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Double Bass Soloing on a ballad?

A

AZNBassist

Jan 14, 2004
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Denton
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#1
I'm preparing for an audition for the New School of Jazz, one of the following required tunes was Body and Soul. Although I know the tune (changes, melody, etc.), I'm at a loss over how to actually solo over any ballad in general.

I mean, I've played ballads before, but I've never actually soloed (or soloed decently) over a ballad. I was thinking about bowing the melody and having an arco solo as I've seen some other bassists do, but after the head, I'm at a complete loss of how to decently blow over the changes since the feel of a ballad compared to the a standard tune or swing feel feels completely different. Do any of you guys have any advice on how to solo on ballads?
 
#2
It seems a bad idea to me to play an arco solo if you are having trouble soloing at all. Unless you are more comfortable playing arco than pizz, why complicate things further at this stage?
In terms of soloing over ballads, my main advice, for what its worth, would be to listen to what the greats do. Who do you love playing ballads? An obvious place to start with 'Body and Soul' would be the great Coleman Hawkins solo. Ben Webster would be another good person to listen too. I'm thinking of people who play beautiful ballads without playing anything too hard to hear. In terms of bass solos on ballads, Charlie Haden, Mingus and Jay Anderson are particularly beautiful, IMO.
 
#3
George Mraz always plays some nice stuff over balads, I really like everything he does on his record "My Foolish Heart". Eddie Gomez plays some good stuff on BE's You Must Believe In Spring, which is all ballads or stuff in 3/4. One of the most touching solos I've heard is Patitucci's blow on the title track to One More Angel. To me, ballads are the most fun but like Miles "I don't play them anymore because I love them so much."
 
#4
For bass ballad blowing, it's hard to top Michael Moore & Bill Charlap "Live @ Maybeck"

But yeah, forget about bass ballads. There are too many, too-fine Body & Souls by people wise or fortunate enough to play other instruments. In addition to Hawkins, I'd scope Dexter Gordon on "Homecoming" and Chris Potter's bass-clarinet take on "Gratitude."
 
#5
If you're tight on the melody AND know the changes, you should have no problem improvising on the tune. You could embelish the melody, which a lot of people do when they don't actually know the melody note for note but do know the general layout of the melody. You could try for practice playing the melody for one chorus and then attempt to improvise on it in the next, wash, rinse, repeat, record and listen back.
 
#6
If you want to hear a great bass rendition of Body and Soul and get tons of valuable soloing inspiration, click on:

Link Removed

(it's the first tune in the music player).

OK, it's played on electric bass, but the upright nazis on this forum will agree that it's a killing solo. RIGHT? :D

-MP
 
#8
I love ballads. It's a chance to slow down and just play some pretty notes, to be a bit lyrical. I guess in an audition, though, you really do have some people to impress. That's a shame, because most mortal audiences really do respond to a pretty ballad -- especially later at night in an intimate club setting.
 
#9
This may sound redundant but don't forget to learn the scales and arpegios for the chords in the song. You should be able to start at various points of the scale or arpegio such as the root, 3rd, 5th etc. at different points in the tune. This helps with the embellishment that was mentioned earlier.:D
 
#10
Sam Sherry said:
But yeah, forget about bass ballads. There are too many, too-fine Body & Souls by people wise or fortunate enough to play other instruments.
Click to expand...

SAM'L - say it ain't so, bro!?! It doesn't matter how many have been down a path before, its beauty remains undiminished...

I love playing ballads and you should approach them like you approach improvising on any other tune; you listen for stuff in your head and then you play that.
 
#11
...and look here, Sam -- other instruments have some kind of right to Body & Soul that we don't? That one I don't buy at all. Our instrument excels on ballads, especially when things get quiet and you can hear every little wooden nuance.

If some Bad God decreed that double bass had to choose ballads or uptempo stuff, that it could play nothing else for the remainder of history, it would be an easy choice for me. Ballads all the way.
 
#13
Damon Rondeau said:
If some Bad God decreed that double bass had to choose ballads or uptempo stuff, that it could play nothing else for the remainder of history, it would be an easy choice for me. Ballads all the way.
Click to expand...

Yeah, baby, I heard that.


You wanna see a funny face? Check out the expression on the pianist's face when I get the rare chance to count off a ballad. I like it slowww-w--w---w....
 
#14
The slowest ballad tempi I ever heard were from Betty Carter. Man, the bass player could go outside for a cigarette break between beats if he wanted to.

I'm another ballad lover. Unfortunately, most of the drummers I play with don't share my affection for them and want to double up the tempo right after the head. I just set my jaw and keep the half notes going.
 
#15
Mike Goodbar said:
I just set my jaw and keep the half notes going.
Click to expand...

Good man. That's what I'm talking about.

You would have loved this drummer from out here, the late, great Lloyd Grace. Good old local Hawaiian boy, maybe the greatest brush player I've ever run across. He could play as fast or as slow as you like, and swing your ass off at whisper volume. He played Music Of The Highest Order every single moment he was onstage. I miss that guy a lot.
 
#16
Damon Rondeau said:
If some Bad God decreed that double bass had to choose ballads or uptempo stuff, that it could play nothing else for the remainder of history, it would be an easy choice for me. Ballads all the way.
Click to expand...

I'm with you and Marcus here. Ballads make me WORK in a whole different way. I love 'em.

:bassist:
 

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