What CD purchases have you made because of the bassist?

[pauljacksonfan]

I got "The Return of the Headhunters" just to here my favortie rhythm section of Mike Clarke/Paul Jackson. To me it was worth it. The album wasn't great, but their interplay always is.

I got "Sounds...and stuff like that" solely on the basis of it having Gadd/AJ on every single track. This however was, IMO, a lame disco album with few memorable tracks and covers which were a whole lot worse than the originals.

Wille Bobo - A New Dimension - Chuck Rainey - Weird!
Everything GCS, though I dig the songs and think larry's a great singer as well.
Probably my record with Romanian folkmusic band because of the awesome Viorel Vlad. Check it out guys, you won't be disappointed. I'm positive that any shredding fusion guy who heard these guys would retire the same day. This stuff's amazing.

I think that we will inevtiably get stuck in a paradox doing this however. Since if the leader/artist of the record is a bass player you technically buy it because of the bass player
Granted, there are exceptions to the rule; every single Dave Holland Quintet album I've bought have been because of the drummers. Smitty rules!!!

[Adam Barkley]

I bought Jaco's self-titled album and Wooten's Live in America album on a suggestion from another bassist. I hated both.

That ended the thought of buying an album for the bassist.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by SMASH

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

+1 I listen[*] to music for the music. Sure, I appreciate a great bass line way more than the average person, but I don't listen to music only for the bass.

I don't care if the bass line is boring as long as it fits the music. I play a lot of old country and for many songs all I play is the roots. Not even root/fifths. I try adding more to the bass line, but many times it gets too busy.

There is one rule for country bass: "The bass is there to make the singer sound good."

* Note by listen here I mean for enjoyment, not to learn a song.

[Incubus]

Weather Report: Heavy Weather

and probably Misc. Debris: Primus

[matiya]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

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

Well, "concept" was all I could think of with my poor knowledge of English vocabulary (not my primary language), I apologise if I wasn't clear enough.. I'm usually drawn to music because of its sound, its form, (mostly) its simplicity, the music as a whole (perhaps this was the word I was looking for).. I'm frequently discovering wonderful bassists (and other musicians, naturally) because of the music I like, not the other way around... To each his own, I guess..

Best wishes, M.

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by matiya

Well, "concept" was all I could think of with my poor knowledge of English vocabulary (not my primary language), I apologise if I wasn't clear enough.. I'm usually drawn to music because of its sound, its form, (mostly) its simplicity, the music as a whole (perhaps this was the word I was looking for).. I'm frequently discovering wonderful bassists (and other musicians, naturally) because of the music I like, not the other way around... To each his own, I guess..

Best wishes, M.

Not a problem, Matiya. That's why I asked you to clarify.

The thing that's confusing me is that some posters seem to have the impression that music selected on the basis of the musicians performing on the album implies bad (or rather, "not good") music and *to me* that makes no sense.

Nathan East is one of the most gifted bassists alive. Doesn't it stand to reason that the elements of his gift will be present in every project the does, regardless of the artist? Wouldn't that be, in fact, the reason he got the gig? Was Carol Kaye's and Hal Blaine's work on Brian Wilson projects conceptually wrong compared to their work with Phil Spector? Would it be smart to praise Anthony Jackson's work with Michel Petrucciani and ignore his work with Michel Camilo, Two artists who play the same instrument in the same kind of setting?

I guess it's a good idea to remember that we're a very diverse community of musicians and some of us are more locked into one particular style than others. That's why some folks post multiple threads on one style or bassist; or can't seem to appreciate Jaco or other musicians whose music they don't seem to understand.

Personally, I find there's something to be learned from all styles of music, regardless of the performer. There are some styles I don't exactly enjoy, but I can identify the elements I like and the ones I dislike, but I'd never say that the music is conceptually "wrong" just because it's not in line with my personal taste.

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

The thing that's confusing me is that some posters seem to have the impression that music selected on the basis of the musicians performing on the album implies bad (or rather, "not good") music and *to me* that makes no sense.

I dunno; I think you may be mistaken about this. I don't see anybody making those assumptions. What some of us are saying is that the presence of a gifted musician doesn't mean that the music is going to be really good. It's probably a guarantee that it will be performed at or above a certain level of skill, but not *necessarily* any more than that. Sure, there will be something there, but there may not be enough to make something worth buying.

The reason this matters is that few of us have the time or money to listen to every CD that has at least one decent musician on it. So we have to select. What some of us are saying is that the presence of one musician we like is not, for us, a sufficient basis for selection in and of itself. Let's be real: a lot of good musicians have played on projects that aren't that great. Me, I'd rather hear a great record with no bass at all than a boring record with a great bass player.

