Blues?

Dennis098 · #1 05-09-2008, 02:15 PM

I'm trying to get into blues bass.
any bands you guys reccomend to listen to?
any books?

Phalex · #2 05-09-2008, 02:22 PM

Blues Brothers. Lots of great tunes by master bluesmen practicing their craft. Plus it really doesn't get a lot tastier than Duck Dunn for bass lines IMHO.

ksandvik · #3 05-09-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennis098

I'm trying to get into blues bass.
any bands you guys reccomend to listen to?
any books?

Use slacker.com and pandora.com, key in blues channels. --Kent

JKT · #4 05-09-2008, 02:26 PM

Yikes! So many. here are a few IMO great ones

John Mayall/Bluesbreakers

BB King

Luther Allison

Little Charlie and the Nightcats

Robben Ford

Eric Clapton

Robert Cray

This is just the very tip of a huge iceberg.

JKT

MarkTAW · #5 05-09-2008, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalex

Blues Brothers. Lots of great tunes by master bluesmen practicing their craft. Plus it really doesn't get a lot tastier than Duck Dunn for bass lines IMHO.

You think he's joking, but he's not. The Blues Brothers were the house band at Stax, second only to Motown in their soulful repertoire. Plus Jake and Elwood, and a NY Horns section.

Also pick up the book "What Duck Done" which is a transcription of ~20 of his songs. No tab, though.

MikeyB5 · #6 05-09-2008, 02:30 PM

Listen to Albert Collins,his bass player Johnny B. Gayden is top notch and funky as hell.Buddy Guy,Son Seals,Luther Allison,Junior Wells should get you started.

MikeyB5 · #7 05-09-2008, 03:37 PM

Also how could I forget Muddy Waters ,Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon who played bass on a lot of their records and wrote a lot of the songs.Tommy Shannon,Stevie Ray Vaughan's bass player is great also.

DocBop · #8 05-09-2008, 03:50 PM

Don't forget the old Chess Records crew Muddy Water, Howllin' Wolf, the great Willie Dixon on bass. Then have to check out Buddy Guy Jame Cotton, Sonny Boy Williamson. Freddie King, Albert King, Bo Diddley, Paul Butterfield and on and on.

Blues is a great teacher and remember its all about the feel not the notes. Get out and play some Blues especially with the older cats. You learn about locking in to the drummer and keep on your toes, Blues is a very spontaneous and dynamic music live.

scottbass · #9 05-09-2008, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocBop

Blues is a great teacher and remember its all about the feel not the notes. Get out and play some Blues especially with the older cats. You learn about locking in to the drummer and keep on your toes, Blues is a very spontaneous and dynamic music live.

+ infinity. I wouldn't trade mah bluez band fo' nuthin' in dis ol' world. Yes, yes

**DeanT** · #10 05-09-2008, 04:41 PM

Ed Friedland's Blues Bass books are excellent.

**butchblack** · #11 05-09-2008, 04:45 PM

A great free on-line blues station
http://www.live365.com/stations/myst...radio?site=pro

Depending on what style of blues you want to lean towards Duck Dunn on Blues Bros. Any SRV, Johnny B Gayden on Albert Collins, Allman Bros. All good places to start.

CapnSev · #12 05-09-2008, 04:45 PM

Gotta love the blues!

Here's a thread to your exact same question: Gettin' into the Blues...need bands/artists

Dennis098 · #13 05-09-2008, 10:14 PM

've been playing for not that long, and been diving into theory, but havent really had much experience making up progressions.
Just figured blues would help me with my improvisation/jamming for now, and help a solid foundation for funk, ska, rock.
thanks a lot for the suggestions.
think i saw the blues brothers when i was 6 :P

arr. just wish my ipod wasn't full.
and is it just me........or is the Counting Crows bassist friggin amazing? and the bass in Jack johnson's songs...

Stumbo · #14 05-11-2008, 01:54 PM

If you don't have a metronome, now's a good time to get one.

The book "Blues for Dummies" is a good place to start. Comes with a CD to practice with.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...371188-6733642

Sleeq · #15 05-11-2008, 02:06 PM

pick up a Muddy Waters CD of anything after 1965.

ryco · #16 05-11-2008, 02:42 PM

These are fun to play along with.
Right channel omits the bass leaving keys and drums.

John Wentzien · #17 05-11-2008, 02:51 PM

Check out my link to Myspace below.
I have a lot of great blues guys as freinds.

texasgreg · #18 05-12-2008, 08:41 PM

Being from Texas, next to SRV, you should check out some vintage Johnny Winter. Tommy Shannon, SRV's bassist, played bass for Johnny in the early days when Johnny first got signed to CBS and was an arena act, back in the 60's, with Shannon replacing Winter bassist the late Issac Peyton Sweatt, who left the band for personal reasons just before the band got signed. Interestingly, Issac Peyton Sweatt later had a mega-hit with the country standard "The Cotton Eyed Joe".

Here's a Tommy Shannon triple: In the early 90's he also played in a fantastic Austin blues band called Arc Angels. They made one CD. Think Fabulous T-Birds with two blazing guitarists and lead vocalists. Tommy's SRV drumming pal Chris Layton was in the band, as was Charlie Sexton and Doyle Bramhall III. Bramhall now tours as second guitar to Clapton. None of those guys were slouches, and the cd is full of great blues tunes. I forget the label, but you can find it on ebay, and trust me, you'll love it. It's a classic and has fans from coast to coast. Certainly the greatest blues band of the 90's that never really was. I like that song "Shape I'm In".

They regroup from time to time in Austin for benefit shows and such. They still rock and they still hang out in the few blues bars in Austin when they are in town, checking out the music like the rest of us. Real down home guys.

texasgreg · #19 05-12-2008, 08:48 PM

And one other great, if not sometimes panned, blues cd. Old blues tunes with Beatles, Stones, et al backing the Wolf.

From Wiki,

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions is an album by blues singer Howlin' Wolf. It was one of the first of the super session blues albums, that features a blues legend backed by Hubert Sumlin and a band of famous white musicians like Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Phil Upchurch, Lafayette Leake, John Simon and Ian Stewart. A horn section tops out the sound on classic blues tunes.

dlb1001 · #20 05-13-2008, 07:54 AM

Ed Friedland's book is a good place to start. Also, I came across Lou Ann Barton and started learning songs from one of her albums, "Read My Lips". Then, a number of players, from the Austin crowd did a tribute album to Jimmy Reed, one of the original blues guys, called "On the Jimmy Reed Highway".