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Double Bass RIP Paul Warburton

Ouch. This news really hurts. Brings back a huge bunch of fond memories from early days of TB and a lot more. Paul visited Finland during his career, too. That made us kind of friends even though we never met in person. We were friends online and privately and I got a lot of wisdom and advise from Paul privately. Back in the days before MP3 and such I also snail mailed him cd records.
Good Bye Paul.
 
I got to meet him in Denver (on my 50th birthday no less). Before the gig we talked for a little while about NY bass players (Neal Miner had just been there), Ray and Red, pornstaches and a bunch of other bass related stuff. Later, on the way to the bandstand he attempted to goose me, then audibly cursed me when I successfully evaded his grasp. I never saw him again but we talked on the phone a few times afterwards and it was always a pleasurable and entertaining conversation. I’m only sorry I never got to see him play. He was a really great guy, R.I.P.
 
Thought I would share some memories. Living in the area and having Rob Ross work on my basses I got to meet Paul several times and seen him play bunch. I know he has a bigger than life reputation, but he was always just kind, simple, and understated when I had the opportunity to interact with him. I think early on in my career I wanted to take lessons from him, and he wanted me to get better first with someone else first which seemed more than fair and honest. In talking about his 5 string bass and the idea of a high C instead, he just talked about how those notes are up here and just play D and then E accross four octives without thinking about it. I also found him to be a very supportive player of all those around him and while everyone stared at him he really wanted everyone to shine. Very early in my bass playing life I live in Philly and got to interact with Wilbur Ware quite a bit, and they seemed similar in kind, confident, supportive, but maybe Paul had a bit more attitude that always struck me as pushing us to be better. I had heard some outrageous stories about him, but never saw that side. RIP Paul and the Colorado community is greiving and feels more empty.
 
Here is a nice remembrance of Paul ==> Remembering Jazz Bassist Paul Warburton
Oh man! Thanks for that!
warburton_bruning.jpg


I got to back up Dale Bruning once and Paul gave me way too much credit for it.
Two nice people. You can hear that in the remembrance Chuck posted.
 
We didn't get off to a great start. When I first started reading and then joining in the discussions On TBDB, I once used the word snarky to describe someone, something or some situation and as I recall, Paul wanted to know who he F#%^ I was and what did snarky mean. It all worked out and he started using that word. We came to be pretty good TalkBass friends and friends in a closed group on FakeBook.

We talked on the phone more than a few times but I never met him in the flesh. He was kind and generous enough to critique a few recordings I did, give me pointers and let me know some inside tips regarding the language and vocabulary of jazz. He was kind and complimentary but also pointed out my missteps.

Paul loved the music of Brazil, and he loved Ivan Lins and I believe Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira. He could be outrageous but so funny. I think his favorite comeback was "bite me". When Julia let us know on FB that he had passed, although expected, it was still a gut punch. He will be missed. Thanks Paul for all the humor, insight and knowledge of jazz that you shared.

May you have one foot in heaven fore the devil knows your gone. Of course he would say something like, "you know I don't believe in that sh#$T. RIP Mr. Warmbottom.
 
Like Trey, Paul and I got off to a rough start. My first post on TB and I find myself ganged up on by him and a couple of his cronies. But I decided not to let it get me down and I kept posting and Paul and I eventually became good internet buds. Like many of you, I shared some of my music with him and he was always happy to listen and comment.

I've had a number of older mentors over the years that have meant a lot to me, and Paul was definitely one of the good ones, even though we never met in person. I miss his biting wit and outsized personality! Rest well, Paul. Now you can go f*&k with some heavenly noobies and send them on down south!
 
I'll just say here that IMO our interactions with Paul here and elsewhere were a deep connection to the main artery of 50's and 60's jazz, and I learned an amazing amount from him. I'm so glad that his words are archived here. I never spoke to him in person or met him, but am thankful for our interactions. I always hoped to find a copy of the lost Red Mitchell/Harold Land performance from Jazz Scene USA to share with him, but it never materialized. RIP
 
I've had a number of older mentors over the years that have meant a lot to me, and Paul was definitely one of the good ones, even though we never met in person. I miss his biting wit and outsized personality! Rest well, Paul. Now you can go f*&k with some heavenly noobies and send them on down south!

I messaged Paul about traveling to Chicago about 10-12 years ago and asked him “Who is a must-see?” Paul responded “Eric Hochberg”. I didn’t catch you that trip but did a couple of years later. Glad he mentioned you!
 
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I messaged Paul about traveling to Chicago about 10-12 years ago and asked him “Who is a must-see?” Paul responded “Eric Hochberg”. I didn’t catch you that trip but did a couple of years later. Glad he mentioned you!

I hate to correct you, because I wasn't part of this conversation, but I'm pretty sure you're remembering incorrectly. What Paul would have said in this circumstance is:

"Oh, you want to SEE jazz? See jazz, huh? What does jazz look like to you? You know, back in the day we went out to HEAR jazz. If you wanted to HEAR jazz, I'd check out @Eric Hochberg, but since you're interested in seeing ..."

After hearing Eric play some jazz in Chicago once, we posted a selfie together and PW's response was "Were you guys at an ugly sweater convention?" They don't make 'um like that any more.

Paul, you were a pain-in-the-ass, but you were our pain-in-the-ass. We loved you and you'll never be forgotten. As a matter of fact, I'm going to wear that sweater tomorrow, just to spite you.
 
I hate to correct you, because I wasn't part of this conversation, but I'm pretty sure you're remembering incorrectly. What Paul would have said in this circumstance is:

"Oh, you want to SEE jazz? See jazz, huh? What does jazz look like to you? You know, back in the day we went out to HEAR jazz. If you wanted to HEAR jazz, I'd check out @Eric Hochberg, but since you're interested in seeing ..."

After hearing Eric play some jazz in Chicago once, we posted a selfie together and PW's response was "Were you guys at an ugly sweater convention?" They don't make 'um like that any more.

Paul, you were a pain-in-the-ass, but you were our pain-in-the-ass. We loved you and you'll never be forgotten. As a matter of fact, I'm going to wear that sweater tomorrow, just to spite you.

This resonates. Back in 2009, I played a gig with Dave Samuels. I posted a pic, and here was Pee’s response:

upload_2022-1-18_23-0-43.png
 
In 2016 I stopped by Bob Ross" shop with a new bass. Bob called Paul and said "Get over here." With 20 minutes there he was! We exchanged stories and I got a great bass face from our man.
Rest in peace Paul Warburton.
 

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