Double Bass The Duo Thread

[rickwolff]

Shortly after I started playing again (after my 25-30 year 'hiatus') I had the good fortune to meet a very talented singer/pianist named Lydia Salette. Here is a duo clip of us.

 

[ee-san]

Here's a great vocal-bass duo with Nurse Dixie McCall (you could look it up, as Yogi Berra said). I ran across it unexpectedly during another search.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

All the Red Mitchell duos are amazing - absolute master... Only read this thread quickly so might have missed it, but there's 2 CDs of duos with Warne Marsh which are incredible too, although the Konitz one is best of all...

And as you asked to hear from TBers - here's me playing free in duo with the tenor saxophonist Tom Challenger:
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Sounds really good, and that's coming from someone who does not always "get" free playing. The coloristic stuff in the beginning had me thinking you were using some strange effect, but later it became clear that you were just playing freaky overtone-ish stuff with your bow. Were you amplified at all?

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Someone mentioned Gary Peacock and Ralph Towner earlier.



No bass but Bobby Watson/James Williams is quite good.

 

[peterpalmieri]

What great examples of bass playing, finally caught up during lunch with the listening. Reminds me of what Rufus Reid talks about in his DVD, paraphrasing - If there is no drummer you have to be the rhythm, if there is no piano you have to give a sense of the changes. A bass player shouldnt't need these musicians but want to play with them. Much eaiser said than done..

I often play duets with my Father in law on sax or flute and exposes every weakness I have and sometimes it's downright ugly....

 

[Ekol]

Hi Chris, i would really like to recommend the danish singer Sinne Eeg's album with bassist Thomas Fonnesbæk, named Eeg - Fonnesbæk. I think Thomas is fantastic at plaing solos without losing the groove or swing, and Sinne is an amazing singer as well! This album has been my drug the last days!

Happy listening and thanks for the other tips!

 

[oliebrice]

Sounds really good, and that's coming from someone who does not always "get" free playing. The coloristic stuff in the beginning had me thinking you were using some strange effect, but later it became clear that you were just playing freaky overtone-ish stuff with your bow. Were you amplified at all?

Thanks Chris! nope, all acoustic

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Great replies from everyone! it'll take me a while to catch up on all the listening and suggestions so far, but I've got a lot of good stuff ahead of me.

Just mixed another track from Tuesday's session. This one's a little more medium/up. Really enjoying the recording process now that the room and the rig is finally together!

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Oh I can't resist posting this. One of my fav cuts of all time:


I forgot that I owned a Jim Hall cd where does a series of duets with Dave Holland, CMB, Haden, George Mraz & Scott Colley. It's "Jim Hall & Basses". Man I gotta sink my ears into this one again, it's been a long time. I bought it when I was a guitarist and haven't really listened to it since becoming a bassist.

I've been also looking at solo acts for inspiration that I feel are kinda similar to the duo thing. I was always a bit lukewarm about Esperanza til I saw this clip and now I'm sold.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

@Chris Fitzgerald - I don't have any duo stuff with a single line instrument, I do have some trio stuff with tenor, bass and drums. But the rest is piano or guitar. I know I sent you that minidisc recording of me and Masami Ishikawa from some years back, did I send any of that stuff with Jon Easton on piano? I've also got some more recent recordings with a couple of different guitarists. Lemme know if you want that stuff.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I think you did, but my minidisk days are long behind me. I was hoping you had something you could share here so everyone could hear - with the new software you can attach mp3's directly (and Soundcloud is also free for a limited number of uploads). Everyone needs to hear your relentless bouyancy!

 

[jmlee]

One favourite which hasn't gotten mentioned is the upright and fretless electric bass duo of Michel Donato and Alain Caron from Montréal. Their Basse Contrabasse album is a treat.



Donato also had a long-standing vocal duo with Karen Young that was a lot of fun. I'd also pitch in any of the many, wonderful duos that Charlie Haden (RIP) participated in. The great stillness of his playing enhanced every second voice.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

^^^ Cool duo, and amazing venue. Is that a subway station?

 

[jmlee]

^^^ Cool duo, and amazing venue. Is that a subway station?

I don't think so. It looks like a studio, perhaps a in a museum of some sort, and with that bus mural in the background. There's monitors in the walls, I notice.

 

[gerry grable]

I have a very old cassette tape "Duologue" that pianist Wolfgang Knittel gave me many years ago (Too bad I have no way of uploading a cut to TB). It's a trumpet/ bass duo with Allen Botshinsky and Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson. It was my introduction to NHOP's playing and still knocks me out.
Also, Wolf gave me a duo album with NHOP and Sam Jones. It is interesting to say the least.

 

[Don Kasper]

I think you did, but my minidisk days are long behind me. I was hoping you had something you could share here so everyone could hear - with the new software you can attach mp3's directly (and Soundcloud is also free for a limited number of uploads). Everyone needs to hear your relentless buoyancy!

"Relentless Buoyancy!"- Did Kenny Werner write another self-help book?

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

That Esperanza clip is great. i always thought that only a jazz pianist could have that kind of symbiotic relationship between the line and the comping because he/she would control both with the same mind. She just proved me wrong. I love it when that happens.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Chris. I really appreciate that you make that connection. At times when I've played and sang at the same time, it felt as if it was like back at the piano, except that it's the hands playing the bass side and the voice singing the treble side. Since it's just one person creating the music, it's just the two elements playing with/against eachother, rather than say a bassist adapting to what a soloist is putting out. Similar but not the same.

However on many of these recordings we've listed so far, I think we like them so much because they do exhibit this type of phenomena. Two people creating a simple sound of possibly one person or voice.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

That's the beautiful thing about duo playing - it's either intimate and conversational, or it's flat and boring. This is why I usually prefer smaller ensembles to bigger ones...I like to spoon!

 

[isolated]

From two years ago, and the last time I recorded anything, here's Skylark in a duo with the marvelous pianist Invalid Link Removed. I think we had a really nice vibe going.