Can a bass player

are you asking for permission?

 

Yes. I think that's a good attitude. There's too much hero worship in "the bass community."

 

Entirely possible, but I'm not mine.

 

I'm confused as to what you're asking... you mean, can a bassist be his own favorite bassist?

In that case, sure. Your favorite can be anybody you'd like. But, I'd be careful about going around and telling people that you're your own favorite. It's akin to a millionaire saying he's his own favorite charity.

 

As much as some misinterpret it as arrogance, I think you can. I think ppl often relate "favorite" with a background nuance of "looking up to", partly because alot of bass players equate their fav bassist's skills with what they wish they had.

 

i think so...and although it's probably widely assumed that this would be narcissism of the worst kind, i'm not sure that i think it is actually a bad thing in all instances

in a very ideal world, if one doesn't think he/she is the best at what he/she does, there could be argument for one to stop doing what he/she does

 

This is a question best posed to Jaco...

 

I guess I have to disagree with this. I think its more like a car engineer saying his car is his fav to drive.

 

If you listen to your own bass lines and say 'I wish I could play like that!'. Then yes you can be your own favorite bass player.

 

That is close to where my head is. I'm pretty sure that Jaco was Jaco's favorite player with the possible exception of Jerry Jemmott.

 

Sure, why not. I've heard plenty of people say they're in their favourite band. If you don't like what you're doing artistically, you're doing it wrong.

 

The thread title led me to think something along the lines of "bass player in a can".

 

if one thinks they are the best at something then what would be the reason to get any better??

 

That's a very hard to answer question.

Because a 'favorite' can be designated for a wide variety of reasons; Favorite technical player, favorite because of accessibility, favorite because of the way they handle their role in a band - it's hard to imagine any single player being or remaining one's favorite.

My favorite "rock" player was John Paul Jones - then Geddy Lee and Chris Squire. I modeled my playing style after these guys initially and really enjoyed my own execution of that amalgam - but I couldn't be my own favorite because then I discovered Stanley Clarke, Jaco, Victor Wooten and more...

I began to blend aspects of their styles into my personal amalgam - but then I discovered...

If you designate yourself as your favorite - to me that implies you've stopped being impressed by what other players do and see no need to update your style to adopt what you've been impressed by. That sounds like creative death to me...

 

sure, I recon.