What CD purchases have you made because of the bassist?

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Hope this has not been done before or to recently.


What CD's did you buy primarily because of the bassist? Sure the artist may be great, but you got it because of that lord of the low end.

My first Dave Sanborn Purchase was because of Marcus Miller,
Miles Davis' Tutu, Marcus
Chick Corea, John Patitucci
Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten
Al Jarreau, Able Laboriel
Avenue Blue, Lincoln Goines

It doesn't have to be in this style of music, maybe you heard that bassist on the radio first and had to check out a certain band.

Point is, I have got to discover a lot of great music mostly because of a hip bassist was on the tracks.

What was some of your discoveries? I know I left out a few obvious ones.

[Starbucker]

Robert Randolph and the Family Band, "Unclassified," anything by Primus, Bela Fleck, Satriani (only one CD, and that was b/c of Stu Hamm).

[JimK]

Too numerous to mention...really.
I with you on the Sanborn stuff with MM; same, too, for MM with Luther.
I used to try & buy ANYTHING with Chuck Rainey(remember Eye To Eye?) or Will Lee or Anthony Jackson.

I will say, pre-Internet, I would check out 'obscure' groups because Bass Player mag would do an article on a certain player.
One example is Fima Ephron...I hadn't heard the SHT's music; Ephron sounded cool in BP's article, so I bought their record. Then I stumbled onto Lost Tribe, Lunar Crush &, more recently, the Hasidic New Wave...all bands with Ephron.

[Alan Vorse]

Joni Mitchell-Hejira for Jaco.
Rise Robots Rise-self tited for Fima Ephron.
Rollins Band-Weight for Melvin Gibbs.
There was a Robbie Robertson CD that I got for Tony Levin and Manu Katche, sold it.
Paul Simon-Graceland for Bakithi Kumalo.

[Matt Till]

Level 42's greatest hits... it was almost worth the 3 dollars I paid for it used... almost.

[relayer66]

All of 'em...

[Woodchuck]

Most recently:
Our Time is Coming - Masters at Work, with Gene Perez manning the '75 Jazz and Ken Smith 5

Here comes the Noisemakers, Bruce Hornsby Live. JV Collier on the Smith 6

[Rob W]

The Carpenters - box set

...chock full of Joe Osborn, my man!

I will buy just about anything with Joe on it.

[Richard Lindsey]

Actually, not that many, and fewer and fewer all the time. I bought Weather Report records more for Shorter and Zawinul. I did buy some Jaco and Patitucci solo records for the bass playing (though I wouldn't have kept them if I didn't like the music), and I bought a Leni Stern record once because I wanted to hear Alain Caron. I won't buy a record whose only real attraction is "hot bass playing"--such records generally bore me. These days I almost always buy records on the basis of the music as a whole, not because of the bass playing.

[Blackbird]

Every Al Di Meola album I ever bought for Jaco (Land of the Midnight sun) and Anthony Jackson (everything else)
Joni Mitchell's Hejira for Jaco. Mingus also.
UZEB's Noisy Nights and UZEB with Didier Lockwood's Absolutely Live for Alain Caron
Niacin for Billy Sheehan
Billy Sheehan's The Talas Years for Billy Sheehan
Dave Lee Roth's Eat Them and Smile for Billy Sheehan
Vital Information's Easier Done than Said for Jeff Andrews
Candido Camero's Thousand Finger Man for Jerry Jemmott and Chuck Rainey
Gary Burton's Berklee Jazz all Stars for Bruce Gerz and Reunion for Will Lee, although Peter Erskine, Pat Metheny and Mitch Forman don't hurt the lineup at all.
Bob Mintzer's Spectrum for Lincoln Goines
Mike Stern's Odds and Evens for Anthony Jackson and Lincoln Goines
Michel Petrucianni's Live in Tokyo for AJ (and Steve Gadd)
Yanni's Live at the Acropolis for Ric Fierabracci
Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow for Phil Chen
Beck Bogert and Appice for Tim Bogert
Jungle Funk for Doug Wimbish
Bruford's Gradually Going Tornado for Jeff Berlin (Totally worth it)
Pete Levin's (Tony's equally bald but less famous keyboard playing brother) A Solitary Man for Jeff Berlin (and Manolo Badrena on percussion)Jorge Pardo's Veloz for Carles Benavent
CAB for Bunny Brunel
Tower of Power for Rocco Prestia
Steve Khan's Let's call this for Ron Carter
Jean-Luc Ponty's Cosmic Messenger for Ralphe Armstrong
Paul Young's No Parlez for Pino Palladino
The Rippington's Curves ahead for Steve Bailey (Kim Stone's the bassist on that one)
Spyro Gyra's Breakout for Oscar Cartaya (Kim Stone again)
Every Montreux album for Michael Manring
Darol Anger/Mike Marshall's Chiaroscuro for Michael Manring
Ornette Coleman's This is our Music for Charlie Haden
David Torn's Polytown for Mick Karn
Kate Bush's The Sensual World for Mick Karn
Yellowjackets Mirage a Trois for Jimmy Haslip
Stanley Clarke is a big reason I have Light as a Feather and Romantic Warrior
Jaco was the primary reason I got into Weather Report, although i have albums with Alphonso Johnson, Miroslav Vitous and Vic Bailey
The Motown Hitsville USA 1959 -71 for James Jamerson.
Flim and the BB's Tricycle and This is a Recording for Jimmy Johnson
Tribal Tech's Face First for Gary Willis
Brand X's Product for Percy Jones
Phil Collins' Serious Hits Live for Nathan East (It's actually Lee Sklar, talk about win-win)
Billy Cobham's Spectrum for Lee Sklar
James Taylor's Mudslide Slim for Lee Sklar
Lee's Barefoot Searvants band cd also for Lee Skalr
Red Hot Chili Peppers Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik for Flea