But in the long run, whatever floats your boat.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

With all due respect to those that have chimed in to say "I don't buy music that way" you are missing my point of this thread. You do have a good point that I do understand, but this is not the only way to buy music and no where did I suggest that. I am fortunate enough to have myself a large music collection and only a small percentage of it was purchased this way. I do have some music that has no bass playing at all. Yes, buying music this way is hit or miss, and I agree that one good musician does not make great music. It's more about discovering new music. If the artist happens to be great at composing music than you have found something new, and may purchase his next cd regardless of who is playing bass.

Furthermore, I can not stress more that this is not just about finding music with flashy bass playing, my example of the bassist I listed may have been misleading though, so I am partly to blame. I should have left Victor out. I used them for the reason that they were session bassist, and before their solo career they have played with many artist. Every one of them (excluding Victor) can be found playing meat and potato bass on more than one cd. They are popular names and happen to do the job very well. So for the members that do not like music with bass as a solo instrument also have missed the point of this thread. Sorry If I was misleading.

If you will allow me to rephrase the question I think we will get back on topic and maybe some of us may check out a new artist.

Here it is:

For those of us who have followed a session bassist career, What artist have you discovered through their work. You can list good and bad. You do not have to keep your experiences to just session bassist.

Thank you,
Matt.

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by Chunk-O-Funk

If you will allow me to rephrase the question I think we will get back on topic and maybe some of us may check out a new artist.

Here it is:

For those of us who have followed a session bassist career, What artist have you discovered through their work. You can list good and bad. You do not have to keep your experiences to just session bassist.

Thank you,
Matt.

Thanks for the clarification. I think that refines the point.

To answer this question, I think my answer would be, none. That is, I have never discovered an artist I like through following a session bassist's career. For me, it has only ever worked in the opposite direction--that is, I've discovered session bassists I like through their work with artists I like.

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by Richard Lindsey

I dunno; I think you may be mistaken about this. I don't see anybody making those assumptions. What some of us are saying is that the presence of a gifted musician doesn't mean that the music is going to be really good. It's probably a guarantee that it will be performed at or above a certain level of skill, but not *necessarily* any more than that. Sure, there will be something there, but there may not be enough to make something worth buying.

But in the long run, whatever floats your boat.

That's a good point, Richard, and I guess I should have mentioned that I hardly ever buy new CDs, unless it's something I'm sure I like. The bulk of my collection consists of second hand/ bargain bin recordings, most of which cost $5 or less. There's no way I'd be so experimental if I had to pay full price for all the music I buy.

You're right. Good musicians don't guarantee good music, but I'm willing to gamble up to 5 bucks to find out and more often than not, I've gotten my money's worth.

[casualtie]

not too long ago I bought Rancid/Nofx vol. 3 for the rancid version of stickin' in my eye, Matt freeman on bass

[Lowtonejoe]

Originally Posted by 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.

Most recently?

Gov't Mule:
Deja VooDoo
The Deep End, Vol. 1

Both are tasty/excellent.



Joe.

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

That's a good point, Richard, and I guess I should have mentioned that I hardly ever buy new CDs, unless it's something I'm sure I like. The bulk of my collection consists of second hand/ bargain bin recordings, most of which cost $5 or less. There's no way I'd be so experimental if I had to pay full price for all the music I buy.

You're right. Good musicians don't guarantee good music, but I'm willing to gamble up to 5 bucks to find out and more often than not, I've gotten my money's worth.

Actually, that's a very good point too. Cost does play a role. I tend not to buy used very much, mostly because I don't know of any really good used CD stores convenient to me. So when I think about taking a chance on a CD, I'm usually pondering spending $15-18 dollars. I'd sure be a lot more inclined to risk $5 on a recording than I would be to risk $18.

[Alan Vorse]

I'm enjoying this thread. Thank you for clarifying Chunk. Some people were not getting it.

[jazzbasta]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

I could go on...

Looks like a great list (I copied it for future ref).

I have gotten a lot of mileage out of your approach myself: Someone turned me on to Al Di Meola's "Elegant Gypsy" album, which exposed me to Anthony Jackson, who exposed me to Steely Dan, who exposed me to....Personally I love this approach to musical learning.

I also follow producers I like. I will periodically check up on Mood II Swing, a New York dance music production team, just to see what they've come up with lately (they rarely falter, they are exceptional). Same with singers like Barbara Tucker and Joi Cardwell, who aren't well known outside of dance music but should be. In fact, dance music is a great environment for musical cross-pollination, as there are so many talented people working in it, sharing back and forth, churning out magic from behind a curtain of anonymity .