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Who's a Genius?

#201
Dr. Cheese said:
As I said earlier in this thread, Marcus Miller has thousands of hours of music on YouTube, on some of it, he walks and plays Bebop. Anyone who has followed Marcus Miller knows he knows jazz.
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I also always thought it really intriguing the way Miles gushes about Marcus in his Autobiography. Of the panoply of greats Miles played with over the course of his life, Marcus gets among the most pages devoted to describing his musical talent.

It's also not really about arguing at this point for me. It's about doing Marcus justice. There's a perception that he's just the third guy slapping and popping up there with Wooten and Stanley. He doesn't delve into his bebop chops that often but it's worth noting that he has them in spades.
 
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#202
Narc_x said:
I would use the word genius only for two bassists, never mentioned so far:
Mick Karn
Stuart Zender

The reason?
Karn: he came up with such weird basslines from outta space....and he was self taught.
Zender: if you listen to the first two Jamiroquai's albums you would say that the bass player was an experienced well trained in jazz, blues, funk theory and blah-blah...and the truth is that it was a not-even-20-year-old-kid completely self taught too...

Their art/skills did not come from school/theory...and, in my opinion, this is what being a pure genius is all about
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I can see the genius tag for Mick Karn, not for Zender. Zender was incredibly gifted and picked up incredible music solely by ear, but I cannot hear where he developed beyond being a very solid R&B or pop sideman. Richard Bona was similarly gifted, he learned all of Jaco's solo debut on bass and George Benson's Breezin' on guitar by ear (he even learned the lyrics to George Benson's vocals and he did not speak English yet) and, RBV on to become a leading jazz player through formal studies.
 
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#203
For me there's no genius, that player/musician should have no flaws and should be bale to blend into any genre. IMO even the best have a flaw or two... If there's one very versatile player it is Pino Paladino, great tone, note choices and feel.
If "uniqueness" falls into the genius catagory I would like to mention Mick Karn, his lines are just out of this world and not comparable with any other bassist before/after him (no, he's not a Jaco disciple). Maybe the good and most interesting thing about Mick Karn is the fact that he wasn't influenced by any bassplayer at all......
 
#204
Ralph Notoro said:
Not TECHNICAL ability. I said that Marcus is a bit of a one trick pony (never heard him walk, or rock, or latin, or play prog) whereas Anthony is one of the most versatile players on the planet. Yep...just an opinion.
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Marcus loves slap but he can play just about anything... and has. You don't remain an "A" list or "first Call" player for 35+ years being a "one trick pony". If you check his resume you will see what I mean.
 
#206
for me, its jaco-

he is just another level in so many ways. the way he phrases alone would get him the moniker.
he approached it like he was the instrument and the bass just happened to be what he chose to express his musicality through.
 
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#207
Genius physicist, Newton and Einstein.
Genius mathematician, Gauss and Ramanujan.
Genius artist, Michael Angelo.
Genius musician, Mozart.
Genius bass guitarist? Maybe Jaco, maybe not. I would like to think yes.
As immensely talented as some of the others mentioned, I wouldn't consider any of them to be a genius.
 
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#208
A genius has a natural intelligence or ability.

There isn't one person in the world who can pick up a bass for the first time and play like a master. Every one of the bassists mentioned in this thread have spent thousands of hours practicing and rehearsing.

The word is often used by people who are impressed by another person. Being impressed by someone doesn't make that person a genius.
 
#211
Creativity is the sign of a genius, not technical proficiency. To me, geniuses are James Jamerson and Robbie Shakespeare.

Might make a few people mad but I don't think Jaco was a "genius". He had full command of his instrument, but his music sucked. Why is he a genius? Because he played trumpet/sax lines on a bass? Eh.

Don't get me wrong though. I, as many bass players have, went through a Jaco phase and know his music (as much as I could stand), but looking back, he didn't really innovate anything. If he ever played something with a groove, I'd have a different opinion but to me, he was just a show off.
 
#213
Vladimir Horowitz, I would say was a genius... Bach, Mozart, etc... I honestly can't attribute the title genius to any bass player, ever. Obviously there are giant innovators such as Stanley Clarke, Larry Graham Jaco, etc... Virtuosos- definitely. But I wouldn't consider any bass player, ever, "genius".
 
#214
Afc70 said:
Vladimir Horowitz, I would say was a genius... Bach, Mozart, etc... I honestly can't attribute the title genius to any bass player, ever. Obviously there are giant innovators such as Stanley Clarke, Larry Graham Jaco, etc... Virtuosos- definitely. But I wouldn't consider any bass player, ever, "genius".
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"There are three kinds of pianists: Jewish pianists, homosexual pianists, and bad pianists." - Vladimir Horowitz
 
#218
Afc70 said:
Buddy rich was another person who would probably fit into the "genius" category- yes he was very controversial too :)
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Yeah those bus tapes are, as far as I'm concerned, the best work he's ever done.

You might know about this but when Buddy Rich died, it was after surgery for a heart condition. Before they put him under, the anesthesiologist was concerned if about whether or not any of the ingredients in the anesthesia would harm him so he asked Buddy, "is there anything you can't take?" And Buddy said, "Yeah. Country music." :laugh:

Those were his last words.
 
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