I like Paul Chambers for his groove and arco. Sam Jones for his Time. Rufus Reid becaues he taught me. Jaco because of the absolute passion. Christian McBride because he's the MAN righ now--and he's the director of the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific, which is my Alma Mater; Ron Carter because of everything he's recorded; George Maraz because of his soul; Richard Davis because of his intensiity; Reggie Workman due to his authenticity; Lonnie Plaxico because of his work with he Jazz Messengers; Scott LaFaro--BECAUSE HE'S THE BEST! (Eddie Gomez and Chuck Isreal are cool, too!). Who're you 'un?
James Jamison of Motown fame is king. He's played on most Motown classics and is considered the "bass player's bass player". Even Geddy Lee and other rockers pay great tribute to him and his work, which, were compositional masterpieces in themselves. Also, Nathan East and Abraham Laboriel. These guys played on many of the who's who in pop music but are not talked about much because they play in the shadow of many great musicians. For an example listen to Abe's work on "New Frontier" on Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" album. Clean, dynamic, expressive and groovin'. For jazz? Ron Carter. Ask the artists at Blue Note why.
got to give Michael Manring a shout out here.Not saying he is my favorite but he deserves a mention with some of these greats.He has taken the instrument in a direction i have never heard anyone take it with his solo work.That Government Mule set really is a good smorgasbord Mitch2,i agree.Quick shout out to Chris Squire and Phil Lesh as well.Both of these players added their own voice to this instrument that is unmistakeable most times.Phil has an orchestral sensibility which he intersperses with pure improvisations.Love the things he has done recently with Phil and Friends and the music that has come from him post Grateful Dead(although i loved his playing with them as well of course).Also, way Squire plays some of those lines and sings unbelievable harmony at the same time is astonishing to me.JACO!! had to shout that too -talk about an innovator : ) Oscar Pettiford-just beautifull stand up lines. and the list of jazz standup bass giants could go on and on.Oh and the way Jack Cassidy twirls those lines around a guitar is pure beauty-can't leave him out as a great.alright enough of my opinion next.......
for a smorgasbord of good rock bass players, check out the two "Deep End" cd's by Gov't Mule, which Warren Haynes and Matt Abts made with a variety of bass players, after their friend and band mate, bass player Allen Woody, passed on. While you're at it, also check out their earlier stuff with Allen Woody on bass.
Alain Caron formerly of the jazz fusion band Uzeb (Montreal based band). Alain is a musician's musician and listening to any of his later solo releases will make you realize what real musicality can be extracted from this instrument. Jaco's spirit lives on in Alain for sure.
Neils Ostred Henning Pederson who is mentioned above and incredibly well thought of in Jazz circles tragically died yesterday. He died of a hear attack and was 58 years old.
John Entwhistle--#1, IMO Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose) Paul McCartney Colin Moulding (XTC) Arthur Barrow (Zappa) Christian McBride Stanley Clarke Tony Levin Graham Maby (Joe Jackson) Les Claypool Bruce Foxton (Stiff Little Fingers, The Jam)
Les Claypool has to be mentioned in this thread. I really enjoy his precision player and rhythmic combinations. Primus is the reason I started to listen to King Crimson. I'm going to be dating myself here, but I'll also give a nod to Jason Newstead formerly of Metallica. I've always digged Jason's demeanor. I'm glad that he's out on his own making the music that he likes now. Fieldy of Korn and Twiggy formerly of Marilyn Manson are also mildly assuming. But not because of any technical merit. ;-)
Les Claypool is really a standout in this category though.
I agree with everyone that has been mentioned. (Well almost) ;-) In the Pop music world, coming out of the 60's I would have to say the two players I found to be most impressive were James Jamerson and Paul McCartney. Jamerson is a given by now I hope. (!) With the "Standing in the Shadows" movie and all. So would like to say take a listen to the style changes and tone changes bassist Paul McCartney added to many a great Beatle song. I think he showed some of the most creative bass lines of any "pop" bassist with songs such as the wild ride of "Helter Skelter", to the rocking "Yer Blues" to tripped out "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", to the sliding and bouncing "Dear Prudence" and many others. McCartney also put in solid performances on all of the other Beatles material throughout the years of the band while also writing, singing, playing guitar, piano, and even drums on "The Ballad of John and Yoko". Last word. Can I mention Mr.Verdine White bassist of Earth, Wind & Fire? He came up with some of the funkiest, most elegant bass lines to play along with EWF's great chord changes in the mid to late 70's. Any how about the dude Jimmy Williams (not a household name) who played bass on all that Philadelphia International Records 70's stuff. Like Teddy Pendergrass solo albums, Curtis Mayfield, the O'Jays, etc. Not a lot of notes but what a deep, deep pocket/groove! Thank you all bass players! Keep on playing!
Right on regarding the ultra-influencial Larry Graham. I'd say it's tough to decide who was more influencial, Larry or James Jamerson. Both are legends.
