Meet Martin Simpson

Denis (or Denny, as we all call him) originally hails from Mauritius but has lived here in South Africa for most of his life. Denny is one of SA's first call bassists and is one of the busiest low-end session men in the country. I was privileged to play some duets with Denny at a South African Bass Collective recital evening in November 2007 and was astounded by his articulation, precision, speed and execution. This man plays every note as though it's the last he'll ever play. Although he makes no mention of it in this interview, Denny's secret is his HUGE ears – he's the fastest listener this side of the Equator.

[Martin] How long have you been playing Denny?

[Denny] I've been playing Bass for about 36 years.

[Martin] You played drums before you played bass. Was there anything you tried your hand at before the drums?

[Denny] I'm the 2nd to last in a family of 6 (2 girls and 4 boys – in that order) and my oldest brother Gerard was into the shadows, Beatles, Cliff Richard and he played Guitar and Bass so I started playing guitar at the age of 8.

[Martin] What other instruments do you play?

[Denny] Apart from guitar and drums, I love percussion and although I never did a gig on perc, I used to drive my family and teachers mad by constantly tapping out rhythms on anything I could lay my hands on.

[Martin] Do you come from a musical family?

[Denny] Yes, my whole family played something or sang at one point. My father was a judge of the Supreme Court but he played the Banjo as a youngster and the Piano later.

[Martin] How did you make the transition from drums to bass?

[Denny] When I was 16, a guy at school came to me and said: "You play drums, right?' I said yes. He said: "Good. We need a bass player; will you come and play with us?" I said: "I told you I play drums". He said: "If you can play drums, you can play bass, so will you come and play?" I thought about it for a few seconds and said "Ok."  I have never looked back since...

[Martin] Have you taken formal musical training?

[Denny] I was born and raised in the island of Mauritius and I absorbed an incredible amount of rhythm from growing up there – our local music there is called the "Sega" which has a kind of 6/8 feel. I absolutely love 6/8's, be it the Yellowjackets' type or the African or Latin type. I feel very grateful for whatever I have absorbed as a musician that even the local musicians here have said, "if I close my eyes, I would swear that I was listening to a black bass player"...

I never had any formal training whatsoever. I learned everything I know by listening to and copying/transcribing whatever music I loved at the time. In my early 20's I felt the urge to do studio work and thought to myself "I'd better learn how to read, then!" and proceeded to learn and practice reading on my own. I've been doing session work ever since...