Listen to the greats: PC, Ray, etc and look at their lines. There are vastly different approaches to walking.
Some think playing the root on 1 and moving chromatically to the next root is best.
Take a ii V7 I in C: D E F F# / G A Bb B / C. It gets the job done but is predictable and pretty boring after the tenth time through.
PC might play D C B Bb / B C C# D / C which is also chromatic but omits the root on G.
I'm looking at his line from Bye Bye Blackbird transcribed by Rob Gourlay.
In F on the G-7 starting in measure 9 he starts on an open G and begins a chromatic descending run from the seventh on beat 2. Despite the fact that the harmony stays G-7 for five bars, he doesn't play another G until beat 2 of the third measure.
A better example might even be the first measure of the tune. On Fmaj7 he starts with C C# D C# / C G Bb E / not hitting an F until beat one of the third measure. I think he is implying a ii in measure 2 and 3 going to the V7 in measure 4 and back to the I for measure 5. This essentially mimics the second four measures of the tune but it isn't outlining the harmony in a strict sense.
My point is that everbody has their style. My first teacher told me the most important thing to do is 'outline' the chord. PC saw that there was more to playing bass than that.
It takes time to learn this stuff and a curiosity to listen and learn from the best.
You can't pick up this vocabulary from a single book. Listen, rinse, repeat and realize it is a lifelong pursuit. I'm fifty this year so I had better get busy.
p.s. These lines are really hip and you'll sound like a real 'cat' on a mexican Jazz bass.
god, I love this place.
