Famous walking bass lines

Cliff em'All · #1 03-03-2005, 08:56 AM

Hey I donno if this is the place to post this or not but what are some famous walking bass lines? A friend of mine was playing one the other day and I asked him what it was ....he of course says he made it up

but i know for a fact he didnt because I dont know how many times Ive heard that exact bassline. Its on alot of commercials and stuff but I don't know the name of it

Can anyone help me find out what it is lol

superbassman2000 · #2 03-03-2005, 09:07 AM

the most famous one i can think of is "in the mood" by glenn miller

burk48237 · #3 03-03-2005, 09:44 AM

Miles Davis "Freddy Freeloader, Milestones, So What,Someday my Prince Will Come" Jaco Pastorious "The Chicken, Rockin in Rythm,The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines" Mark Egan w/Larry Coryell "Tricycles" You couldn't go wrong with any of these!!

FCM3 · #4 03-04-2005, 10:59 AM

Fever-peggy lee. Total classic walking bass

Matt Till · #5 03-04-2005, 11:04 AM

Conaaaaaaaaaaan O briiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnn.

Roberto · #6 03-04-2005, 01:24 PM

Appleknockers flophouse

Bruce Lindfield · #7 03-05-2005, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff em'All

Hey I donno if this is the place to post this or not but what are some famous walking bass lines? A friend of mine was playing one the other day and I asked him what it was ....he of course says he made it up ..

Well that's the main point about walking bass lines, they are supposed to be made up on the spot, based on the chord changes - that's what all the great Jazz players have done, all their careers!!

Bruce Lindfield · #8 03-05-2005, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burk48237

Miles Davis "Freddy Freeloader, Milestones, So What,Someday my Prince Will Come"

The point when Miles trumpet solo comes in on "So What" is one of the greatest examples of waking bass, ever!!

Milestones tends to stop walking in the bridge and play pedal points to contrast with the walking....

Quote:

Jaco Pastorious "The Chicken, Rockin in Rythm,The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines"

Jaco was great at walking - but he's most famous for not playing walking lines and inventing new ways of playing non-repetitive bass lines in Jazz! For me , the Chicken is a great example of a tune that is not a walking bass line - it's a lot funkier!! Same with "Dry Cleaner.." - it's a Blues, but funky!!

peteroberts · #9 03-05-2005, 03:37 AM

Bruce is right, jazz is all about improv, especially in the bass. There are classics, but I look more to players than individual songs. I'm sure there's some jazz bass historians around here who would point out specific songs; you might try the Double Bass Forums. But here are some of my favorite jazz bassists (old school):

Charles Mingus
Ray Brown
George Mraz
John Patittucci
Paul Chambers

Just get some great jazz records (there are like a zillion of them) and listen, listen, listen. Then try and emulate; you eventually want to get to the point where you are innovating, not emulating. Be patient.

Munjibunga · #10 03-05-2005, 10:53 AM

Moondance.

Aaron Saunders · #11 03-05-2005, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FCM3

Fever-peggy lee. Total classic walking bass

Do you (or does anyone at all) know who did the bass on the Michael Bublé version of this? Even if I didn't love the guy's voice, the arrangement, or the song in general, I'd listen to this song JUST for the bassline.

Agreed on Moondance. GREAT line.

There are a lot of really amazing old jazzers who are no longer around like Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro, et all. For more recent stuff, check out these two guys:

Christian McBride
John Clayton

Now, John Clayton's been around for a while, but his stuff with Diana Krall is stunning -- her Live In Paris DVD has him with the band and there's a lot of really swinging tunes on it. Christian is, flat out, one of my favourite players. He's a technical monster, but he's got taste, time, and a wonderful sense of what goes where. I've never had a chance to experience his solo stuff, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was hired to do full arrangements as well. He puts his basslines in so perfectly, that it just seems to naturally follow that he would extend that talent/knowledge/skill to another level. His tone and intonation are great. Soloing is fantastic. Check out his playing and walking on Jane Monheit - Honeysuckle Rose. The entire first chorus is bass and vocals, then the piano and drums join, then a half-chorus bass solo, half-chorus piano solo, and then another chorus with the full quartet. The bass solo is fantastic and his segué into the piano solo is unbelievable.

JimK · #12 03-05-2005, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff em'All

A friend of mine was playing one the other day and I asked him what it was ....he of course says he made it up

Impossible.
Every walking bass line that can be played...has already been played.