Who did the most for bass evolution ?

[Brad Johnson]

BTW where's Tim Bogert in the poll?

And where the heck is Anthony Jackson? He's a Jamerson devotee but his pioneering work with more than four strings really paved the way for a ton of players.

 

[malthumb]

Originally posted by Brad Johnson
.... OTOH I recall reading an article about Louis Johnson where he said he developed his slap style on his own and hadn't heard Larry Graham. The first thought that came to mind was "I guess we just found Bigfoot". Not many other creatures could've missed hearing Sly & the Family Stone back in the day.

This is pretty bizarre considering that in a Brothers Johnson concert in Detroit yesterday, George said "Here's the kinda stuff we grew up on" and they proceeded to play:

* Sing A Simple Song
* Everyday People
* Thank Ewe Falletinme Be Mice Elf

Don't know how Louis could say he hadn't heard of Larry Graham.

Peace,

James

 

[JAUQO III-X]

While Louis was working on his concept,its a good possibilite that at the time he had not heard of Larry Graham and upon hearing Graham only solidified his approach.I myself was playing a Fretless before I had heard or heard of Pastorius.plus Slam Stewart was doing it before Larry was.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

I wasn't there but from two different perspectives neither is far fetched.theres always that hidden Jewell working on something not knowing that it is being worked on by someone else and then one gets it out first,then several years later here comes the new guy on the block and everyone wants to say that the new guy is biting the guy that came out with it first.there are things that Pastorius became legend for that someone else came up with and to some he gave props.I hope I dont killed for that one

 

[Brad Johnson]

Originally posted by JAUQO III-X
I wasn't there but from two different perspectives neither is far fetched.theres always that hidden Jewell working on something not knowing that it is being worked on by someone else and then one gets it out first,then several years later here comes the new guy on the block and everyone wants to say that the new guy is biting the guy that came out with it first.there are things that Pastorius became legend for that someone else came up with and to some he gave props.I hope I dont killed for that one

Jaco did give props to his influences. Can't see why you'd get killed for that.

While trying to find the interview I'm referring to it dawned on me that it wasn't LJ I was thinking of, it was Stanley Clarke.

My apologies.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

The show you saw this weekend Louis asked the sound man did he have to come down there and get the sound right.

 

[malthumb]

Originally posted by JAUQO III-X
The show you saw this weekend Louis asked the sound man did he have to come down there and get the sound right.

Actually it was George that asked. And he kind of insinuated that he'd throw in a hiney whuppin' for free.

The audience would've gotten a kick outta that.

The sound started out HORRIBLE and progressed to acceptable.

I'll post up a review before the night's over.

Peace,

James

 

[malthumb]

Originally posted by Brad Johnson
...While trying to find the interview I'm referring to it dawned on me that it wasn't LJ I was thinking of, it was Stanley Clarke....

That makes more sense. I've seen two Stanley interviews that refered to Larry Graham.

In one he laid it out similarly to what JAUQO III-X said. That they both stumbled on similar techniques at the same time for different reasons.

In the other he took credit for advancing the concept beyond percussive thump / snap rhythm to adding more complex chording and other techniques. I may have to try to find that one so that I don't misquote or misrepresent him.

Peace,

James

 

[Brad Johnson]

Originally posted by malthumb


That makes more sense. I've seen two Stanley interviews that refered to Larry Graham.

In one he laid it out similarly to what JAUQO III-X said. That they both stumbled on similar techniques at the same time for different reasons.

The only problem with that is that Graham was doing it in the 60's.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

We live in a big world,a lot of bassist may not know it but the great James Jamerson didn't listen to no other bassist and this is out of Chuck Rainey's mouth to me.Im saying its not at all an impossibiltie than Louis could have been in a similar zone and if you ever meet Louis if you already haven't you may well have the question answered upon meeting him and being in his zone,he's a very interesting human being.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Jauquo, I already mentioned I was probably wrong about Louis.

You could very well be right but the problem is you're not taking the time periods into consideration. When Jamerson was coming up, how many people were actually playing electric bass? Who else could he listen to? When Stanley was coming up, how many bassists were thumping and popping?

Hey, maybe Stanley did spring up oblivious to Graham. Considering his first gigs were R&B bands and this was in Sly's heyday... doesn't seem likely.

There are lots of people today who will say they weren't influenced by Larry Graham and then mention someone like Flea as their influence. That's because lots of people have adopted that style since the mid 60's. In the late 60's/early 70's the influences were much fewer on this relatively new instrument.

