Avant-Garde Bassists?

[LeonD]

In the guitar world, I enjoy listening to Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Marc Ribot. For lack of a better term, I call this style, avant-garde.

In the bass world, I'm trying to find players that fit this same style but can't think of any.

Is it because we bass players are the foundation that allow avant-garde guitarists to be who they are? Is it because that style can't be played on bass (I would think it could)? Is it because it'd sound like crap being played on a bass? Or am I just completely overlooking some bass players?

 

[cheapimitation]

Maybe check out Daniele Camarda:

YouTube - ‪francesco guaiana nojaz trio- intro‬‏

 

[kuys]

Les Claypool.

Also I love Ribot's work with Tom Waits. The guitar lead on "Jockey Full of Bourbon" is pure eargasim.

 

[grendle]

Michael mannering? Stu hamm?

 

[JimK]

In the guitar world, I enjoy listening to Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Marc Ribot. For lack of a better term, I call this style, avant-garde.

Sometimes...that style is part of the NYC Downtown scene. I also like that stuff. So I listen to the guys that typically play with Frisell, Ribot, Fiuczynki, Blood Ulmer, Sonny Sharrock, etc.
How about Bill Laswell, Fima Ephron...Melvin Gibbs (I just re-read an old Guitar Player interview with him. He's great w/ a great attitude).
Melvin Gibbs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blood Ulmer had a project called Music Revelation Ensemble...this link is with Amin Ali (Rashied's son) on bass-
Invalid Link Removed

John Davis is a member on this site...check out some of his threads.

William Parker was mentioned. He's great. There's also John Lindberg & Ben Allison.

 

[JimK]

Is it because we bass players are the foundation that allow avant-garde guitarists to be who they are?

I guess some of that is true.
If the guitarist & sax are being bombastic...& the drummer is playing anything but "the time"...someone has to be "there"?
Otherwise, everyone would sound like Last Exit or No Material (w/ Ginger Baker).


...and check out Jamaladeen Tacuma with Ornette Coleman.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Steuart Liebig.

 

[Audiophage]

Well, you could look into some of the cats who plays with those people you mentioned. For example, look into Tony Scherr, Devin Hoff, and Trevor Dunn.

 

[teleharmonium]

I consider those guitarists to be versatile players that are avant garde at times.

Most avant garde bassists play upright, which is a better suited instrument when it comes to making weird sounds.

 

[RickC]

In the guitar world, I enjoy listening to Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Marc Ribot. For lack of a better term, I call this style, avant-garde.

I'd consider Laswell the closest bass equivalent to the names you mention here. And he has *a lot* of stuff out there to explore. Allmusic lists ten pages of credits alone, not even including his dates as a leader

Bill Laswell | AllMusic

/rick

 

[LeonD]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. Much appreciated.

 

[vegas532]

Steuart Liebig.

Great player...plus a nice, humble man to boot!

 

[cnltb]

In the guitar world, I enjoy listening to Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Marc Ribot. For lack of a better term, I call this style, avant-garde.

In the bass world, I'm trying to find players that fit this same style but can't think of any.

Is it because we bass players are the foundation that allow avant-garde guitarists to be who they are? Is it because that style can't be played on bass (I would think it could)? Is it because it'd sound like crap being played on a bass? Or am I just completely overlooking some bass players?

Skuli Sverrisson maybe?
I sure like what he does very much .

Not quite avant garde but extremely COOL IMHO are the two solo discs by Viktor Krauss.

 

[JimK]

Jonas Hellborg has some 'out' things, too.

 

[kylejamesbaker]

Trevor Dunn was mentioned. He's great... definitely one of my favorites. He was in Mr. Bungle who are one of my favorite bands ever. He does a lot of John Zorn projects which are amazing. He recently played on one Zorn album called "Enigmata." It's an album of just bass and guitar with Marc Ribot playing guitar. It's AMAZING. Michael ATONAL Vick is another guy to check out. He plays fretless bass as well as fretless guitar and many other instruments. He plays a lot of microtonal stuff. I got his album "Free Master-Bass-tion" off CD Baby and it's just absolutely insane.

 

[joe vegas]

ps check out phil lesh and ned lagin's 1974 "Seastones" collaboration album (cd)... there is nothing this side of stockhausen and xenakis to describe the intensity and lysergic transport of this electronic-music masterpiece. the very definition of avant garde.

 

[Warfender]

Trevor Dunn plays with Nels Cline in the Nels Cline singers, John Zorn with M Ribot, etc. Check out this upright of him playing Punk/metal with the Melvins just this week.

‪melvins lite 7-12-11 up the dumper & let me roll it‬‏ - YouTube
‪Melvins lite Fresno 7/15/11‬‏ - YouTube cool solo at 1:30

 

[Marial]

Well, I see multiple mentions of Trevor Dunn and Bill Laswell, so they're covered. The only other folks I can think of are multi-instrumentalist Fred Frith, who also played with John Zorn, and Kermit Driscoll, yet another Zorn alum.

 

[rulyongo]

yeah, Kermit Driscoll's work with Bill Frisell is very good! Also Michael Manring has some very "out" music, check out his work with McGill-Manring-Stevens, amazing!!! Also check out Kato Hideki, his cd: "Green Zone" is very good!!!

 

[IPA]

The guy from Lightning Bolt