as part of my quest for DB FAQ's, i'd like to ask all you folks what you would consider essential DB recordings, at least as a starting point, from different genres.

Joel Quarrington - 2 of his CD's

Virtuoso Reality (CBC Records MVCD 1108)

features Bottesini Grand duo Concertant, Eccles Sonata, Sarasate - Ziegeunerweisen

Bottesini - Music for Double Bass vol. 1 (NAXOS 8.554002)

features Elegy 1,2 & 3, Allegro di Concerto (alla Mendelssohn), Allegretto Capriccio

Joel's the man. The best I've heard - ever. I'm very honoured to have studied with him too.

As a newbie down here the disks that made me want to play DB are:
Scott LaFaro/Bill Evans-Sunday at the village vangard
Paul Chambers-Bass on top
Charles Mingus- Ah Um
Cachao-Cuban Jam Sessions
Anything by Ray Brown and Jimmy Blanton
Stanley Clarke

Been looking to get into some classical that features bass, any suggestions

Originally posted by gruffpuppy
As a newbie down here the disks that made me want to play DB are:
Scott LaFaro/Bill Evans-Sunday at the village vangard
Been looking to get into some classical that features bass, any suggestions

La Faro- Excellent choice! Stanleys' first one with "Spanish Phases" on it was one of my first influential albums, also. The Ray Brown
"Some of my Best friends are..." series is very good. Also the Jay Leonhardt duets and above all, the NHOP and Jim Hall duet album "Chops".
As for classical, I like the Jorma Katrama recordings,
Contrabasso con Bravura, ..con Amore. A nice collection of showpieces for double Bass. Also Ludwig Streichers Encores is both awe-inspiring and humorous at the same time.
(Check out "The Bassists' nightmare")
Also have to mention anything with Gary Karr, Edgar Meyer, Gerd Reinke, Francois Rabbath.
And the list goes on, this is just off the top of my head...

I'll throw in a couple that were recommended to me when I started playing:
Jazz: Miles Davis: "Kind of Blue" (Paul Chambers)
Coltrane: "Giant Steps" (ditto)
Anything by the Evans/LaFaro/Motian trio plus "Arrival of Victor Feldman" for some earlier LaFaro

Umm, Newgrass? Grassical?
Edgar Meyer, "Uncommon Ritual"

I think that NHOP should be represented - I have a solo album that has some amazing playing "This us all I ask" but there is probably another album that is a better choice - with Oscar Peterson? I also think that Dave Holland's current quartet would be a good one - probably "Prime Directive" For Stanley Clarke - "Light as a Feather" with Chick Corea/Return to Forever, has some wonderful playing.

For current Bassists/Composers - Avishai Cohen and Christian McBride. Not sure which to nominate fro Cohen, butI like SciFi by McBride as an example of a Double Bassist working in contemporary genres without compromising his artistic integrity and musical skill.

excuse me but what is NHOP, cant find info on the web.

NHOP= Niels-Hennings Orsted Pedersen. A great recording is with Sam Jones "Double Bass".

niels hennings orsted pedersen (please forgive the undoubted spelling errors)

thanks for the suggestions, guys, keep em coming. i'll try to compile a list and see if i can get it kept at the top of the recordings forum.

Fast fingers Ed. Great minds think alike ;-}

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - quite a name to go world-wide with :). Here is one link I found:

http://www.kalleklev.no/eniels.html

Typical strange Scandinavian letters: Æ, Ø, Å.

thanks, i have heard of the man you call NHOP, but have not heard him. guess that answers why i couldn't find info easy. :)

For variety, how about "Money Jungle" by Duke, Roach, and Mingus.

What about "Limp Bizkit plays Korn: A Tribute Album?!"


Although it's Cello, can we include "Bach's Cello Suites." There's a good version by Yo-Yo Ma and Pablo Cablas? is okay, but I can't remember the name of the performer that I liked best.

jazzbo IMO i like pablo better, it has more "feeling", yo yo is great but i find him some what serile sounding. to perfect.

Originally posted by gruffpuppy
jazzbo IMO i like pablo better, it has more "feeling", yo yo is great but i find him some what serile sounding. to perfect.

But there's one artist I'm leaving out, and it's frustrating me that I can't remember his name! I always thought Yo-Yo had more feeling, and Pablo's was so technical. Funny how we both can have such different interpretations.

I'm a big fan of "The London Double Bass Sound" CD w/Gary Karr as the guest soloist. There's a whole series of the "London.... Sound" discs, and this one is supposedly the best of the bunch. Hearing 8 or 9 double basses as a section is just gorgeous. HUGE sound.

-a

This thread is great guys, despite being a pain in the wallet. I'm making a list for the next Border's gig...

Two of my personal favorites:

Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron - Night And The City
Charles Mingus - Live at Antibes

Originally posted by jazzbo


But there's one artist I'm leaving out, and it's frustrating me that I can't remember his name! I always thought Yo-Yo had more feeling, and Pablo's was so technical. Funny how we both can have such different interpretations.

The other might be Rostropovitch if you are still talking about cellists, but I'm just guessing. As for the difference between Ma and Casals,That depends on which recordings you listen to, the first set or the second set of Yo-Yo Ma's recordings. The later set shows so much more musical growth over the technicality of the earlier ones it is phenomenal. Just goes to show you there is always room to grow.

Originally posted by jazzbo

Funny how we both can have such different interpretations.

Yes, it is a wounderful world we live in.

even better since i found the ignore in MyTalkBass.:D

I like almost anything by german bassist Eberhard Weber.
At the beginning of his professionnal bassist carreer, he played standard jazz with several people, like with Joe Pass ("Intercontinental"), Baden Powell ("Baden Powell: Three Originals"), Stéphane Grapelli ("Verve Jazz Masters II"), Hampton Hawes ("Hampton Hawes in Europe"), Red Norvo ("Red Hot on Nova Bossa: Red Hot on Verve").