 

[Turock]

James Jamerson

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Im very much aware of Jamersons listening situation,true there really was no one playing the electric bass to a great degree being the instrument being so young and whether he had anyone else to listen to or not it's a fact he just didn't care to for whatever reason.I have met bassist who have been playing for decades and serious with it and making a living but who have never heard of Victor Wooten.its really not a issue of who came up with what first but the logic in being that I and yourself included may be working on something even as we speak that we may be accused of barrowing from if we show up later utilising an approach made famous by the first to get it out on a recording.I have met bassists who were missinformed that John Pattitucci or Les Claypool gave us the modern electric 6 string bass.and I am not taking anything from Larry or Louis I hope we continue to get the spirit of originality from players forever more.

 

[jazzbo]

Originally posted by JAUQO III-X
Im very much aware of Jamersons listening situation,true there really was no one playing the electric bass to a great degree being the instrument being so young and whether he had anyone else to listen to or not it's a fact he just didn't care to for whatever reason.I have met bassist who have been playing for decades and serious with it and making a living but who have never heard of Victor Wooten.its really not a issue of who came up with what first but the logic in being that I and yourself included may be working on something even as we speak that we may be accused of barrowing from if we show up later utilising an approach made famous by the first to get it out on a recording.I have met bassists who were missinformed that John Pattitucci or Les Claypool gave us the modern electric 6 string bass.and I am not taking anything from Larry or Louis I hope we continue to get the spirit of originality from players forever more.

I can understand people not knowing Victor Wooten. How many hits has he or the Flecktones had? I can understand people not knowing Pattitucci. I can understand people not knowing Les Claypool. But nobody, NOBODY, growing up playing R&B in the 70s or later, did not know Sly and the Family Stone. Impossible. I'll go on record saying that. It is 100% impossible to have grown up listening to, or practicing R&B in the 70s, without having heard Sly.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Its really not impossible at all.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Originally posted by jazzbo


I can understand people not knowing Victor Wooten. How many hits has he or the Flecktones had? I can understand people not knowing Pattitucci. I can understand people not knowing Les Claypool. But nobody, NOBODY, growing up playing R&B in the 70s or later, did not know Sly and the Family Stone. Impossible. I'll go on record saying that. It is 100% impossible to have grown up listening to, or practicing R&B in the 70s, without having heard Sly.

Thanks Jazzbo, that was my point. It's like saying you grew up at the same time, in a large US city and never heard of the Beatles

Stanley did not grow up in the Ozarks, AFAIK he came up in Philly. He would've had to avoid all media to not be aware of Sly. He couldn't listen to AM radio, he couldn't watch any TV shows, he couldn't go to any clubs that had R&B or Pop music playing, etc.

I completely understand the principle of what you're saying Jauqo... but seriously?

 

[LumpyGravy]

I think that a lot of the early bass players set the ground for future players to excel in their playing.
Charles Mingus, James Jamerson, for example. Just a couple of Jaco Pastorius' influences. They were indeed great players. Jaco took it a great leap forward. Then you have modern people like Michael Manring and Stu Hamm. They took off from the Jaco school and really made an impact in the bass world. Now another example is Jack Bruce. Some followers are in the names of Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee and Billy Sheehan.
I think some of the hot bassists today are:
Michael Manring
Les Claypool
Victor Wooten
Joey DeMaio

 

[Phil Smith]

I see a lot of folks here voted for Jaco, and I think that's primarily because he's dead, more so than for his playing, which to me wasn't anywhere near the level of Stanley Clarke's playing at the time. Disagree if you want, but check out the CD's of both of the players during the time and you'll see a major difference right away. Moreover, Stanley doubled and played some fiercely cool lines on double bass, technically and musically I think he was and is way beyond Jaco.

The list given is largely incomplete because it's limited by the original posters knowledge of bass players and bass evolution, an example of this would be the abscence of Larry Grahams name and countless double bass players that others have mentioned that set the stage for all of it.

 

[ScottyBoomBotty]

i voted for jaco, but im really surprised stanley clarke didnt get any higher, he did so much for the way everybody plays, he did everything for slap and pop.

 

[LumpyGravy]

Yeah Stanley kicks ass, but he did not give the world what Jaco gave. I have seen Mr. Clarke live, and he does WOO the crowd. Jaco had a more raw improvisational feel to him. He left people with a WOW feel. Truly off the cuff playing. I think it grabs the listener harder. I hate rehearsed music. If that is what a band has to offer, I would rather sit at home and listen to their music on CD. Live music is more emotional than STUDIO. Right or Wrong???