Rocco Prestia | |
|---|---|
 Prestia in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. |
| Born | (1951-03-07)March 7, 1951 Sonora, California, U.S. |
| Died | September 29, 2020(2020-09-29) (aged 69) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genres | Smooth jazz,jazz-funk,funk,rhythm and blues |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Electric bass |
| Years active | 1970–2020 |
Francis Rocco Prestia Jr. (March 7, 1951 – September 29, 2020) was anAmerican bassist, best known for his work with thefunk bandTower of Power.
Born inSonora,California, Prestia started playingelectric guitar as an adolescent. When he auditioned forEmilio Castillo's band,Tower of Power, Castillo persuaded him to switch toelectric bass.[1]
Prestia worked with the band for the next three decades, before he became seriously ill in 2001. His fans and friends created a foundation in order to help pay the artist's medical costs. On December 5, 2014, Prestia underwent successful liver transplant surgery.[2]
Rocco is survived by the loves of his life, Julian Francis Rocco Prestia and Alicia-Lyn JoAnn Prestia.
Prestia was a master of fingerstyle funk bass playing. His technique made heavy use of left hand muting. He muted his strings lightly to create a thick percussive sound while maintaining pitch clarity. He also frequently incorporated ghost notes to fill empty space. His characteristic sound, in combination with a highly rhythmic approach to bass lines, makes Prestia's sound unmistakable.[1]
Along withJames Jamerson,Stanley Clarke,Anthony Jackson andAlphonso Johnson, Prestia belonged to a generation of musicians that fostered a revolution on theelectric bass—inspiring the innovative work ofJaco Pastorius in the mid-1970s.[3] Prestia's influential style can be heard on classicTower of Power tracks such as the 1973 hit "What is Hip". Prestia citedJames Jamerson and the different musicians who worked forJames Brown (particularlyBootsy Collins) as his main influences.[4]
Prestia's primary instruments were hisFender Precision basses (a purple transparentAmerican Deluxe and a natural ash-bodied short-lived signature model with a reverse split pickup and a 2-band EQ). He later maintained an association with theConklin company that provided him a custom built four-string instrument, one of the few in the company's catalog.[5]
In January 2013,ESP Guitars announced that Prestia had joined their roster of endorsing artists. The company made reference to the introduction of their LTD RB series on May 22, 2014.[6][7]
Prestia died on September 29, 2020, at age 69, in a Las Vegas hospice.[8]
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