When I first met Bronx born bassist Al “Boogie” Carty 20 years ago, I was playing at a spot in Toronto called Joe Mama’s.  Al was in town playing a show with R&B artist Glenn Lewis and stopped in to check out some live music on a night off.  After meeting and chatting between sets, Al sat in at the end of the night and I was blown away at the pocket, groove and shear musicianship that he was laying down.  After rhythmically tearing up a couple of tunes and laying down some solid laid back pocket, he tore the roof off the place with a solo filled with beautiful melodies and some tasty funk blues licks.  

Since that time, Al has played bass with a who’s who of musical artists including Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Tamia, Ed Sheeran, Meshell Ndegeocello, Mavis Staples, Queen Latifah, Toni Braxton, J. Cole, Dietrick Haddon and has held the bass chair with Rob Thomas for the past 15 years.  Al has done work with some of these artists as a musical director, and is a producer and composer as well.

Al’s weapon of choice is his 1997 Pensa J Bass, which is one of the most well worn basses I have ever seen.  There is an approximately 1/2″ deep groove at the top side of the bridge pickup from where his thumb has rested over the years.  The pickup selector has a groove worn around the entire knob from his fingers turning the knob between pickups over the years.  Add to that all the natural wear on the finish of the bass and it’s a thing of beauty.  And as you’ll hear in the interview, it sounds great too.

I caught up with Al at a space in Midtown Manhattan in May of 2022 to catch up and talk about all of the important things like his upbringing, education and influences, exercises that he’s used to build his playing, how to make it in the music industry as a session bassist and how he’s managed to build such an impressive resume over the years.  Al also gives a breakdown of his slap bass technique and some ways you can work on yours.  it is always amazing how great players can do something impressive with just the basics.  

Check out the interview below and be sure to follow Al on Instagram: @aliasboogie or here.

You can get access to our entire archive of Bass Player Interviews as part of your Low End Nation Bass Lessons Membership.  Not a member?  Start your Free 7 Day Trial Now and get access to the full site for as little as $6.99/month with an annual membership!