Then what does?
So, in other words, if you're not Jaco or don't play jazz and aren't pretentious, you are no good?? If that's the case, then nobody that has been mentioned in this thread is any good.
You're dismissing the work of TONS of bass players.
No. Your creativity certainly helps. Arif Mirabdolbaghi is NOT creative (in some cases) In other cases he can be very creative. Well, in comparison to other bassists, he is. But he follows the guitar almost 100%. Sometimes he is creative with funky lines. He is nowhere near jazz. He does not play the roots but it takes decent skill to play his lines. They add to the song greatly.
Dan Briggs, is quite creative. often there are sections where he is playing without the guitar or he is playing something totally different from the guitar and it all adds to the song very well.
Justin Chancellor - While it doesn't take much skill to play his lines, he is the most creative bass player I know of.
Adam Nitti - While moderately creative, it takes insane ability to play his material. Think his song Skitzo. It's nothing but running modes and scales, which is what people practice after learning their modes, scales, and chord tones, which he obviously has. He is also Jazz so that lowers his ranking slightly based on your comment.
So my ranking for those four:
4.Arif
3.Justin
2.Adam
1.Dan
I picked these four as they represent the four kinds of bassists in my mind. Skilled, Creative, Soiled, and Essential.