Double Bass Abandoned during bass solo

[kerrycares]

I love it when that happens and I can take a true bass solo!

 

[BassiklyAC]

A lot depends on the skill level of folks at the session. Particularly drummers, you get a good one and they comp for you just like they do everyone else, albeit with more sensitivity when it comes to dynamic range, timbre, and the sonic space the lower register occupies. But a lot of it depends on us as players, are WE providing a direction clearly enough that the rest of the band here's what we're doing? If I'm playing gibberish, how can I expect a pianist or guitarist to accompany that with any kind of intent? A solo has to be more than just throwing notes at changes.
And that means it has to communicate the song in the same way a good saxophone solo can communicate the song without a chordal accompaniment.

So what's the skill level of the folks at the session? You say none of the other bassists took a solo, that doesn't scream "solid, accomplished players" to me.

Agree with many points here. While it’s nice to have some comping behind a bass solo, one of the most challenging - and often rewarding - situations can be when we are presented with outlining and carrying a solo by ourselves with little harmonic and/or rhythmic accompaniment.

Two sources of inspiration for me in developing my strength in this regard are the albums Way Out West by Sonny Rollins, and Remembrance by John Patitucci.

It’s a little jarring to be as one post said, “hung out to dry”, but adding some melodic and rhythmic heft to your solos can help ease that feeling.

 

[pdbass]

I kind of think of it differently.

it doesn’t happen a lot, but when everyone drops out (including the drums) I take it as a cue that I can do whatever I want to. No time. No form. Open bass solo. Play the changes, or not. Think Jimmy Garrison or…

Free. When you’re ready, cue the tune by walking the last 4 bars. This kind of solo works well for intros, too. Don’t think that you always have to keep time! Good luck!

 

[roccobass]

It’s case by case for me. My personal preference is the least amount of comping at all. I will alter my solo playing style depending on whether there is or is not comping. I’ll play more percussively if there isn’t and more melodically if there is. Go with what you’re comfortable with.

 

[longfinger]

Generally what's worked for me to solo right after a burning saxophone solo with loud piano accompaniment, is to chill out for a few measures with silence. Let the band sound come down, let the applause for the sax fade. Then once the band and room are quiet, I start to solo sparse and soft, and build it up from there. I do expect the piano / guitar to join in and accompany when it sounds right. They need to feel when the right moments are.

While it's true that no comping is better than bad comping, the chord players should use this time to get better at comping skills.

Most always, pitch-register-wise, I find that comping above the bass works better than trying to comp below the bass. For them, they do need to approach it differently than comping under a horn.

 

[Jefenator]

Sensitive, responsive, & steady accompaniment is always welcome.
If they're going to be all ham-fisted, parrot me then get lost & require rescuing every time I syncopate even a little bit, then, yeah... please lay out.

 

[neddyrow]

I too agree with what has been said so far. As for me, I am lucky that in my fiddle/bluegrass band my band mates hit the chord changes and our fiddle player has such a good ear, he has figured out my lines and mimics me for a few bars. The band also does a nice job of gradually coming back in towards the end of my solo.

but for a bass solo to work, there has to be some open space for the audience to know what’s happening. I usually only get one solo per show and they like to make a big deal for me.

 

[BassmanBender1]

Thanks, everyone, for such great responses. Knowing that this is not uncommon, I will be ready the next time everyone drops out. My teacher said I should practice soloing with a metronome behind me, so that my time is solid when I solo alone. Still, I prefer one instrument to comp and drums to play quietly, but since this is something that commonly happens, I will be prepared. And to answer questions, I think the other musicians range from experienced to beginners at these jam sessions. I was the only bass player there the two times I've gone, so they will have to put up with me. And, I will make sure to talk to them before the jam starts, because it is off to the races once they begin. No time to talk.
Again, thanks, everyone, for sharing your wisdom! Much appreciated!

 

[james condino]

Another huge factor for me is making sure the other folks know to bring the tune back down before they pass off a solo. When a guitar player spends five minutes wanking away at 64th notes and then instantly stops and shouts out, "Bass solo!!!", there is no way to ease the audience into the bass...

 

[JRA]

lots of great advice/experience talking here! good stuff!

 

[TroyK]

...

