Foley (musician)

Foley
Foley performing at Jazz à la Villette, France 2017
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Lee McCreary, Jr.
Also known as	Foley
Born	(1962-11-06) November 6, 1962 Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Origin	Columbus, OH
Genres	Jazz, jazz fusion, post-bop, Funk, Funk Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, photographer
Instrument(s)	bass, drums, guitar, singing
Years active	1980s–present
Labels	Motown, SmartAlecRECORDS
Website	smartalecmusic.com

Foley (born Joseph Lee McCreary, Jr. 6th November 1962) is an American bassist, drummer and singer who is best known as the "lead bassist" with Miles Davis from 1987 until 1991.

Music career

Foley was born in Columbus, Ohio. Growing up he listened to Sly and the Family Stone, and after his mother bought him a bass (at age 12) he started playing with local bands. In 1987, he had a phone conversation with Marcus Miller, then Miles Davis's bass player, and afterward sent him a tape of his music. Weeks later he got a call from Davis, who'd heard the tape and asked Foley to send him a copy: Miles Davis was looking for a guitarist, but at that time Foley had been working on getting his bass to sound like a guitar. By May 1987 Foley was touring with Davis, and played with him until the fall of 1991.

According to author George Cole, Davis gave Foley advice late in Foley's tenure with his band that changed the bassist's musical approach:

Ironically Miles died at the time when Foley was beginning to feel happy about his playing in Miles's band. "I didn't enjoy any performance with Miles for the most part until the last seven gigs before it was over – I started playing that gig," he says, "we were at Venice airport one night and he told me to play half of what I normally played. It really fucked me up the whole day and then I went on-stage and tried it and I began to realize that's what would make me phrase. That was the night I started to learn how to play."

In 1993 he played a lead bass solo on Mint Condition's R&B Top 40 hit "So Fine" and the interlude track "Gumbo" from their album From the Mint Factory.

In 1993, during his time at Motown, Foley released 7 Years Ago...Directions in Smart-Alec Music. The album included "If It's Positive".

The Cité de la Musique showed a Miles Davis exhibition from October 16, 2009, to January 17, 2010, that included Foley's "lead bass".

Technique

Foley tuned his bass nearly an octave higher than a standard bass guitar using piccolo bass strings and processed it through various effects, allowing him to sound like a lead guitarist.

Discography

As leader

• 7 Years Ago ... Directions In Smart-Alec Music (MoJazz, 1993)
• Smart Alec Music? (SmartAlecRECORDS 1997)
• Life without Dat Vol.1 (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2001)
• TIME:Clock of Da Universe (SmartAlecRECORDS, 2002)

As sideman

With Keith Staten

• Take Me Now (Self-Released, 1984)
• Don't Tell Me That (Self-Released, 1985)
• Break Your Body (Self-Released, 1985)

With George Clinton

• Hey, Man, Smell My Finger (Paisley Park, 1993) – recorded in 1992-93
• George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love (Shanachie, 2008)

With Miles Davis

• Amandla (Warner Bros., 1989) – recorded in 1988-89
• Miles In Paris (Warner Bros., 1990)
• Dingo (Warner Bros., 1991) – recorded in 1990
• Black Devil (Beech Marten, 1992)
• Live - From His Last Concert in Avignon (LaserLight Digital, 1992)
• Miles in Montreux (Jazz Door, 1993)
• Live Around the World (Warner Bros., 1996) – recorded in 1988-91
• Miles And His Group (Toshiba EMI, 1997)
• At La Villette (JVC, 2001)
• Live In Munich (Pioneer, 2002)
• The Complete Miles Davis At Montreux (Warner Music, 2002)
• Munich Concert (Deluxe, 2005)
• Time After Time. Live At The Philarmonic Concert Hall (Standing Oh!vation, 2005)
• The Very Best Of Miles Davis (Rhino Records, 2007)
• That's What Happened Live in Germany (Eagle Vision, 2009) – recorded in 1987
• On The Crest Of The Airways (Rock Melon Music, 2011)
• Miles! The Definitive Miles Davis At Montreux DVD Collection (Eagle Vision, 2011)
• 1986-1991 The Warner Years (Warner Music France, 2011)
• Merci Miles! Live at Vienne (Warner Bros., 2021) – recorded in 1991

With Kenny Garrett

• Prisoner of Love (Atlantic, 1989)

With Mint Condition

• From the Mint Factory (Perspective, 1993)

With Paolo Rustichelli

• Capri (Verve, 1991)
• Mystic Jazz (Polydor, 1992)

With Lenny White

• Renderors Of Spirit (Hip Bop, 1996)
• Edge (Hip Bop, 1998)
• Lenny White Live (BFM Jazz, 2013) – live recorded in 1997

With Speech

• Speech (Chrysalis, 1995)

With Paul Brown's Science Gravy Orchestra

• Science Gravy Classics (Self-Released, 2001)

With Mavis Staples

• Have A Little Faith (Alligator, 2004)

With Happy Chichester

• Lovers Come Back (PopFly, 2007)

With Parliament-Funkadelic

• Chocolate City: London | P-Funk Live At Metropolis (Metropolis Recordings, 2015)

With Talib Kweli

• Quality (Rawkus, 2002)

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook page
• Official Instagram page
• YouTube Channel
• Vimeo page
• Discogs entry no.1
• Discogs entry no.2
• Allmusic entry