just curious about jazz bassists

Paul Chambers and Charles Mingus are great places to start. Mingus is known for both his bass playing and his compositional skills. I would say Jaco, but then people will tell me that he's too advanced to learn from, or he was a FUSION bassist, or whatever... so I won't. (He's still good. ) There are many many more... I don't want to take up the whole list now, so I'll save some for the others.

 

I would get "Weather Report - The Jaco Years". It's just excellent music and will give you a primer to Jaco.

I would also get Pat Martino, "Stone Blue". James Genus (who now plays on Saturday Night Live) lays down some incredible lines on this modern jazz CD. His playing is very musical with a GREAT feel.

Another CD I just picked up is Matthrew Garrison. Very cool. Very difficult.

Have fun! I wish I would have started listening and working on this kind of material when I started.

Do you have a teacher?

Jeff

 

Paul Chambers and Ray Brown are my pick. I think Jaco is too advanced for a beginner. Paul and Ray alone will supply a lifetime's worth of study!!

 

I would also check put Dave Weckl's new album. Tom Kennedy is on bass and he just flat out grooves like a monster! I think it is one of the best examples of an electric bass doing jazz I've heard in a long time. The others mentioned in here are obviously great players, but there's something about Tom's playing on this cd that is inspiring to me.

 

I agree about Mingus - an amazing player with ideas, fire, and passion to spare.

John Patitucci - One of my (personal) bass heroes. A true virtuoso on both double bass and six-string electric.

I've really been enjoying Gary Peacock lately - check him out with Keith Jarrett's trio.

Reginald Veal's work with Wynton Marsalis is awfully damn strong, too.

 

Among contemporary (that is, living) players, Christian McBride is pretty potent on both upright and fretless bass guitar. I'd check out his most recent release, Sci-Fi. Dave Holland's playing is also mighty fine; I saw him live a few weeks ago and he blew my mind away with his impeccable rhythm and great melodic and harmonic sense. Niels-Henning Orsted Petersen is another favorite; I saw him with Oscar Peterson last summer and was very impressed by the fact that he was doing Jaco-esque stuff--chording, wicked 16th-note runs with ghost notes and 16th rests, etc.--on upright.

One can also learn much from the past masters, obviously. Definitely check out Chambers, Mingus, etc.

 

Nathan East, of course. Also Melvin Davis.

 

There's some cool jazz bass stuff out now.

John Patitucci - "Communion"
Dave Holland - "Not For Nothing" and "Bill Frisell, Dave Holland and Elvin Jones".

 

Don't forget Jeff Berlin or Gary Willis.

 

...thanks, Chris. I think you & I, APPARENTLY, are the only here at this site that has ever heard the guy! TK's solo cd, Basses Loaded is nice(if ya can find it...mostly ACOUSTIC Latin/Bop).
Synergy, a past Weckl disc, has some smokin' grooves("Swunk", a tune that cross-breeds Swing + funk, is very cool). There's also a tune where Kennedy goes off with an octaver...pretty damn bad, IMO.
For early Kennedy, check out his stuff with the Billy Connors' trio(with Weckl or Kim Plainsfield on cans).

 

Holland's bad; if you like Not For Nothing, you'll love Prime Directive...

Also, more stuff in a similiar vibe is Ben Allison(& Medicine Wheel). Allison's composing is the real deal.
There's also John Lindberg, Fred Hopkins, & William Parker(his drumming co-hort, Hamid Drake, is a monster!).

 

Who is this Tom Kennedy?

 

Come on guys its stanley clark!

 

I went to the Weckl Website <g> and sent an email, but never heard back. I'd love to know how he recorded his bass on that last cd.

 

...you're killin' me.


The Billy Connors' stuff, BTW, is in the same vibe as the Holdsworth/Jimmy Johnson albums...
If I recall, Kennedy's tone on the Weckl records sounds like a high end bass plugged directly into the board & played by a stellar musician.
Kinda like Brad's tone on the stuff I sampled!






(I'm serious!).

 

how about garry willis? i apologize if someone already said him.

 

I mentioned Allison, Parker, Lindberg, Hopkins, etc!

Anyway, yeah...start with Blanton(please).

Ed-
What's the above three players' story?
(& yer favoorite Peter Washington album is _______?)