We were fortunate to sit down with contemporary bass player Wayman Tisdale recently who gave us insight into his number one CD right now entitled Rebound. Not resting on his success, he is currently working on an upcoming Christmas release for the fall and a funk record for next year. He continues to recover from health issues and reveals more of what makes this former N.B.A. superstar a fan favorite.

Smooth Views (SV): Smooth Views wants to welcome Wayman Tisdale back for the third time now. We just want to congratulate you on your number one CD, Rebound, now. How does that feel?
Wayman Tisdale (WT): Thank you man, it’s always good. You know there’s a bunch of hard work that’s gone into that, and when it really settles in and everybody buys the record, it just blows you away. You’re so appreciative; you never want to take that for granted. People want to go out and buy your records when they come out. I have some of the best fans in the world, man. They really support me so whenever I have a new project, they just go out and get the record.

SV: Well considering all the emotion that went into this project, how does it feel today to be at the top of the charts with it?
WT: You know, man, it just makes it all worthwhile. It was just unfortunate some of the things that happened, buy hey, that’s life. I don’t feel sorry that I had to go through it. I’m better because of it. I’m going to be able to help someone because of it. And now they can listen to the results.

SV: Let’s talk about Rebound for just a moment.  You start it off with the title track and feature one of our favorite sax artists (Dave Koz). Tell us a little bit about the title track.
WT: It was actually written by a young kid from Tulsa here. He’s like nineteen or twenty years old. He played this track and it had all the makings of everything we needed to open this record. It had the energy; it had all the world appeal. What I mean by that, the Japanese instrumentation. I said, “man, let’s go for it.” 

SV: There was a little bit of that at the beginning and a small interlude in the middle. How did that come about?
WT: Well, we definitely wanted to bring people up to date. Whatever life throws at you, you can make it. And now it’s time to celebrate. That’s pretty much what the record is talking about.

SV:  Do you have a favorite yet?
WT: Probably “Front Runner” is the favorite off the new record. It takes me back to my early urban roots. And that’s a song that’s just starting to play.

SV: Well the real surprise to a lot of people is the Barry White remake “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” featuring Toby Keith. Tell us a little bit about that one.
WT: That’s probably “one A” for me. Actually it was Toby’s idea man to bring us all on. He called me and said, “Tis, what do you think about us doing this song?” You’re kidding me, you’re Toby Keith, you can do whatever you want to do. When he came in and sung it, it blew us away; he really put his stamp on it. I think it’s one of the songs to be reckoned with for a while. He really sells the song, because that’s tough to do coming from one genre to the next. Well he’s an Oklahoma boy. We’re Oklahomans. That’s why we’re close together. We’re good friends. It was just something that really came across and we had a ball doing it. It’s really been getting a lot of attention.

SV: Another one that I like is called “Throwin’ It Down.” What’s going on with it?
WT: We had it named something else, but there’s another song similar to the name. I’ve got a bunch of basketball names, so I called them back and said the name of the song is “Throwin’ It Down” because it sounds like we were actually throwing it down in the studio when we played this song. It had all the energy and it just keeps going. The song starts off at one level, and then at the end of the song we’re still going for it as energy is concerned on that song. And when it ends, you can hear everybody just screaming.  (laughing)

SV: Speaking of great beats, (and I don’t know where you came up with this one) but on “The Turnaround”, where did you come up with all of that syncopation?
WT: Oh man, actually the producer that’s with me named Darren Rahn. He’s just a great, great producer. We mesh so well together. It doesn’t take us long to write these songs. When you listen back to them, it sounds like it took a lifetime to come up with these rhythms. That’s what really drives me.  If I can’t feel the rhythm, if I can’t feel the song, I don’t really like to play it. We’ve been very fortunate on the last couple of records to really put out nice rhythmic songs that really makes people move.

SV: That one really does. About the time you think you’ve got it down, you throw in a rest or another up beat in there that just really throws it off to keep you going.
WT: I don’t like to be predictable on all my songs. So we like to throw some in there every now and then to keep you guessing.

