The Most Inspirational Bassist

[lowfreqgeek]

Anthony Jackson, without a doubt.

 

[deutschmarc]

geddy lee, geezer,

 

[Sav'nBass]

Id have to say Jamerson & Dunn for me.. Mowtown & Stax ade a lot of the music that influenced me.. and the bassplayer from Raere earth that did Get Ready...

 

[OOZMAN]

Exactly. SPREAD THEM WANGS

I......... do not understand....

Tom Araya.

Not just as a bassist, but as a person. Anyone who can be in a band with the lyrical content and image such as Slayer, and still be a Catholic and believe in God is an amazing person, with some damn strong personal values.

F***in right doggie! And lordie can he pick fast. Anyone who can even keep up with KK and Jeff deserves a medal. Also I want his sig ESP so bad...

SLAAAAAAAAAYEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRR!!!

 

[Lobster11]

Over the years I've had numerous favorite players, including many of the usual suspects, but no one has truly inspired me as much as Julie Slick. Not only did seeing her play with her Power Trio (okay, technically it's Adrian Belew's Power Trio) hit me over the head with an overpowering feeling of "OMG I wish I could play like THAT!", but she's inspired in me in several specific ways as well: For example, I'm now finally motivated to learn to play with a pick (which I've resisted over the years despite several of my favorite bassists being pick players), and the ABPT really threw open the window for me to King Crimson and other related stuff -- which I previously had appreciated, but that just didn't quite blow me away the way it does now. And most recently, her debut solo album has made me want to try to do some recording of my own using a similar process (though, sadly, without half the talent or creativity). That's a lot of inspiration to get from someone half one's age, huh?

 

[Big chicken]

Sting
Entwistle
Waters
Bruce

 

[zachoff]

Probably Mike Watt though nothing I play is even remotely in the same vein as his style.

As far as general musicians/performers... Dave Grohl is it for me. Everything that dude touches turns to gold.

 

[Midfour]

He may not be the best ever (certainly close, but not QUITE the best), but it was Cliff Burton for me (as my sig can attest).

 

[Mikata]

G E D D Y F#%ing L E E

justin chancellor

 

[jaco1458]

Anybody hear of John Francis Pastorius? The man who started this whole adventure
of bass playing. Then there was a british bass player that was doing harmonics way
before Jaco,Percy Jones? All these bass players are "flash in the pan" bass players.
The foundation people please, Stanley Clarke,Chris Squire,Greg Lake to name a few.
Now you people are too young to remember a great bass player in his "perspective time",
lets not forget Paul McCartney. I remember trying to figuare out Sgt. Pepper or Abbey Road. We need to not forget the pioneers who started it all.

 

[GregC]

I could list all the influences in my profile, but the OP seemed to be asking a little deeper question. Mike Watt has been a big influence and inspiration to me. I started playing bass a year or two before I heard the Minutemen, but he really opened my eyes as to how far you could take your playing in a punk context. I love his creativity both on the instrument itself and in his songwriting.

I can also relate to some of the things he's gone through--losing a close friend and bandmate at a young age, a major medical event (at nearly the same time, as it happens) that lays you up for a while. I'm glad I finally got to shake his hand at a gig last year, though I didn't have time to stick around and talk. As always, I can't wait for his next release.

 

[GregC]

All the usual suspects, though I do remember spending most of 1989 learning everything off Fishbone's 'Truth and Soul', so Norwood Fisher has to be in there for me, underrated IMO, wicked player, wicked band.

'Bonin' in the Boneyard' is a great slap line/solo to get around ; )

Hell yeah, Norwood is amazing. I haven't even tried to learn that slap line, though--I'm too bad at slapping right now.

For me its Geezer Butler and Justin Chancellor. I actually met geezer and the rest of Sabbath wiht dio(RIP) at a signing. When I told geezer hes the one who made me want to pick up a bass he let me come around to their side of the table and i got to talk with him and the rest of the band for a half hour while they finished the rest of the singings, it was life changing.

Even though I don't listen to Sabbath much, that's a really cool thing to read.

Anybody hear of John Francis Pastorius? The man who started this whole adventure
of bass playing. Then there was a british bass player that was doing harmonics way
before Jaco,Percy Jones? All these bass players are "flash in the pan" bass players.
The foundation people please, Stanley Clarke,Chris Squire,Greg Lake to name a few.
Now you people are too young to remember a great bass player in his "perspective time",
lets not forget Paul McCartney. I remember trying to figuare out Sgt. Pepper or Abbey Road. We need to not forget the pioneers who started it all.

Jaco's been mentioned multiple times in the thread already, as have some of the others you mentioned. And dissing other people's inspirational players as flashes in the pan is not only incorrect, IMO, it's pretty uncool.

 

[philzone53]

Not based strictly on chops IMO but more on tone and/or innovation regarding role of bass:

Jaco - by a mile
Joe Osborne
Phil Lesh
Greg Lake
Chris Squire
Les Claypool
Jack Casady
Jack Bruce
Duck Dunn
Stanley Clarke
Chuck Rainey
Leland Sklar

 

[Oldboy]

Only one for me - Paul McCartney.No-one else.

 

[MIN]

Mingus inspires me everyday as a fellow bassist-bandleader/person of color.

 

[Ezbass]

Back in the day John Entwhistle and Andy Fraser were the guys who made me sit up and listen to what the bass was doing, but the guy who really made me move over to the bass from the tiny 6 string thing was Pino back in the 80s when he came to prominence with Paul Young.

Along the way since then the likes of Roscoe Beck, Tony Levin, Chuck Rainey and Rocco Prestia have been a big influence, but I do keep coming back to Pino in whatever situation he happens to be playing in. He was the man back in the 80s and he still is today.

 

[jordy_on_bass]

Jason Newsted was originally the guy who made me want to pick up the bass. As an impressionable 16 year old kid, Jason made the instrument look so cool. Pretty soon after I met my soon-to-be best mate who was then a bassist, and I went straight into the instrument. Not long after, I discovered Mudvayne and was blown away by Ryan Martinie. His bass lines didn't seem so generic as far as heavy metal bass lines. He made the bass the lead instrument and his bass lines were intelligent and innvoative, that really sparked my interest in developing my skill and being the best bass player that I can be.

To this day, I have been influenced by a number of bass players, but Ryan is still my favourite bass player. I have 2 Mudvayne related tattoos on my body and one of them, and Im kind of embarassed to admit this, is a portrait of Ryan playing bass in the old war paint. I really am a fan

Cheers,
Jordan

 

[richardbethell]

I was first inspired to play music, and specifically bass, by Gene Simmons, my biggest inspiration at this point in my life is Pino.

 

[FromTheBassMent]

Of course I have always admired the virtuosos who could solo on bass and keep my attention. Stanley Clarke was my first bass idol, I suppose.

But the players who inspire my playing in the genres that I have actually played would be Jamerson, Bruce, JPJ, Sklar, Shakespeare, Levin.

In the past 10 years or so of playing primarily alt-country-Americana, I often find myself thinking, "What would Randy Meisner do?"

I actually have a lot in common with him in terms of my role in the band... solid foundational bass playing and high harmony singing. My wife, of course, can hit higher notes than me... but I can get up there! Meisner sang lead on "Take It To The Limit," and was usually the top voice in The Eagle's trademark harmonies. That's pretty much what I do.

 

[Bloodhammer]

Steve Harris