Artistry:The electric bass in Jazz.

[Tehrin Cole]

Hey,everyone! My name is Tehrin Cole,and I just recently,became a registered member of this site,and I'm totally digging this! Finally,a forum that caters to us bassists,....you see this with guitarists all of the time.What I'd like to talk about,is a seemingly,very controversial subject:The inclusion of the electric bass guitar in jazz music.This is in no way,a dismissal of acoustic bass,or its players,but rather,an almost total exclusion of the electric bass,in this idiom.In certain areas such as fusion,or"smooth jazz"(I really hate that term),It's very much accepted.However,in straight-ahead,it's almost shunned!I've been fortunate to have been able to play this music,as an eletric bassist with such notables as:"The Cotton Club All Stars Orchestra",the Harlem Rennaisance Orchestra",Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers",Gillie Coggins",Hank Edmonds,...just to name a few.I've never heard a band leader ask a guitarist,if he plays acoustic guitar(prior to Charlie Christian,this is what cats played),and not since Lionel Hampton incorporated this instrument,at its inception,has it really gotten the respect I feel,it deserves.There are many great players out there,who do it well!What are your thoughts?

 

[bThumper38]

I totally agree, there's alot of great bass players out there, and there's enough room for more of them. it will be interesting to see what else becomes of the electric bass in the next twenty years.

 

[Asher S]

The musicians' respective talents and personal sounds are just half of the equation. Many die hard jazz fans expect to see an upright bass in a live jazz performance. Perhaps that will change in time, perhaps not. But I think the electric upright is gaining increasingly more acceptance, and that might pave the evolution towards the use of bass guitar in more traditional jazz groups.