SV: Well that one certainly does, and I like it a lot. Looking at some of the musicians on the record, I see that you use a bass player quite a bit which leads me to the next question. You use the bass as one of the main instruments. How do you correlate between that and the background bass?
WT: Well, two different things. The way I approach the instrument is totally different from a bass player. I don’t get in the way of a bottom bass at all. I don’t even think like a bass player. That’s why I’m able to go out and play all these songs and not get in the way of the bass player. In fact I need the bass player. It’s fun to go out and play these songs, and if I don’t have the bass player I sink. It’s more like a guitar or a baritone guitar. (melodic) More like a sax player.

SV: You always assume as a bass player that you’re carrying the background, but you’re not at all are you?
WT: No, not at all. It’s all lead. So if you’re talking about bass set up, you can’t even think like a bass player when you pick up a guitar.

SV: Was that a hard transition for you over the years?
WT: A little bit, because I had to totally change my way of thinking. I can play bass but when I play lead, I play total lead.

SV: Well, I can tell a big difference between now and when you first started, like on Face To Face. I think there’s a big difference in how your playing comes across now.
WT: Yeah, I love it, man. I had to become more distinct in my sound. I’ve been working at it. I’ve been working, working, working on becoming distinct in my sound and on my tone. People have just gravitated to the sound. They know now that when they hear a song on the radio, they don’t have to guess who it is. (laughing)

SV: Well let’s change gears here for just a minute; I understand you’re a grandfather now. How’s Bailey doing?
WT: Bailey’s just doing great. She’s just tearing up the house. She’s what we call a little tornado. She is just a bundle of joy. They bring her to us first thing in the morning and we wrestle for a couple of hours, then she’ll eat breakfast, then put her down for a noon time nap. It’s just been a bundle of joy to have her around. It’s nothing like having a grandbaby.

SV: I see you have the cruise ship lined up again next year. Tell us a little bit about who you have coming on board.
WT: Oh man, we have Mr. Gerald Albright, Jodi Whatley, Everett Harp, Jonathan Butler, who’s always my little partner in crime, and Kirk Whalum. We just have a ball. It’s become a little fraternity now. You don’t ever want to miss that. Once you’ve gone on, you don’t want to miss it. You automatically put it on your calendar. The response has just been so tremendous. I just absolutely love it. It’s January 18th thru the 25th.

SV: Well let’s talk about your health for just a few minutes. That’s been an area of concern for you and a lot of other people. How is your health these days?
WT: Everything is going great. I’m really doing good. I’m strong, I’m mentally positive (and I’m staying that way). We’re really just thankful to be here, to be around to celebrate this time with this record. It brings life into perspective. Sometimes you go through things and you want to ask questions why. I didn’t even ask questions; I just said, “God, I trust you,” and we just went through. He’s been protecting me ever since.

SV: How’s the weight coming? I know you had lost a lot of weight there for a while.   
WT: I’m still hanging right there. I’m about a hundred pounds lighter than what I was. I love it, it feels great.

SV: Well how’s the tour coming for this summer? I’ve only seen selected dates until this fall. Is that on purpose?
WT: Yeah, that’s on purpose. I can’t put a lot of wear and tear on this leg all summer. So we want to slow down. We pick up in August and September really tough. Get my legs back under me. That’s the best thing for it. Take this thing as easy as possible. I’m not trying to get out for a hundred game N.B.A. season, it’s a music season which lasts year round. 

SV: Speaking of N.B.A., what do you think of the new champions? (Boston Celtics won the championship this week)
WT: I love it, man. It brought back life to the sport. It’s definitely a feel good time for the sport. What a classy bunch of guys to win it. Those guys did in a class fashion. I see rivalry between those teams for years to come.

SV: Well Wayman, in closing, what do you have to tell your fans out there?

WT: You know, I just want to thank them for all their e-mails and well wishes and prayers. Man, it’s because of them a lot of nights I would just get through just by laying up in bed reading their e-mails. I can’t thank them enough. I replied to as many as I could. They all know that I thank them for their love. I did a general statement on my web site thanking them for the love and reaching out to me, man.

SV: Well, we’re so glad you’ve come thru as well as you have and wish you continued success with the new album.
WT: Thanks so much.