Can somebody tell me exactly what the most basic form of a samba bassline is? I found this, but it seems to have more notes than just the basic. I'm playing a couple sambas in my jazz band, and kind of winging it. They are pretty fast, like 200 bpm. I'd like something to fall back on, and build my line around, that is legitimately the essence of samba.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/recording/books/berklee/s210.jpg

That's kind of cool, actually. Thanks for posting it.

Try:

1 (2) & 3 (4) & | (1 2) & 3 4 |

I think it's really that & of 3 that matters, and not playing on 2.

Hmm... I don't know... that's cool but it doesn't look (nor sound) as a typical samba bassline to me. Most of the times, the bass follows the pattern played by a brazilian bass drum (can't recall its name right now), which is a dotted quarter note plus an eighth note twice in a cut time measure. I've transcribed the bassline for a famous (I think the most famous) samba tune: "Brazil". That's the way I play it and it works like that for most samba tunes (Well, I came up with a two-bar slap riff played six times in measures 22-23 and maybe it isn't that typical, but trust me, it sounds pretty cool there). Don't forget that it's in cut time: Two beats in a bar and each beat is a half note (130 beats per minute). Hope this helps. :)

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9575/brazilbasslineforweb5ku.jpg

Most of the times, the bass follows the pattern played by a brazilian bass drum (can't recall its name right now)

Surdo! Click here! (http://pertout.customer.netspace.net.au/lsambapart1.htm) (They say that Samba is written in 2/4, which sounds the same as written in cut time. The only difference is that rhythmic figures are written half the value than in 2/2, but IMO, cut time (2/2) reflects better the character of Samba.)

Also look here (http://members.cox.net/drum/surdos01.htm).

I agree with you, Al...
C-Ba55's example is cool but not a Samba.

A basic American-ized version is-
l1--a2--a3--a4--al1 etc
(May look a Shuffle...it ain't & it's played jack-rabbit fast)

lC--GG--DD--GG--ClC etc

Or-

lC--F#G--C#D--F#G--ClC etc

C-Ba55's example is cool but not a Samba.

Rhythmically, it has a flavor to Dizzy Gillespie's "Manteca" theme to me.

bass line is really good,
it got some bossa flavor to it too.