Bass X

Not to be confused with a '90s club/dance/electronica act that also went by Bass X, the Bass X profiled in this bio is a smooth jazz/urban contemporary/quiet storm group that is led by producer Larry Hubbard, keyboardist Tim Gant, and singer Michael White. Those are three names that one identifies with the NAC (new adult contemporary) market, and their Bass X outfit does, in fact, have a lot of NAC appeal -- NAC as in the R&B-minded side of instrumental smooth jazz, and NAC as in vocal-oriented quiet storm R&B. With Bass X, Hubbard, Gant, and White have gone after fans of instrumentalists like Grover Washington Jr., the Crusaders, David Sanborn, and Joe Sample -- and they have also set their sights on listeners who are likely to appreciate romantic, adult-oriented urban contemporary vocalists such as Luther Vandross, Sade, Anita Baker, Freddie Jackson, and the late Phyllis Hyman. Bass X's albums are friendly to Gerald Albright, Ronnie Laws, and Joe Sample fans; they're equally friendly to admirers of Peabo Bryson, Kashif, Whitney Houston, and Glenn Jones. Bass X's combination of smooth jazz and quiet storm is a logical one when you consider how many smooth jazz instrumentalists have featured urban contemporary singers on their albums -- and that many people who are into Vandross, Sade, Jackson, and Baker are also into Washington and Sanborn. Gant, Hubbard, and White first came together as Bass X in 2001, when the group's debut album, Vol. 1: The Beginning, was recorded for LVH Music. Two years later, Bass X signed with Liquid 8 Records, a small independent label based in Minnetonka, MN. Bass X's second album, Vol. 2: Heir Wave, was released by Liquid 8 in 2003.