Double Bass Jimmy Garrison's Bass

[sebs_washed]

Anybody know what kind of bass he played (in this picture at least)? That thing looks and sounds absolutely massive, assuming Jimmy wasn't a small man. Not to say that that sound wasn't because of the fact it was in Garrison's hands, but lord that thing is a monster!

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Here he is with young Matthew and a different bass, I think.

 

[damonsmith]

The lore is when Coltrane auditioned bass player he let Elvin pick in the end. Elvin reportedly said, "Give me the little one".

 

[bejoyous]

Hmm, both photos were taken at a low angle. If the lens is less than 50mm, it will distort the image and the closest thing in the middle will appear larger than it actually is.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

 

[Ed Fuqua]

NOT a tall guy....

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Matt Garrison isn't exactly a tall guy, either, so it's entirely probable that Jimmy wasn't all that tall.

 

[Michael Karn]

When he starts to walk at 8:28ish, he really puts the hammer down. I've had a few guys who played with him tell me that he wasn't the best harmonic bass player but his sound and and especially his feel were unbeatable

 

[Joshua]

When he starts to walk at 8:28ish, he really puts the hammer down. I've had a few guys who played with him tell me that he wasn't the best harmonic bass player but his sound and and especially his feel were unbeatable

Wow - great stuff! McCoy Tyner and Elvin sound amazing!

 

[turf3]

I think Trane was about 5-9 or 5-10, so Jimmy would have been maybe 5-5 or 5-6? Not a little tiny guy, but below the average height. Maybe a large 3/4 bass and low camera angle.

Anyway, no question about his qualities as a bassist!

 

[louloomis]

If you listen to a lot of live Coltrane recordings, in my opinion, Garrison is simply the greatest bassist that ever lived. His time feel and ability to push the band rhythmically to thunderous climaxes is just breathtaking. There are moments on record where he is swinging so incredibly hard that it is simply orgasmic. I'm not one to say "greatest" or "best" very often, for what it's worth. For my tastes, I've just never heard of a bassist that has measured up in terms of time feel. And I do respect all the other giants of bass - and there are many. I'm just a Jimmy Garrison person and have been since first listening to his playing.

And I love other bassists for other reasons...don't get me wrong. I just love Jimmy Garrison's playing a lot more.

 

[Phil Rowan]

If you listen to a lot of live Coltrane recordings, in my opinion, Garrison is simply the greatest bassist that ever lived. His time feel and ability to push the band rhythmically to thunderous climaxes is just breathtaking. There are moments on record where he is swinging so incredibly hard that it is simply orgasmic. I'm not one to say "greatest" or "best" very often, for what it's worth. For my tastes, I've just never heard of a bassist that has measured up in terms of time feel. And I do respect all the other giants of bass - and there are many. I'm just a Jimmy Garrison person and have been since first listening to his playing.

And I love other bassists for other reasons...don't get me wrong. I just love Jimmy Garrison's playing a lot more.

Agreed about Jimmy and bassists in the same vein. Not sure if you read Ethan Iverson's blog (and I posted this some time back), but if you scroll down to the second half of this post, you'll see his thoughts on bassists such as Jimmy Garrison, Wilbur Ware, Jymie Merritt, etc. I was fortunate to study with Dennis Irwin for some time, and as I remember him, I'd always thought Wilbur Ware was his main guy, but I remember hanging with his son once a while back and his son mentioning that it was really Jimmy Garrison that was a *big* influence on Dennis's playing. Anyway, check it out when you get a chance: Invalid Link Removed

 

[Michael Karn]

I generally like his blog a lot, but the Iverson thing seems to me to be a theory in search of facts. Within the context of Coltrane's band i always thought Reggie Workman was way more "rogue" than Garrison was, especially rhythmically. This quote from McCoy Tyner -

"I believe Reggie Workman went with Art Blakey after he left, and Jimmy Garrison came to us from
Ornette Coleman. This was around December '61. I don't remember exactly why Reggie left, but i'll
say this about Jimmy, his time and choice of notes was the best of all the bass players John had used.
He stayed more in the background, and that was what John really wanted"

I don't really hear much of a connection between Jimmy Garrison and Wilbur Ware (other than the fact that they're both all time greats), Jimmy talked about Percy Heath being an early influence, and later Charlie Haden (for soloing). I also don't think the logic of Coltrane's admiration for Wilbur leading to him hiring Jimmy holds up either, especially in light of that McCoy quote.

There's more i'd like to say about this but i've got to go

 

[oliebrice]

On the subject of 'rogue' bassists with Coltrane, I've read more than once that he approached Richard Davis to join the band but then died before it happened - would have been interesting!

 

[Michael Karn]

On the subject of 'rogue' bassists with Coltrane, I've read more than once that he approached Richard Davis to join the band but then died before it happened - would have been interesting!

Yeah, i read that too, i would have loved to have heard that. Either by himself or with Jimmy, like he and Eddie Khan did on Smokestack

 

[oliebrice]

Either by himself or with Jimmy, like he and Eddie Khan did on Smokestack

and with Wilbur Ware on 'In the World'

 

[Michael Karn]

and with Wilbur Ware on 'In the World'

+++++++++!