John Paul Jones starting out?

[Agentkro]

I have a question about John Paul Jones; I've been recently getting into led zeppelin lately ( I had before, but I had never really paid attention to the bass). I was wondering what John's main influences on bass were. I am wondering this because many bands like Led Zeppelin and bands from the same era always seem to have kick ass bassist, so I am wondering what their influences may be so maybe one day, I create kick ass blue grooves like them . But in this post, I am mainly asking about JPJ.

[Dr. Cheese]

Jamie Jamerson.

[Surprise Panda!]

From Wikipedia:

Jones started playing piano at the age of six, learning his keyboard skills from his father, Joe Baldwin, a pianist and arranger for big bands in the 1940s and 1950s, notably with the Ambrose Orchestra. His mother was also in the music business which allowed the family to often perform together touring around England. His influences ranged from the blues of Big Bill Broonzy, the jazz of Charles Mingus, to the classical piano of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Because his parents often toured, Jones was sent to boarding school at a young age.[1] Jones was a student at Christ's College, Blackheath, London where he formally studied music. At the age of 14, he became choirmaster and organist at a local church and during that year, he also bought his first bass guitar, a Dallas solid body electric followed by a Fender Jazz Bass which he used until 1975. The fluid playing of Chicago musician Phil Upchurch on his You Can't Sit Down LP, which includes a memorable bass solo, inspired Jones to take up the instrument.[2]

[Jared Lash]

John Paul Jones is going to be a tough guy to pin down in terms of his influences. Everyone in Led Zeppelin had big ears and drew from whatever they heard, for better (Kashmir) or worse (D'yer Maker). And his talents extend well beyond the bass. In fact, he was arranging strings for an absurd number of sessions just prior to joining up with Jimmy Page for his "New Yardbirds".

But probably the best advice I can give to somebody wanting to learn to write lines like JPJ would be to learn your blues scales all over the fretboard and be able to play them in any given key and then to learn as many James Jamerson lines as you can.

Part of the reason Jones was tapped so often as a session bassist was that he could improvise in the Motown vein. I'd recommend picking up "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" and giving it a whirl. I guarantee it will open doors for you both in terms of copping JPJ's style and just in general as a musician.

Hope that helps.

[Caca de Kick]

JPJ has said on a mtv interview he always throws everyone for a loop when asked about his influences, becasue he always says Motown and Jamerson.

[JimK]

There's a section in "Good Times, Bad Times" where the Jamerson influence is heard.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

John Paul Jones is going to be a tough guy to pin down in terms of his influences. Everyone in Led Zeppelin had big ears and drew from whatever they heard, for better (Kashmir) or worse (D'yer Maker). And his talents extend well beyond the bass. In fact, he was arranging strings for an absurd number of sessions just prior to joining up with Jimmy Page for his "New Yardbirds".

But probably the best advice I can give to somebody wanting to learn to write lines like JPJ would be to learn your blues scales all over the fretboard and be able to play them in any given key and then to learn as many James Jamerson lines as you can.

Part of the reason Jones was tapped so often as a session bassist was that he could improvise in the Motown vein. I'd recommend picking up "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" and giving it a whirl. I guarantee it will open doors for you both in terms of copping JPJ's style and just in general as a musician.

Hope that helps.

nailed it!

[Audiophage]

He was also heavily into Jazz, much moreso than most other rock musicians of the time.

[jerry]

One of the things that separated[for me] Led Zeppelin from most heavy rock was how soulful JPJ basslines were. The way he walked around the chords and his bubbly 16th note feel show a huge Jamerson influence. I still get schooled every time I put a old Led Zep album on, and it's coming up on 40 years that I've been listening to them.