Bobby Vega’s Groove-laden “What Cha Got” Available Now

by Kevin Johnson Thursday, November 30th, 2023

Bobby Vega: What Cha Got The inimitable Bobby Vega has unleashed a new solo album called What Cha Got, which is something of a musical self-portrait. Teeming with masterful grooves, the album combines elements of many genres for a mix that Vega admits eschews simple categorization.

“It’s really about the insides of my life coming out of me,” Vega told us in a soon-to-be-published interview. “The CD is all these different things that I play… Some guys say, ‘I play rock,’ or ‘I play blues ‘ or ‘I play jazz.’ I say that I play music, and after it’s done, someone else names it.”

Fans of the bass wizard will immediately recognize the opening track, “Gush, Say Hey,” which fleshes out the groove he played for BassTheWorld.com that went viral. He expanded it and made it a tribute to the great baseball player Willie Mays.

“He is one of my childhood heroes,” the bassist shares. “I would collect cushions so I could get cushion boy tickets to see the Giants play, and then I’d sit in the bleachers for $.99. I was at the baseball game when Juan Marichal hit John Roseboro over the head with a baseball bat at the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers game. So Say Hey for Number 24.”

Vega utilized his infamous Shark Bass and his Ribbecke Halfling bass to realize his musical visions, and he also play some guitar. He’s joined by Jim Pugh on keys, Kid Andersen on guitar and upright bass, Chriss Rossbach on guitar, Alan Hertz on drums, CVS on strings, and Jens Kruger, who performs banjo on the sublime “Jellyfish.”

Other highlights on What Cha Got include the Larry Graham inspired “Crackers and Chaos”, an homage to Bill Graham called “Helicopters,” the uber funky “Skunk Train,” and more. If there was a syllabus for bassists in 2023, What Cha Got would be required listening.

What Cha Got is available now on CD and as a digital download (iTunes and Amazon MP3).