I want to play latin bass

[Grayson C.]

...but I have a problem. I don't know any latin music. The reason I'd like to play this style is that I've been hearing some really cool latin beats with some groovalicious bass lines under them. I'd like help in two areas:

1.) What are some good artists I should listen to?
2.) What are some stylistic elements that I should take note of? Any guides I could turn to? Any good hints you could give me?

Thanks!

[Jazzdogg]

Poncho Sanchez has a great DVD: Fundamentals of Latin Music for the Rhythm Section. Here's a sample featuring Rene Camacho on bass:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOgRI1i1QoA

[Pacman]

moved to Miscellaneous

[thedrones]

you better learn your declensions...

[tjmdetroit]

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

Poncho Sanchez has a great DVD: Fundamentals of Latin Music for the Rhythm Section. Here's a sample featuring Rene Camacho on bass:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOgRI1i1QoA

Man... I think that bass sounds great for a You tube thingy... don't it?

tjm

[JimK]

I recall, as a Latin beginner, these books helped-
(FWIW, at the time, I was already listening to a lot of Latin Jazz (Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, Cachao, etc) &/or 'latinized/Pop Jazz' (Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets, Dave Valentin, etc)....and I always dug early Santana.

http://www.amazon.com/True-Cuban-Bas...0747547&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Funkifying-Cla...0747584&sr=1-1

"Any good hints you could give me"?-
Part of the puzzle is blending in with the rest of the ensemble...team-playing.
You can think about making your electric bass sound like a "tuned drum"...you may find playing higher on the neck (using the E-A-D string over A-D-G) is better suited for this.

A huge tool to own is knowing the various CLAVES...forward/backward/upsidedown, etc. Internalized so you can actually feel it + thinking in 2-bar phrases w/ enough confidence to recognize rhythms/figures that cross the barline.
IIRC, the Robbie Ammeen/Lincoln Goines book listed above first hipped me to tapping the PULSE (Beats 1 & 3) with one hand while tapping out, say the 2:3 Clave with the other hand.
...and don't forget about the 6/8 Claves.
A lot of cross rhythm stuff happens between 4/4 & 6/8 in Latin/Afro-Cuban music.

[Hookus]

Awesome video man. He is playing an upright through a GK-800RB

I am totally impressed with those guys.

[TyNot]

Listen to Ozomatli and Mongo Santamaria, a couple of the baddest around IMO. Don't just check out a tune or two but search and listen to all you can.

[deckard]

Hop over to CDBaby and get yourself a copy of 6-string bassist Fito Garcia's CD "Mi Bajo Rumbero" - vocals, rhythm, and various basses: that's it.

Excellent music from this Vancouver-based/Guatemalan-born bassist.

Only one problem with the CD: it is too short!!!

[guitardefector]

One word: Cachao! But lots of the Buena Vista Social Club artists have great bass in them, especially Orlando "cachaito" Lopez. However, anything Cuban will take you very far.

[TyNot]

Buena Vista Social Club yes yes yes

[Mazatleco17]

Somebody page Alvaro.

[NickyBass]

What style of Latin bass? I've been playing with a salsa group and we are playing some Ray Baretto, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Nieves, Ray De La Paz, Hector Lavoe, Conjunto Classico, Rueben Blades, etc.

I would suggest not only learning the bass tumbao, but all of the percussion parts and how they relate to the clave and to the tumbao.

And listen, listen, listen. Listen for enjoyment first without analyzing it.

As for books, this one has alot of good introductory info:
http://www.shermusic.com/salsbook.htm

[NickyBass]

Oh, and this is a great book: http://www.shermusic.com/latinbassbook.htm

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by NickyBass

Oh, and this is a great book: http://www.shermusic.com/latinbassbook.htm

That book is a real treasure. I can hardly explain how much my playing benefited from studying it. And not just playing latin, but also to build basslines in general.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Grayson C.

What are some stylistic elements that I should take note of? Any guides I could turn to? Any good hints you could give me?

Originally Posted by Mazatleco17

Somebody page Alvaro.

Check this basic Salsa pattern out:



Work to play it smoothly, with abandon and confidence. The dead notes are played by simply letting your plucking hand to fall on the strings. On measure 6, the first dead note is played like that, and the second one is played by plucking the muted string.

Originally Posted by Grayson C.

What are some good artists I should listen to?

In my opinion, one of the best Salsa bassists to learn from is Salvador Cuevas:

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...or+cuevas&aq=f

Another terrific bassist is Bobby Valentín:

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...nt%C3%ADn&aq=f

And here you can see/hear in action the guy who's currently considered one of the best Salsa bass players from my country, Francisco Ocoró:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6b-yOyEdA&fmt=35

Finally, and making clear first that it's not my intention to put myself at the same level of those really great artists (no way!), I have a post in my blog that hopefully will help:

http://alvabasstuff.blogspot.com/201...lsa-stuff.html (double-click on the video screen to watch it directly on YouTube. It appears cropped in my site)

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Forgot to mention the great fellow TalkBasser Rubén Rodríguez.

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...guez+bass&aq=1

Bassplayer.tv used to have a great clinic by him, but unfortunately I can't find it anymore. Hopefully he will chime in and point us in the right direction.

[Stumbo]

Here are some links you may want to check out:
~Latin
Learning Latin music
"The Latin Bass Book" by Oscar Stagnaro/Chuck Sher
Afro-Cuban bass/drums grooves book

[Ric5]

I want to play latin bass

That would be bassius maximus

[Rush-2112]

Check out this cover of a classic salsa:

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico - Timbalero - YouTube

Pretty amazing! In my head, I tried following along, and fell out of rhythm a few times. This guy's good.