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bands with mutiple bassists?

P

paradigm_shift

Mar 29, 2007
392
1
#1
Anyone know any recordings that I could check out?
I'm just wondering if anyones ever successfully done it, I'm talking any bass style, slap and finger,pick, heck even upright and electric. Not playing the same line but as different instruments, as a lead or coutermelody

Anything really..
 
#4
You talking recording or live. Recording its done all the time especially recording by bass players as leaders. They will lay down mulitple parts of varying complexity and timbre.

Live again look at bass players as leaders. Victor Wooten use two to three bass players. Frees him up from holding down the bottom to play other things. Meshell Nedgeocello on live and recording mulitple bass players and parts. Marcus will do it once in a while. It's not common, but done for years. Plus keyboard bass and bass together goes on a lot. Hard part is finding two players who can work together, think like arrangers, and stay out of each others way.
 
#12
Almost all old "Big Band / Jazz" from the 20's, 30's, and 40's had 2 bass players. Some of them even had 3 or 4 bass players. It was mostly done for a bigger sound, but it was usually different parts or splitting parts. If you were in band in highschool and remember 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th chair and so on, usually 1-3 played one part 4-6 played one part and 7-9 played one part. At some points in the song these parts overlapped, but was usually varied some.
 
#15
paradigm_shift said:
Anyone know any recordings that I could check out?
I'm just wondering if anyones ever successfully done it, I'm talking any bass style, slap and finger,pick, heck even upright and electric. Not playing the same line but as different instruments, as a lead or countermelody
Click to expand...

I'm being lazy, just giving a tease. There are zillions of other successful examples.
Gary Burton: Passengers. Eberhard Weber on EUB, Steve Swallow on BG.
Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz, many others.
Talking Heads: The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads
Jack Dejohnette: Album Album, Rufus Reid, URB; Howard Johnson, tuba.
Pharoah Sanders: Live At The East, Stanley Clarke, URB; Cecil McBee, URB

Other guys I've seen do it live exceptionally well include Sun Ra, Stanley Clarke, Mingus, Willie Dixon, Vic Wooten, and the late-80s Miles band with Foley on lead bass. Ornette's mid-80s band was probably my favorite, but good luck finding those albums.;)
 
#16
The lastest David Liebman 'Back On The Corner' has Anthony Jackson and Liebman's regular bassist Tony Marino. Along with Passinwind's Ornette Coleman suggestions you can check out Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society, he always had two bassist, and on the early albums it was the great Melvin Gibbs and Bruce Johnson.

The Ornette and Decoding Society albums are also a great antidote for any happy-gurlmon-smooth jazz overindulgence.;)
 

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