Who are the Bassists who influenced you?

[gospelbassist]

Hey guys,

I was wondering which bassists influenced you and your playing the most. Mine would have to be:

1. James Jamerson (the legend of Motown)
2. Marcus Miller (the guy I first listened to that made me want to play bass more then ever)
3. Sharay Reed (great Gospel bassist)
4. Pino Palladino (just a great in the pocket type player)
5. Tal Wilkenfeld (every note she plays just always seems to be at the right place... I could say the same for all the people in this list really).
6. Victor Wooten (Victor made me think differently in my approach to music.)

So those are mine guys, which one are yours?

[s_mcsleazy]

jj burnell
matt freeman
bee elvee
joe lally
michelle mae

those are the main ones

[Clark Dark]

Alphonso Johnson
Paul Jackson
James Jamerson
Michael Henderson
Larry Graham
Doug Rauch

[pjmuck]

1. Jaco
2. Stanley Clarke
3. Paul McCartney
4. John Paul Jones
5. Tony Levin

runner up: Mick Karn

[Hoover]

The ones whose influence I'm most conspicuously aware of are

Stanley Clarke
Chris Squire
Mel Schacher

Those were the guys I listened to when I was first starting as a bass player, and whose aesthetic informed my approach to the instrument as I was developing my own voice.

To a lesser extent -- by which I mean, guys I've listened to more recently, and hence whose influence isn't as deeply ingrained but is more of a concious choice -- I'd have to add

Tony Levin
Mick Karn
Jeff Berlin

And I would be doing a disservice to the whole notion(s) of youth, nostalgia, and memory if I didn't mention

James Jamerson
Paul McCartney
Bill Wyman

...because I can't possibly explain how I wouldn't have been influenced by them to some degree.

Okay, I've clearly thought about this question way too hard...

[Tampabass]

Deja vu.
What I want to know is: Which Talkbass threads influenced you the most?

[Swimming Bird]

In no particular order:

Trevor Dunn (perfect parts for everything)
Les Claypool (slap + strum, effects)
Victor Wooten (various slap and tapping techniques)
Bootsy (funky, effects)
John Davis (effects)
Janek Gwizdala (effects, practice ideas)
Charlie Mingus (rotary sense of time, gospel/blues feel)
John Wetton (lead bass)

[Riverrunsred]

Simon Gallup, guess i'm what you would call simple.

[stratovani]

There's lots of bassists I admire, and some I even cop licks from, but influence? Probably my Dad, who played upright back in the 50s in jazz clubs in Montreal.

[EdHunter]

Steve Harris
Geezer Butler
Nibbs Carter

My sound and style rests somewhere in between those three.

[baileyboy]

James Jamerson, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee.

[Dr. Cheese]

I've always talked about how much of a Bernard Edwards and Anthony Jackson fan I am, but I really think that my sound has whole lot more Marcus Miller and Jaco in it that I had admitted to myself.

[JBuckley]

I've got lots of influences, but the ones who have directly influenced the way I play are...

Steve Harris
Geddy Lee
Tony Levin
Chris Squire
John Entwistle
Mike Rutherford
and maybe a dash of Phil Lesh

[peledog]

Originally Posted by Riverrunsred

Simon Gallup, guess i'm what you would call simple.

Excellent. Love Song features one of my favorite bass lines, with The Love Cats being a close second.

For me, in no particular order:

Jaco, John Taylor, Mark King, Bootsy, Paul Jackson, Flea, Andrew Levy, Randy Hope-Taylor, Verdine White, Larry Graham, Steve Harris, Joe Lally, Pino and Mike Watt.

All these guys were important to me, in terms of influencing how I played - but also watching them. You'd be amazed how mannerisms, posture, hand position etc, influence how you physically play as well.

Because of Mark King, I've always liked shorter straps. Because of Paul Jackson, I wish I had bigger hands. LOL

[OPBASSMAN1994]

Originally Posted by JBuckley

I've got lots of influences, but the ones who have directly influenced the way I play are...

Steve Harris
Geddy Lee
Tony Levin
Chris Squire
John Entwistle
Mike Rutherford
and maybe a dash of Phil Lesh

All but Tony Levin and Phil Lesh. And Geddy and Squire much much more than the others. Especially Geddy. He's been my bass hero and "teacher" (I learned to play by getting Rush tunes down) since I started playing.

[StuFordBass]

Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Israel Crosby are what I'd like to say are my big ones. But when the jam happens I can't help but start Phil Lesh-ing or Mike Gordon-ing. Fortunately, none of the cats i work with were big hippies and they'll probably never notice.

[StuFordBass]

Originally Posted by s_mcsleazy

jj burnell
matt freeman
bee elvee
joe lally
michelle mae

those are the main ones

matt freeman rules.

[cgnortheast]

Tim Commerford......
when I was first learning to play I was way into Rage, so I learned all his stuff.
totally underrated player IMO.

[StuFordBass]

Originally Posted by Hoover

The ones whose influence I'm most conspicuously aware of are

Stanley Clarke
Chris Squire
Mel Schacher

Those were the guys I listened to when I was first starting as a bass player, and whose aesthetic informed my approach to the instrument as I was developing my own voice.

I've had the pleasure of playing with Mel. I've not heard more than a few Grand Funk tunes, but from talking with him he's got really good ideas about sweet spots on the neck and a sort of 'heavy' right hand that i've incorporated into my rock playing.

[Hankenstein]

First and foremost: Chuck Rainey

Then Jameson

Then, in no particular order:

PC
Jaco
NHOP
Flowers
Ray Brown
Larry Graham