Is James Jamerson the best?

[Honk'n_down-low]

The reason I play Bass today is because of James Jamerson. His influence and mark on the Bass World is so Gigantic. I can't say he is the best - because there are so many great players. But he is without a doubt one of my all time favorite players.

I wish he had attained the recognition he deserved as it seemed that is what troubled him in his later years - I also wish he could have been saved. He passed much to soon.

While widely recognized now - I still don't believe he has been honored to the level his contribution to Music and Bass Playing deserve!

Try to play some of his lines verbatim and you realize how great he was - particularly how he made slight changes rhythmically and melodically without any of it feeling contrived. I just smile every time I listen. Enough said - he was and still is The Man!!!!

 

[Jerry Ziarko]

"he was tossed a chord chart and improvised those lines, in one take,"

Please don't fool yourself in to thinking those lines and recordings were done in 'one take'. A few maybe, but most of those tunes were labored over for many hours and many, many takes.
Motown was known for using different singers and musicians on many takes till it was sculptured into the hits they became.

I don't know where you got that info, but it goes against almost all of the eye witness accounts of the whole Motown recording process. It wasn't called the Hit Factory for nothing.