Laurence Cottle Profile

GB Guitars profiles Laurence Cottle, UK Bass legend and top-level jazz and session musician - he uses both GB Basses and EBS amps.

See and hear more of Laurence and his amazing bass in action ...

It’s always the same. You ask any UK bassist what they think of Laurence Cottle and the answer is universally one of disbelief, admiration and total respect for his practically unmatched combination of virtuosity, musicianship and top-level creativity. The man is in the premier league of electric bassists on the planet. Despite such abilities and no shortage of acclaim Cottle remains humble, down-to-earth and as unpretentious as you could wish for – he’s a regular guy who just happens to be a supremely talented musician. We at GB thought it only right to let you know a little bit more about Laurie and his various projects both past and present and why he chose to commission Bernie Goodfellow to build him a bass that would suit his every need.

Laurence grew up in a musical family, his dad led a band when he was just a lad and young Laurence was given the trombone as his first instrument, while his two other brothers took up trumpet and clarinet. While not the most obvious route to playing the bass, it meant that by his mid-teens Laurence had completed all his music grades and was happy sight-reading bass clef – an invaluable skill that today means he’s one of the most gifted sight-readers in the session world. At the same time Laurie’s dad took his family band out for gigs all over Wales and the West Midlands. When his father decided the band should become a dance outfit it was then that Laurie switched to bass. Constantly surrounded by music, Cottle taught himself how to play, never receiving any formal lessons on bass. As a life in music beckoned Cottle ended up in London, following in the footsteps of his sax-playing brother Richard, who had just finished a world tour with Stevie Wonder, as well as playing sessions with David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Laurence took a job in a music shop and soon started networking his way into the top level of London’s jazz and session community. Around this time he met Mike Mower and joined his band Itchy Fingers, and then the band Hiatus, which won a jazz award in 1986. Moving on from this Laurence then became superb guitarist Jim Mullen’s bassist for the best part of eight years, recording and touring extensively. He also managed top make his only two solo albums, ‘Five Seasons’ and ‘The Laurence Cottle Quintet: LIVE!’.

Now Laurence leads his own astonishing Big Band featuring world-class jazz singer Claire Martin, playing a variety of standards, some jaw-dropping Tower Of Power songs and his own material. While the band are all top-draw jazz musicians, it’s Laurence’s stunning arrangements that beggar belief for their sophistication and sheer daring. Laurence is a master musician well beyond his complete command of the bass guitar, and it’s through his intricate scores, written for his 16-piece big band that one truly hears the breadth of his musicianship. With constantly shifting time signatures, head-spinning melodic invention and dazzling dynamics Laurence not only lays the foundations on the bass but also manages to conduct the band as well.

With appearances around the world – and later this year at Cheltenham jazz festival the LCBB is widely acknowledged as a true powerhouse unit. When he’s not writing charts for this band he still plays sessions for films, top pop, rock and jazz acts as well as writing and performing his own highly successful library music that has been used on dozens of TV shows and films around the world.

Demanding the very highest level of sound and playability from his bass it’s no surprise that he turned to GB Guitars for his current bass. Laurie’s Rumour five string is a combination of many of his favourite basses – a hybrid of their dimensions and feel but complimented by the light-weight timbers, stunning good looks and the unique GB electronics and pickups that give Cottle his distinctive, punchy, warm sound. : “I asked Bernie to make me a bass a while back. He was determined to make a bass or me that I was really happy to play. So he took measurements of basses that I really liked and we looked at woods and chose an exotic wood that looked really nice, but that also had really good resonant qualities. The body is made out of swamp ash, with a facing of an African wood called Thuya. The fingerboard is made of snakewood. It’s very exotic stuff it looks amazing. It’s got a straight through neck made out of flame maple and black American walnut, with the strings running through the Body".