And yes, thank you for reminding me of Duck Dunn. He is definitely one of my favorite players.
Perhaps, the most influential bass player in modern popular music must be Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station), as he invented the ubiquitous "popping" bassline. Even such monsters as Stanley Clarke, Jaco, etc. acknowledge(d) this.
My faves (in no particular order): Larry Graham - see above Oscar Pettiford - virtuoso of his era Stanley Clarke - nuanced, power, speed, light touch Percy Jones (Brand-X) - speed, harmonically advanced Reggie Workman - big, fat tone, comfortable at speed Jaco Pastorius - flat out improvisational genius Brian Bromberg - great tone, technically phenomenal Fred Hopkins - wrapped David Murray's bands in a warm hug John McVie - a Chicago Blues legend that happens to be a Brit Scott LoFaro - no technical limits, great tone, big ears George Mraz - fast and clean, light tone, great accompianist Charles Mingus - Flat out genius as a bassist and composer Flea - great stylist, melodic, the Peppers's foundation Jack Bruce - One of the best solists in early rock Allen Wentz (Wild Cherry) - Funky, FUNKY bass lines Ray Brown - Timekeeper par excellence Johnny Dyani - Avantgardist with huge tone and soul Tommy Shannon - muscular playing with Stevie Ray Vaughn Charlie Haden - the "Round Sound", great with Ornette Duck Dunn - The center of the earth, and the Memphis Sound Sorry, got to go.
For rock I like Stuart Hamm, onfortunately his songwriting abilities are a bit less. And then there is Rob Wasserman. Check out 'Trio's', which is stunning imho.
Check out Scott Thunes, who played for Zapppa in the 80s. Evidently, he is a jerk, so cannot get work. But man can he play. Also, it would be a shame not to mention Paul McCartny here. No band can be as great as the Beatles were without a great rhythm section, and if you listen closely, you'll hear that Paul always made music with that lefty Rickenbacker. Not flashy, but note perfect and choice.
Well, I DO really like myself, and it's not like I personally know many of the others mentioned, so... ;^p
Actually, y'all have covered it pretty well. I'll second Dean Peer, but he's so expansive in his playing that it's hard to even consider him a "bass player." Truly, a remarkable musician, and "Ucross" is one of the best made recordings that I own.
I will throw out the name Karl Gunther, although if you are not from Columbus, Ohio, or you don't very closely follow Blue Murder (who is now defunct, but with whom Karl did work on a never-to-be-released third alubum), you probably won't know who he is. He's the only bass player I've seen who draws a huge crowd TOWARDS the stage for his bass solo! He's stupid good, with musical taste, and is a heck of a nice guy. Probably even nicer than myself, so I guess I lose again...
But back to the question at hand, I would have to say that if I had to pick one bass player to be my favorite, it would have to be John Paul Jones. When I have friends who express an interest in learning to play bass, and they ask me for a good first step, my advice is always "Listen to JPJ on every Zep tune you can get your hands on. That, is what it means to play bass guitar."
Of course, on upright, Christian McBride and Charlie Hayden are two of my faves.
Oops. When you mentioned "Rufus Reid's playalong books," I just assumed that you were referring to TEB. Mea culpa! But, yeah, I know all--too-well about scale and arpeggio practice, especially in D flat!
Crazy, I have "TEB" somewhere? I worked with Simandle. Hours of scale and fret work. One of the best books for bass. Even though written in 1800's for upright/bow, you can use it with electric bass! I did it, and regret quiting.
Aston 'Family Man' Barret from Bob Marley and the Wailers. His playing impressed me to the point of buying up 'Songs of Freedom' song book, where i learnt couple of dozen (most favorite) songs and never picked the bass (Fender Fretless P-Bass circa '71/ Messa Boogie 400) again! I also liked Rufus Reid's playalong books!
Duane: Your postings are very hipological. Thanks for reminding me of Mirslov! Here's a couple more: Bob Crenshaw, who is on so many Blue Note recordings. Doug Watkins, a contemporary of Paul Chambers. Herbie Lewis, Frank Tusa, Mel Graves, and Larry Grennadier--all S.F. cats. There's also Neils Ostred Henning Pederson, who had monster chops. Gary Mapp played a lot with Monk. One of Wynton Marsalis' best bass players was Robert Hurst. You know, I can't believe I haven't mentioned Percy Heath and George Duvier! What's wrong with me??? I'm sure that I can think of a lot more, too. I gotta tell ya, I just love that instrument!