Then he became more involved in jazz-rock (with the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble with many albums on the MOOD records label), and people like Wolfgang Dauner, Volker Kriegel, Michael Naura, etc.
That's when he switched to the electric upright, and became its main pioneer.

He joined the ECM records label and recorded with other artists, like Jan Garbarek ("Rites", "Visible worlds", "Twelve moons", "I took up the runes", "Legend of the Seven Dreams", "It's OK to Listen to the Gray Voice", "Wayfarer", "Paths, Prints", "Photo with...", Pat metheny ("Watercolors"), Gary Burton ("Ring", "Passengers"), Ralph Towner (the classic "Solstice" and "Sounds and shadows"), plus his own records.

Colors of Chloe
Yellow fields
The following morning
Silent feet
Fluid rustle
Later that evening
Chorus
Orchestra
Pendulum

Originally posted by jazzbo


But there's one artist I'm leaving out, and it's frustrating me that I can't remember his name! I always thought Yo-Yo had more feeling, and Pablo's was so technical. Funny how we both can have such different interpretations.

i've heard both of them, as well as mstislav rostropovich, and in my opinion rostropovich's were the best.

Originally posted by john turner


i've heard both of them, as well as mstislav rostropovich, and in my opinion rostropovich's were the best.

But there's still one I'm missing, and for the life of me I can't remember. It's driving me crazy!

Originally posted by jazzbo


But there's still one I'm missing, and for the life of me I can't remember. It's driving me crazy!

I don't know if this is who you're thinking of or not, but the best recording I have ever heard of the cello suites was done by Janos Starker. Absolutely breathtaking....

Maurice Gendron. Took a long time, but I finally figured it out.

Just picked up Eberhard Weber Colors of Chloe and the London Double Bass Sound, both are great. Thanks for the recommendations. The only problem I have is the LDBS doing a Spice Girls song; don't know what the reason for that was, other than that they are both great disks. A couple more paychecks and I will give some of the others a try.

jim hughart on tom waits' 'nighthawks at the diner' is for me the best and is also great on any other tom waits album he's on eg 'foreign affair' or 'small change'

Originally posted by Rob W
Joel Quarrington - 2 of his CD's

Virtuoso Reality (CBC Records MVCD 1108)

features Bottesini Grand duo Concertant, Eccles Sonata, Sarasate - Ziegeunerweisen

Bottesini - Music for Double Bass vol. 1 (NAXOS 8.554002)


When will he record the Vol.2 in NAXOS?

STEAL AWAY--Charlie Haden and Hank Jones; Low-key, classic style; Haden's work here excellent for beg/int transcribers
LOVE FOR SALE--George Duvivier, Derek Smith, Bobby Rosengarden; Duvivier has a slick solo on "Sweet Lorraine" which Todd Coolman transcribed for his great bassists book for Aebersold
A GARLAND OF RED--Paul Chambers, Red Garland, Art Taylor; I could listen to Chambers on "A Foggy Day" all day

As a bass newbie (old bone player), the players that make me want to learn: Ray Brown (love his solo on "You Look Good To Me" with Oscar Peterson, I think Pablo label), Oscar Pettiford ("Tricotism"), Charlie Haden (love his duets with various people, including Pat Matheny), Glen Moore (plays with the group Oregon), Paul Chambers with Miles & others, Buster Williams, "NHOP", Scott LeFaro and Eddie Gomez, Gary Peacock (with Jarrett & DeJohnette)...there are so many others too!

Mr.P.C. with Miles or Coltrane.

I hate to overstate the obvious, but I guess "Mingus Ah Um" is an essential. It still sounded awfully fresh yesterday morning, when I listened to it for the zillionth time. Horace Parlan kicks butt.

Originally posted by gruffpuppy
Just picked up Eberhard Weber Colors of Chloe and the London Double Bass Sound, both are great.

I picked up Colours of Chloe last week - first time I'd seen it in a music shop in London. I remembered the discussion around here and was thinking about EUB players as I've just bought one as well!!

I do like this album, but it feels too short - I want more - any recommendations for next Weber album to get - I have the Jan Garbarek albums already?

What struck me about this was the similarity in the long (20 minutes) piece to the British group "Soft Machine" - especially their 3rd 1971 album. So - was Eberhard influenced by Soft Machine or Hugh Hopper, their bassist?

This intrigued me as I have never found anything before, that sounds remotely like Soft Machine in their Jazz/rock days - Soft Machine 3 is very quirky, but the players went on to gain respect over here - Elton Dean is accepted in European Jazz circles as a major composer/bandleader.

Anybody know of any links?

François Rabbath (Moshe-Naim recordings)
Renaud Garcia-Fons (Oriental bass, Fuera, etc...)

I agree with François as for Eberhard Weber, heard him only on a record of Baden Powell, fantastic !

Major Holley (Mule)
Ma-Meyer-O´Connor (Appalachian Journey)
Henry Texier (Amir)
Hakan Ehren (Tubin Concerto)
Frantisek Posta
L´orchestre de contrebasses (BassBassBass....)
Ron Carter (Blues Farm)
Cachao

The recordings of Koussevitztky as a historical
reference.

Among the many recordings of Joelle Léandre, you´ll find pretty interesting stuff (Scelsi, Fénelon...)
Robert Black
Fernando Grillo playing Scelsi
Stefano Scodanibbio (Estrada, Scodanibbio...)

I´ve heard once a very good recording of Frescobaldi´s Canzone played on a baroque DB,
does anybody know that record and who is the bassist ?