OK, this might be "cheating," because this is the bass guitar forum, and this guy is an upright bassist who plays a 5 string upright with a high C string. But WTH, bass is bass, and I think we all benefit from listening to all types of bass.
www.renaudgarciafons.com
This guy floors me. He's a superb melodist and a monster arco player. Usually when a nonclassical DBer reaches for the bow, I worry a little. There are many very famous jazz DBers, for example, who aren't good with the bow (it's not a major requirement for what they do, as a rule). But not Garcia-Fons. When I first heard him solo, on Nguyen Le's
Bakida, I had a hard time believing it was a bass at first. He was playing
way up on the neck--and good notes too, not just noodling--not only in tune, but with a lot of expression and musicality. In fact, that's probably what impresses me the most, even more than his immense technical facility: that he plays so expressively.
And yes, he can do the supportive bass thing too, for those worried about wankery.
I don't know how much of his stuff is readily available here, but you can hear him on that Nguyen Le album I mentioned earlier, if you can find it. (BTW, Le is brilliant too, one of my favorite current guitarists.) Also, I do know that Garcia-Fons has one live album out under his own name than you can get from eMusic (
ArcoLuz). It's sort of an improvisational flamencolike thing. Not exactly jazz, but a lot of soloing.
His site has some sound samples up front, while you're waiting for it to run through the (long) Flash intro. Check it out. Your ears may thank you. At the least, it may change what you think about the DB a little.
