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Who Is The Most Wanted Session Bassist
- Thread starter bluesdogblues
- Start date
Now, as much as I love and respect Jamerson's contribution to music and specifically bass, I just don't get how you can make a claim that he is "the most recorded" bassist without citing clear evidence of such.
This is how unsubstantiated internet rumors get started; someone will eventually read this statement and take it for gospel truth.
Besides, he's certainly not in demand today.
Off my soapbox now.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
Cause hes six ft dirty.
I gotta give Adam Blackstone his props. Hes popping up on alot of mainstream artist projects. Not to mention hes like first call for MD these days.
Oh, he's most likely one of the tops in demand, it's just that that demand is impossible to be met.
After all, who wouldn't want JJ on their record?!
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
Cause hes six ft dirty.
You seriously thought I didn't know that?
Yes.
You mean he isn't, well... dead!?!?!?
:scowl:
We are talking about the same HE aren't we?
lowfreqgeek said:Now, as much as I love and respect Jamerson's contribution to music and specifically bass, I just don't get how you can make a claim that he is "the most recorded" bassist without citing clear evidence of such.
This is how unsubstantiated internet rumors get started; someone will eventually read this statement and take it for gospel truth.
Besides, he's certainly not in demand today.
Off my soapbox now.
He IS in demand...he's just not around.
It's really not too much of a stretch to claim Jamerson as possibly the most recorded bassist in history...here's why.
Most "in demand session bassists also spend a great deal of time touring and doing sessions around their performance schedule. Plus...in Los Angeles or other large recording venues there are hundreds of session bassists who divide up the work, although certain players get more than their fair share. At Motown back in Detroit throughout the 60's and into the early 70s...Jamerson was THE guy (with Bob Babbitt being the only significant exception). Jamerson was not permitted by Berry Gordy to tour with his acts, preferring to keep him studio bound for the voluminous amount of tracks coming out of Hitsville...meaning that Jamerson was in the studio cutting tracks with The Funk Brothers often 6 days a week...9 to 10 hours a day for over a decade. Add in some outside work he snuck around to do back then, and the work he did in Los Angeles in the 70's until his health and career began to wane and you've got an AWFUL lot of tracks he cut...not all released. Finally...much of todays music, including basslines are done on machines, lessening work for all musicians, so there's just not as many full sessions going on today using real musicians and bassists. Therefore calling Jamerson the most recorded bassist in history may have a great deal of validity.
Don't get me wrong, I know Jamerson put out a TON of tracks in his career, but there are guys still doing work today who were working as much as Jamerson in that time period, or shortly after (70's). They've had nearly 30 more years of sessions behind them since his passing - and not all of that time had machines replacing humans.
15 years ago, Abe Laboriel was known to have played on over 4000 sessions. Lee Sklar was up around there at least a decade ago. Sure, their pace has slowed, but they have continued to work since then. It's been said that both of those guys are "the most recorded bassist" in history.
I don't see how that takes anything away from Jamerson. My point is simply that you can't really make a conclusive statement without something to back it up. I understand that records were note well-kept till later in time. So perhaps he was more recorded than anyone else, or not. All we have is conjecture and assumption.
15 years ago, Abe Laboriel was known to have played on over 4000 sessions. Lee Sklar was up around there at least a decade ago. Sure, their pace has slowed, but they have continued to work since then. It's been said that both of those guys are "the most recorded bassist" in history.
I don't see how that takes anything away from Jamerson. My point is simply that you can't really make a conclusive statement without something to back it up. I understand that records were note well-kept till later in time. So perhaps he was more recorded than anyone else, or not. All we have is conjecture and assumption.
As is the case with many musicians where it's near impossible to quantify. Just look at drummers. I've heard that same claim made (most recorded) as relates to Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, James Gadson, J.R. Robinson, and more. Who really knows, which is why I said "it's not a stretch" to say that Jamerson may be the most recorded. Joe Osborn is another one. It's probably impossible to verify any of those claims as MOST recorded, since many of those guys played on many in the can tracks...but the guys you mentioned were being paid over scale so they weren't just sat down in a studio for hours on end to play songs on spec like Jamerson was who was on salary at Motown and at Berry Gordys beck and call...not counting the early days when he cut sessions for 5 bucks and a bowl of soup back when Berry had more tape than money.
