Laboriel, Abraham (17th July 1947-Present)

He is a bassist born in Mexico City whose father was a guitarist and composer and gave him his first lessons and when he was 10 years old he recorded his first song with the band Los Traviesos.

He trained as a classical guitarist and as a teenager also acted, but while he was attending Berklee School of Music he changed to the bass guitar. He was given the advice to move to Los Angeles to follow a career in recording by Henry Mancini after travelling with him, Johnny Mathis and Michel LeGrand. After taking up this suggestion in 1976 he found himself a session musician who has now performed on soundtracks and albums that total over 3-4,000. This earned him the accolade of being “the most widely used session bassist of our time” by Guitar Player Magazine.

Aside from his recording career he was a founder of the groups Koinonia and Friendship and in his own solo work he has released three albums.

Artists he has worked with over the years include Air Supply, Patti Austin, Joan Baez, Phillip Bailey, Big Mountain, Stephen Bishop, Captain & Tennille, Larry Carlton, Joe Cocker, Leonard Cohen, The Crusaders, Miles Davis, Dr. John, Sheena Easton, Randy Edelman, Tommy Emmanuel, Donald Fagen, Wilton Felder, Roberta Flack, The Floaters, David Foster, Aretha Franklin, Steve Gadd, The Imperials, James Ingram, Chris Isaak, Elton John, Jim Keltner, Chaka Khan, Lisa Loeb, Kenny Loggins, Trini Lopez, Lyle Lovett, Lulu, Melissa Manchester, Manhattan Transfer, Arnold McCuller, Bette Midler, Maria Muldaur, Claus Ogerman, Jeffrey Osborne, Dolly Parton, Teddy Pendergrass, The Pointer Sisters, Billy Preston, Zachary Richard, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ritenour, Robbie Robertson, Kenny Rogers, Brenda Russell, Lalo Schifrin, Marlena Shaw, Ben Sidran, Curtis Stigers, Barbra Streisand, Teena Marie, The Temptations, Stanley Turrentine, Sarah Vaughan, Lenny Williams, The Winans, Stevie Wonder, Yarbrough & Peoples and hundreds more.

It’s impossible to name the thousands of recordings he was on, but a few of them include his own Dear Friends, Guidum and Just & Abraham and also Fandango by Herb Alpert, Give Me the Night by George Benson, My World by Ray Charles, Back Home by Eric Clapton, No Tricks by The Commodores, Raw Silk by Randy Crawford, Another Page by Christopher Cross, Greatest Hits by Sheryl Crow, Earth Songs by John Denver, Best of Ella by Ella Fitzgerald, Children of the Worldby Stan Getz, Indian Summer by Go West, Lift Me Up by Herbie Hancock, Yours by Engelbert Humperdinck, Dangerous by Michael Jackson, Look to the Rainbow by Al Jarreau, Ultimate Collection by Quincy Jones, Midnight in San Juan by Earl Klugh, Hundred Miles Or More by Alison Krauss, Invincible Summer by k.d. Lang, I’m Breathless by Madonna, Showstoppers by Barry Manilow, Me Amaras by Ricky Martin, Special Part of Me by Johnny Mathis, Take It to Heart by Michael McDonald, Love Performance by Olivia Newton John, Rescue Me by Tom Jones, Can’t Slow Down by Lionel Richie, Patrice by Patrice Rushen, World Radio by Leo Sayer, You’re the One by Paul Simon, and Best Is Yet to Come by Grover Washington Jr.

Recognised for his contribution to music, Berklee College of Music awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2005.

His sons are the drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and the producer and film composer Mateo Laboriel.

Herb Alpert recordings
Angel (Juan Carlos Calderon)
Route 101 (Juan Carlos Calderon)

The Manhattan Transfer Recordings
Body and Soul (Edward Heyman/Johnny Green/Robert Sour/Frank Eyton)
Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone (Marius Constant/Jay Graydon/Alan Paul)

Sources

Laboriel, Abraham (17th July 1947-Present)

Navigate Feenotes

Search Feenotes

Please donate to keep the site alive