Chris Jisi was Contributing Editor, Senior Contributing Editor, and Editor In Chief on Bass Player 1989-2018. He is the author of Brave New Bass, a compilation of interviews with bass players like Marcus Miller, Flea, Will Lee, Tony Levin, Jeff Berlin, Les Claypool and more, and The Fretless Bass, with insight from over 25 masters including Tony Levin, Marcus Miller, Gary Willis, Richard Bona, Jimmy Haslip, and Percy Jones.