Gobs of great bassist out there. Crazy 4 beefed up the list pretty good w/ the last post, Here are a few more: Jannik Top- Zeul vibrato pioneer (and king)/Magma Keith Macksoud-Present/5uu's (sorta takes up where Top left off) Pad Conca-Blast/Otolithen Fred Hopkins-Air/Craig Harris/Karl Berger... made lots of real good rubbery acoustic bass sounds. Calvin Hill-Max Roach (Pictures in a Frame is a good start) Mark Helias-Huge resume, his solo discs are all good Mario Pavone-Thomas Chapin/also a great composer, also lots of excellent solo releases. Miroslav Vitous- Weather Report...The discs w/ Rypdal & Dejohnette are great. Stomu Takeshi-Another big resume, Erik Friedlander Topaz is a good one. Fred Baker-Phil Miller/Pip Pyle (was incredible at the prog festival in Seattle last Aug.) Mark Dresser-Huge high quality output, try Sakoto Fuji, Bell the Cat. Glen Moore-Oregon/his Nude Bass Descending disc is one of his best. Stuart Leibig-Nels Cline/Bone Structure, try Bone Structure or his Pomegranite disc. Dave Willey-Thinking Plague/Hamster Theatre, (super talented hard working composer & multi instrumentalist) Alphonso Johnson-Weather Report/Allan Holdsworth (King Crimson blew it by not picking him up when he auditioned),try his 1st two solo discs or A.H. Velvet Darkness. Hellmut Hattler- A big part of what made KRAAN so damn great, try Wiederhoren or Live 74 (or go to Nearfest on 6/29) Jamaladeen Tacuma-Ornette Coleman, some of the solo discs are spotty, Mirakle w/ Derek Bailey is good. Melvin Gibbs-Ronald Shannon Jackson/Rollins Band/Harriet Tubman (H.T. Prototype is a smoker). Fima Ephron-Lost Tribe/Dave Fiuczynski (his solo disc aint' bad either) Mick Karn-Japan/Mark Isham, the Polytown disc is my favorite thing he's done Eberhard Weber-This guy should have been listed 5 times already, Following Morning and Colors of Chloe are essential. Hugh Hopper-Soft Machine/StomuYamashta, cool fuzz bass pioneer Kato Hideki- He's on tons of recordings, but Bass Army really kicks arse. Chihiro S.-Lacrymosa Kind of like the best Pohjola but a little darker and intricate. Kent Kessler-Vandermark 5/NRG Ensemble (NRG Calling All Mothers is a good starter) Skuli Sverrison-Holdsworth/Mo Boma/Jim Black (try Jim Black Alasnoaxis) Gerald Veasley (I think alot of his stuff is generic swill, but what he does on Odean Pope's Out For a Walk is a work of hurculean glandular genius. Wilbo Wright-UI (get the Two Sided Sharpie for big deluxe slabs of e.bass) Jean Jaques Avenel-Steve Lacy (the Lacy/Roswell Rudd, Monk's Dream is a helluva' good score) Rob Nieske (his 3 disc is packed w/ carefully arranged improvised/composed mid sized ensemble works that really hold up) Sasaki Hisashi-Ruins, seeing this guy live dwarfs most live bass player experiences, HUGE vocabulary and he has his rig down cold. Billy Swann-Muffins, another twisted fuzz bass king. Kermit Driscoll-Bill Frisell/New and Used/Mahavishnu Project, (can't go wrong w/ New and Used, if yer' into challenging, interesting and obviously for the most part premeditated stuff. Trevor Dunn-Mr. Bungle/Jettison Slinky/Zorn, his Trio Convulsant disc is an amazing volcanic ripper (kind of like an Ornette version of Bozzio's Blacklight Syndrome).
Okay, how about Charles Fambrough--his groove. Charnet Moffett because he's all that. Oscar Pettiford--he has chops to burn. Avery Sharp--he's got great ideas. Santi Debriani--he can hang with the Ellington band or Oliver Lake. I'm pretty good (in my college days--and I have recordings to prove it!). Red Mitchell because of his humanity AND he tuned his bass like a cello. Oh yeah, and Red Callendar for his swing; Milt Hinton--he's The Judge (he was actually one of the very first jazz bassists, switching from tuba to four string!). How about Jamil Nasser? He's got PHAT TONE! Don't forget Slam Stewart and the arco/vocal solos! You know, Dave Eubanks is pretty good--he's the brother of Kevin Eubanks, guitarist of "The Tonight Show" fame. Sheesh! I almost forgot about Cecil McBee--low reg! And what about CHARLES MINGUS??????????????????? His playing was great, especially in the bebop days, but, of course, his compositions are 2 dye 4! And there are some others, like Walter Booker, Dave Holland, Ron Carter, Al Makibbon, Gary Mapp, John Ore, Todd Coolman, Bill Douglass, Cameron Brown (I had some lessons from him in Italy), JIMMY GARRISON (Trane!), Tommy Potter, Leroy Vinegar (West Coast soul), CHARLIE HADEN, Ray Drumhand, Buster Williams (Super fat tone!)--all of these cats have given me pause in order to consider that BASS is the foundation of music, and, probably, life. Thanks, all.
All of the above with Jay Anderson, Marc Johnson and Michael Manring. Michael Manring "Drastic Measures" is my favorite bass player cd. Why? The music is a little classical jazz and the few solos there are no overdubs.
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