Rocco Benefit In New York City
By Chris Jisi - Senior Contributing Editor
On September 23rd, Manhattan’s Le Bar Bat hosted a benefit for Tower Of Power’s Rocco Prestia, who is recovering from his July liver transplant. The event was co-organized by drummer Lee Finkelstein and bassist Jack Knight of the New York-based Tower Of Power cover band Funk Filharmonik, as well as Victor Wooten’s manager Danette Albetta, and Bass Player Senior Contributing Editor Chris Jisi.
Guests included celebrity bassists Francisco Centeno, Jerry Barnes, Lincoln Goines, Matt Garrison, Steve Bailey, Doug Wimbish, Lonnie Plaxico, and Will Lee, each of whom sat in on a tune with the 12-piece funk unit. High points included Garrison’s boppish blowing on “Credit,” Bailey’s solo piece “Rocco Gibraltar,” “Wimbish’s effect-frenzied solo on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star,” Will Lee’s bounding romp through “What is Hip?,” and Lonnie Plaxico’s deep, improvised upright grooves on a 30-minute version of “Squib Cakes” that featured TOP horn alum Lenny Pickett, Greg Adams, Norbert Stachel, and John Scarpulla, and New York mainstays Lew Soloff and Lou Marini. Rocco himself called from California mid-set to offer his thanks.
Sponsors included D’Addario, Samson/Hartke, the Bass Collective, BASS PLAYER, and Fodera; their donated products, along with CDs from the guest musicians and Rocco t-shirts designed by Fotovision Multimedia Corp., were raffled off all night. Four-and-a-half hours later, over $11,000 had been raised for the Rocco Prestia Medical Fund.