{{About|the American R&B musician|the English rock musician|Rory Storm}} {{BLP sources|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Al Caldwell | image = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = <!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, United States | origin = | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date 1st) --> | death_place = | genre = R&B | occupation = Instrumentalist, studio engineer, producer | instrument = Bass guitar, banjo | years_active = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) --> | label = | current_member_of = Travelling Black Hillbillies | website = {{URL|http://www.tbhillbilly.com}} }} '''Al Caldwell''' is an American R&B musician who mainly plays the bass guitar and banjo with the Travelling Black Hillbillies. He is also a studio engineer and producer.
==Career== Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Caldwell started out as a clarinet player and moved on to the trumpet. He attended Mississippi Valley State on scholarship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tbhillbilly.com/main.html|title=Al Caldwell and the Travelling Hillbillies.|access-date=2006-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101131901/http://tbhillbilly.com/main.html|archive-date=2007-01-01|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has played for a variety of entertainers including Vanessa Williams,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bassplayer.com/story.asp?storyCode=8363|title=Al Caldwell Broadens the Bass.|access-date=2006-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426230741/http://www.bassplayer.com/story.asp?storycode=8363|archive-date=2006-04-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also works for hire on studio albums as a session musician. He has performed on a number of television shows.
When Caldwell plays electric bass, he usually performs using Extended-range basses, (or "ERBs"), which are electric bass guitars with more range (usually meaning more strings, but sometimes additional frets are added for more range) than the "standard" 4-string bass guitar. The techniques used to play the extended-range bass are closely related to those used for basses, including finger plucking, slapping, popping, and tapping, though a plectrum (pick) is very rarely used. The upper strings of an extended-range bass allow bassists to adopt playing styles of the electric guitar. One such style is the practice of "comping", or playing a rhythmic chordal accompaniment to an improvised solo. Al Caldwell was the first MIDI 9 string bassist. Conklin Basses made the first Midi 9 string for Al Caldwell. Al Caldwell had Benavente Basses make the first 11 string MIDI bass.
== Discography == *2004 ''9 String Human Being'' - Baby Al Music *2004 ''Good Livin'' - Baby Al Music *2004 ''Hillbilly Soul'' - Baby Al Music *2004 ''Hootananny Soul'' - Baby Al Music *2005 ''Hell if I know '' - Baby Al Music *2005 ''Forbidden'' - Baby Al Music *2005 ''Bass for Lovers'' - Baby Al Music
==References== <references/>
== External links == * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p346141|label=Al Caldwell}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061026201712/http://www.9stringbass.com/ 9 String Bass] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070101131901/http://tbhillbilly.com/main.html Al Caldwell and the Travelling Hillbillies]
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Al}} Category:American session musicians Category:American banjoists Category:American bass guitarists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from St. Louis Category:Guitarists from Missouri Category:American male bass guitarists Category:Year of birth missing (living people)