This video should start right before the bass solo. Notice how little structure the piano and drums are providing. Then go back and listen to how much structure the piano and drums provide during other parts of the recording.

I was sitting in that studio with them when this was recorded! Random bit of worlds colliding for me on Talkbass today.

On topic. I actually don't mind if everyone drops out sometimes. I prefer it to them playing over the top of me. There is a particular drummer who I regularly found myself on gigs with who looked at the bass solo and any space that I left as a great opportunity to show off the polyrhythmic stuff he'd been working on and would rather have been playing than the harp bop that we were hired to play on those nights. I've also had piano and guitar players plow through without regard for what I was playing and I think it was so that THEY wouldn't lose their place, not because it's what was called for.

In the Christian McBride vid, you've got masterful accompaniment among professionals who were currently touring together. Obviously that's better. If you're in a group of playing with people regularly, talk about what you would like, on a jam session you have to take what you get. It comes down to what everyone is capable of and how good their ears are.

 

[turf3]

When I can play like Jimmy Garrison or Christian McBride the totally unaccompanied solo will be familiar and comfortable to me. But in the mean time I like a little comping to go on back there. One issue is that I'm also often playing with people who aren't the equivalent of Jimmy Garrison's or Christian McBride's bandmates, and if I don't remain extremely explicit on the changes during the bass-only solo, they can lose the form. It's also possible for me to lose the form. Sometimes we all lose the form. Sometimes I have to shout {"4-2-3-4-3-2-3-4 2-2-3 4-1-2-3-4!" to lead things back into ensemble play.

Obviously the long term solution is for everyone concerned to PRACTICE MORE AND GET BETTER but since we'd also like to play music in the mean time, I like a little bit of comping back there to keep things all pasted together.

Obviously I'm talking about standard form tunes where "take a chorus" has a meaning, not free-form things where everyone but the bass player goes to the bar and gets a drink. I wouldnt' knowingly take a gig like that anyway as I would really suck at doing that.

 

[Earl]

I play a monthly gig with a well known trumpet player and a 'jazz' accordionist and the accordion guy stops playing for every bass solo, meaning that it is just me. After a few months of this I told him that he can comp for me sometimes if he likes, and he said "oh no, you play such interesting stuff that I just want to listen and not get in the way". Sigh

There is also a drummer in NYC that refuses to play during bass solos. He just sits there with his arms crossed until it is over.

 

[bassically_eli]

I play a monthly gig with a well known trumpet player and a 'jazz' accordionist and the accordion guy stops playing for every bass solo, meaning that it is just me. After a few months of this I told him that he can comp for me sometimes if he likes, and he said "oh no, you play such interesting stuff that I just want to listen and not get in the way". Sigh

There is also a drummer in NYC that refuses to play during bass solos. He just sits there with his arms crossed until it is over.

wow, I expect it from everyone else, but not the drummer!

 

[bassically_eli]

I started going to a weekly gypsy jam session several months ago, and there is rarely a drummer or percussionist there. Fortunately, the guy who runs it is a guitar player because depending on who else shows up, it's often just me and him playing during the guitar and bass solos. That's great practice for the two of us, but I would actually like it if some of the horn players would chime in a little.

There's also a great violin player there--young guy, studied with Jason Anick at Berklee--who comps during the solos. He's fantastic to play with and has inspired some of the other violinists to start comping too.

 

[pdbass]

Been thinking about this thread and put this video together with it in mind. Thanks for the inspiration. Hope this can help someone!

 

[BassmanBender1]

Wow. This is a very cool response to thread. Thanks @pdbass for the tips on bass soloing!

 

[Ed Fuqua]

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[Don Kasper]

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Yes, And... - the original composition is in the Major key (Db), not Minor, (Cminor) as it later became known and widely accepted.
Hear ya go...

 

[brianrost]

I remember a festival gig up in New Hampshire many years ago where we had a wedding to play immediately afterwards but the whole festival was running late. We were going to have to load out really quickly to make the next gig in time. In the middle of the last song, the drummer/BL called "Bass solo!". I should mention that he never called bass solos. So everybody stops and off I go into a lame solo but then I hear noises behind me. I turn around and he's breaking down his drum kit and loading it into his car.