By Matt Wickstrom

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The infectious, bass-driven rhythms of Chris “Freekbass” Sherman and his band, The Bump Assembly, will infiltrate Cosmic Charlie’s stage on Friday night for a night of soulful Cincinnati funk.

Freekbass and The Bump Assembly will perform new songs off their upcoming release “Cincinnati,” the first with Ropeadope Records, as well as more seasoned songs from their arsenal.

Ropeadope Records was founded in 1999, coinciding with the release of “Project Logic” by DJ Logic. Since then the company has worked with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Col. Bruce Hampton, Snarky Puppy and a plethora of other diverse artists, now including Freekbass.

“I’ve been following Ropeadope since I was a kid,” Sherman said. “They are such an artist friendly label and they really get what makes you who you are, which is really exciting as an artist.”

Sherman was also very passionate about magic as a child, a love that has manifested the mysterious, magician-like stage persona of the veteran bassist.

As magic leaves one’s eyes in awe and disbelief, Sherman said music does the same thing for the ears.

“Part of it is the whole illusionary aspect of it,” he said. “It’s like seeing your first rock concert as a kid. Everything looks like magic to you with how these people can make the sounds come of their instruments the way they do.”

Sherman picked up a set of drumsticks before he moved on to guitar or bass, but he now prefers bass to guitar or anything else because of the heavy sounds it produces.

“Guitar always feels so delicate … whereas the bass is thick and meaty,” he said. “The low-end tones of the bass are what attract me to it compared to the higher tones of guitars.”

Sherman’s mastery of the bass has him teaching tips and tricks to aspiring musicians and scheduling local appointments, but it has also taken him overseas to lead instructional courses like he did this summer at the London Bass Guitar Show. Sherman has an instructional video entitled “TrueFire Presents 50 Freekbass Licks You Must Know,” with another entitled “Funktronic Blues Construction” coming out next month.

“Cincinnati” will be available Dec. 11 on all major digital platforms, with a chance to get an of advance copy at Friday’s show.

Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts at 10 p.m. with a performance by local artist DJ Jon Dose. The show is for ages 21 and up, with tickets available at the door or on Ticketfly for $8.

“Cosmic Charlie’s and their booking agent, Mark Evans, have been great supporters,” Sherman said. “(They) have provided a great place to grow as an artist and try new material and push the envelope, because you feel like that’s what the people in Lexington want.”

Freekbass’ most recent single, “Put It In A Letter,” may he heard on Soundcloud.