I can safely say that had Jamerson been paid the triple scale wages of some of his later contemporaries he would have died a millionaire instead of virtually broke.
PS...Please let it be clear that it was not myself who made this Jamerson claim but another poster who is being somewhat challenged (perhaps with some justification) in quantifying something like this. I was simply pointing out there there is significant evidence that this could possibly be true as relates to Jamerson, but I suppose the main point here is that there are several bassists who stand head and shoulders above the best of the rest and Jamerson is perhaps the "elite" of that crowd.
I can safely say that had Jamerson been paid the triple scale wages of some of his later contemporaries he would have died a millionaire instead of virtually broke.
PS...Please let it be clear that it was not myself who made this Jamerson claim but another poster who is being somewhat challenged (perhaps with some justification) in quantifying something like this. I was simply pointing out there there is significant evidence that this could possibly be true as relates to Jamerson, but I suppose the main point here is that there are several bassists who stand head and shoulders above the best of the rest and Jamerson is perhaps the "elite" of that crowd.
That's for sure! No argument here.
I've been going through Standing In The Shadow's of Motown with some of Jamerson's more famous lines lately. There is no denying his genius and contribution to music.
MikeBass
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SoCal1 said:
And Jaco is the most in demand jazz bassist. Miles is the most in demand trumpet player. Hendrix is the most in demand rock guitarist, Tupac is the most in demand Hood rat and Michael Jackson is the most in demand day care worker for your 12 year old.........
Seriously, using that logic is kinda funny to me " he's just not around....."
Jamersons contribution goes really beyond measure by far, but to say he's the most in demand.....c'mon now.........
I'd be willing to wager the likes of Neil Stubenhaus or Leland Sklar have surpassed the amount of recordings that Jamerson has done.
The significance or impact on a large scale beyond just bass player as to his contributions again, can't be measured IMO. But for sheer volume and maintaining a prominant position in contemporary music today, based on the last we have by Jamerson he by default, has been surpassed- because "he's just not around" to quote you.
And the counter of "if he was still around" is akin to saying if JFK were still around the country would be a better place....
Speculation such as that for this discussion, means nothing as it's impossible to quantify.
For the record...I dig Jamerson and place him high among the legends of the bass/music community. He impacted more than just bass lines. His playing moved a whole genera unbeknownst to those around him or maybe, even Jamerson himself.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
Sklar...quite possibly as well. Stubenhaus...a lot of high profile sessions but I doubt near the sheer studio volume of Osborn, Jamerson, or Sklar. Scanning my Serius/XM radio stations...particularly the popular 60's and 70's stations, it seems like every other song is Osborn in particular or Jamerson. Throw in "Soul Town" (Soul Street) where you get tons more of Jamerson and those two guys in particular dominate those channels.
As for "in demand"...Perhaps you failed to grasp my response in the spirit it was intended...since it's true that Jamerson would probably fail to show for a session contracted today LOL. Even back in his day in Detroit...Jamerson may have been "in demand", but Motown had him under exclusive contract ( at least he could always find the studio) so the only outside work he could take was usually undercover. After arriving in Los Angeles and garnering a reputation for unreliability...some producers would book Jamerson hoping to catch that Jamerson magic in a bottle...but also paying a guy like David Hungate (who didn't work cheap) to stand by just in case James failed to show (It's well documented by Hungate himself). That's pretty much what I'd call in demand.
As for "in demand"...Perhaps you failed to grasp my response in the spirit it was intended...since it's true that Jamerson would probably fail to show for a session contracted today LOL. Even back in his day in Detroit...Jamerson may have been "in demand", but Motown had him under exclusive contract ( at least he could always find the studio) so the only outside work he could take was usually undercover. After arriving in Los Angeles and garnering a reputation for unreliability...some producers would book Jamerson hoping to catch that Jamerson magic in a bottle...but also paying a guy like David Hungate (who didn't work cheap) to stand by just in case James failed to show (It's well documented by Hungate himself). That's pretty much what I'd call in demand.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