I could go on...

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by SMASH

None. If the whole band and the music ain't happening, then I have no use for it.

I understand what you mean, SMASH, but sometimes you can gauge the quality of a project by the people who are playing on it.

It's hit and miss, but it makes finding good music you wouldn't hear otherwise a real treat.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by SMASH

None. If the whole band and the music ain't happening, then I have no use for it.

More or less.

I have, however, checked out albums soley on the drummer. Go figure.

[MAJOR METAL]

Voivods last record was a first with Jason Newsted so thats why i bought it and it turned out to be a cool metal record.

[BassGod]

Originally Posted by MAJOR METAL

Voivods last record was a first with Jason Newsted so thats why i bought it and it turned out to be a cool metal record.

Same reason I bought, and I ended up really liking the album. Too bad I can't find any of their other records anywhere.

Graeme

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

I understand what you mean, SMASH, but sometimes you can gauge the quality of a project by the people who are playing on it.

It's hit and miss, but it makes finding good music you wouldn't hear otherwise a real treat.

BINGO!! We have a winner!

It's all about taking a chance on an artist you simply may have passed by simply because you didn't know much about them. If they have a bassist you like, it's more of an educated guess so to speak.

Like JimK, most of my choices cam pre-internet. I would read about a certain bassist and then find some people he has recorded with. The very first time I heard Patitucci was with Chic on his Elektric Band c.d. Same with Marcus, Sanborn. So I am really not talking about just flashy bass albums.


A good Patitucci purchase example. I got a Dave Grusin c.d. "Two for the Road" The Music of Henry Mancini. I have already got some of Patitucci solo stuff, but have not heard him do straight ahead type jazz, on upright bass. He had not yet put out a solo album with primarily URB. Also, I kind of associated Dave Grusin as a GRP artist that did Smooth Jazz, not on the plus side when deciding to get this c.d. Well I was wrong about Grusin's playing. What a great c.d.! No flashy bass, but some great bass playing. It's mostly Grusin and the music of Mancini that makes this c.d. awesome.

Example of a bad choice. Bobby Lyle. Got for Alphonso Johnson. Plus Alex Aucna on drums and other soloist.
The music is way to "smooth jazz" for me. Despite of some great bass, it made me sleepy.

So, it's not about the flash, it's not about solo bassist. Just checking out your favorite bassist.
The examples I gave were obvious choices because they were side men and played with many different artist.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

I understand what you mean, SMASH, but sometimes you can gauge the quality of a project by the people who are playing on it.

I agree, BB.
I mentioned Eye To Eye(above)...never heard this duo; the backing band, though, had all the Steely Dan sessioneers + producer Gary Katz.
...it couldn't be but so bad, right?

[matiya]

None, actually.. If the music (as a whole concept) doesn't sound RIGHT to me, I don't listen to it, great bassists involved or not..

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by matiya

None, actually.. If the music (as a whole concept) doesn't sound RIGHT to me, I don't listen to it, great bassists involved or not..

How do you know the concept of the music if you don't take the time to listen to it?

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by Chunk-O-Funk

BINGO!! We have a winner!

It's all about taking a chance on an artist you simply may have passed by simply because you didn't know much about them. If they have a bassist you like, it's more of an educated guess so to speak.

The reverse is also true. I bought Bakhiti Kumalo's San Bonan and In Front of My Eyes because he played on Paul Simon's Graceland.

[cgworkman]

Originally Posted by relayer66

All of 'em...

What he said.

More recently B.W.B. - Groovin' featuring Christian McBride on bass.