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Double Bass Your favorite jazz bass solos
- Thread starter bmanbill
- Start date
What? Do you think it is 1950 or something? Any post-Mingus bassist of note does more than that. Plumeri is a great player, but Michael Moore and several others (Ever hear Rabbath's "Bassball" lp from the 70s?) beat him to the punch with the same concept - clean beautiful arco solos in a jazz context - great idea, just not a new one by any stretch.
Damon,
Thanks for the thoughtful response. No, I don't think we are in the '50's
.I like your references and agree with their relevance. I have heard "Bassball" and enjoyed it. I have seen/heard Michael Moore solo arco, and enjoyed it. Both great players, no doubt.
But I would amend my agreement with a few points of fact. As far as who did what, when:
Terry's arco jazz solo playing is the centerpiece (and the intro) of the powerful, anti-war bass/vocal; duet, "Business Goes on as Usual" from Roberta Flack's hugely popular pop/jazz album, "Chapter Two", from 1970.
Terry's first solo album, with ALL arco jazz bass solos, came out in 1971 ("He Who Lives in Many Places", with Herbie Hancock, John Abercrombie, and the equally amazing drummer/percussionist, Michael Smith).
His second (ALL arco jazz solo album) came out in 1978 ("Ongoing" now re-issued as "Water Garden", again with Abercrombie, Smith, and pianist Marc Copland).
I would also add my opinion here, which is that Rabbath is a monster bassist, but not a jazz player. Moore is a monster jazz bassist, but his arco work lacks the dynamic-and-articulation finesse, freedom, and fluidity of Plumeri's (which preceded it). Renaud Garcia Fons is a wonderfully adept player, but he is not playing what I think of as jazz (improvising in swinging eighths, over changes). He is simply doing something else (as impressive as his technique may be). Tony Falanga is doing wonderful arco stuff with Ornette Coleman, but he isn't soloing over changes, with eighths, either.
To play arco jazz, with all the dynamics, inflections, and freedom of a horn is something that I have only heard Terry do (and I have heard a lot of jazz bass
).So, I am trying to say that while "Blue and Green" came out just last year, Plumeri developed his whole concept before Moore and Rabbath made their respective arco jazz bass contributions.
I agree that most of the great jazz bass soloists are doing much, much more in their solos than "pitch drumming." What I said, and maintain, was that only a few bassist get to that point of melodic fluidity. Not meant as a judgment, but an observation from years of listening, playing, and watching.
The point of the article that started all of this, was that "jazz bass solos have ruined jazz." While I don't happen to agree with that, I am trying to discuss one aspect of what I think makes some jazz bass solos challenging to listen too.
Best,
Eric
Damon,
Thanks for the thoughtful response. No, I don't think we are in the '50's
I like your references and agree with their relevance. I have heard "Bassball" and enjoyed it. I have seen/heard Michael Moore solo arco, and enjoyed it. Both great players, no doubt.
But I would amend my agreement with a few points of fact. As far as who did what, when:
Terry's arco jazz solo playing is the centerpiece (and the intro) of the powerful, anti-war bass/vocal; duet, "Business Goes on as Usual" from Roberta Flack's hugely popular pop/jazz album, "Chapter Two", from 1970.
Terry's first solo album, with ALL arco jazz bass solos, came out in 1971 ("He Who Lives in Many Places", with Herbie Hancock, John Abercrombie, and the equally amazing drummer/percussionist, Michael Smith).
His second (ALL arco jazz solo album) came out in 1978 ("Ongoing" now re-issued as "Water Garden", again with Abercrombie, Smith, and pianist Marc Copland).
I would also add my opinion here, which is that Rabbath is a monster bassist, but not a jazz player. Moore is a monster jazz bassist, but his arco work lacks the dynamic-and-articulation finesse, freedom, and fluidity of Plumeri's (which preceded it). Renaud Garcia Fons is a wonderfully adept player, but he is not playing what I think of as jazz (improvising in swinging eighths, over changes). He is simply doing something else (as impressive as his technique may be). Tony Falanga is doing wonderful arco stuff with Ornette Coleman, but he isn't soloing over changes, with eighths, either.
To play arco jazz, with all the dynamics, inflections, and freedom of a horn is something that I have only heard Terry do (and I have heard a lot of jazz bass
So, I am trying to say that while "Blue and Green" came out just last year, Plumeri developed his whole concept before Moore and Rabbath made their respective arco jazz bass contributions.
I agree that most of the great jazz bass soloists are doing much, much more in their solos than "pitch drumming." What I said, and maintain, was that only a few bassist get to that point of melodic fluidity. Not meant as a judgment, but an observation from years of listening, playing, and watching.
The point of the article that started all of this, was that "jazz bass solos have ruined jazz." While I don't happen to agree with that, I am trying to discuss one aspect of what I think makes some jazz bass solos challenging to listen too.
Best,
Eric
Well, there are also tons of jazz and free jazz bassists who just don't or won't play standards who do great things with arco, and have been since the 1960s.
No doubt. There are folks before that, playing jazz arco, or free jazz arco, with varying degrees of success and dexterity. Plus tons of other virtuosi, playing "classical" music (for lack of a better term).
But that's not what I am talking about. I am talking about playing improvised jazz, over changes. My point is not that Terry is the first person to put rosin on a bow and drag it across a bass string in a jazz, free jazz idiom, or "modern" idiom.
My point is that he is the first to pull it off with the same kind of tonal purity, intonation, fluidity, dexterity, and motivic strength as some of the great jazz horn players. I know of nobody else who has accomplished that yet, to the same degree.
Sort of like the Wright Brothers. Lots of folks tried to fly before them, but the Wrights were the ones who got the thing to work to the extent where their efforts were more than an interesting experiment.
I was hoping to answer the IP's query about a unique voice in jazz, of which he may be unaware. I think that Terry fits that bill, because of what he has accomplished musically and because he has kept a low profile on the playing scene for awhile, pursuing other musical things.
Its nice that these youtube clips are posted. My favorite is this one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-CXuiBqhQy0&feature=related
I love the Coltranesque trills and runs through the registers...on this Coltrane tune.
Is it me or does he hold his bow pretty far out front of the frog? I guess it doesn't really matter.
tunes like what? tunes written by coltrane??!! modal tunes?? i have to say, i like both.
hmm... well we all know what opinions are like. But this one was so inflamatory I couldn't stay quiet.
What do you mean by "modal tunes"? Does it accurately describe these players interpretation of this tune? Or does it describe your perception of these players interpretation this tune? If you hate modal tunes, do you also by extension hate the entire canon of western classical music, indian classical music etc...?
As a side note, I hear snatches of Lonnie's Lament in so many composers works, from Brahms' piano quintet in F minor, to the opening theme of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
What do you mean by "modal tunes"? Does it accurately describe these players interpretation of this tune? Or does it describe your perception of these players interpretation this tune? If you hate modal tunes, do you also by extension hate the entire canon of western classical music, indian classical music etc...?
As a side note, I hear snatches of Lonnie's Lament in so many composers works, from Brahms' piano quintet in F minor, to the opening theme of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
I don't know. Spell it out for me.
Tell me you're kidding.
Meaning...?
Any objection to filling out your profile?
Ok, back to Terry Plumeri for a minute... our esteemed friend Eric Swanson very kindly bought and sent me a copy of the Blue In Green CD earlier this year. It's a really haunting, somewhat unsettling (in a good way) recording that I find myself going back to a lot. Terry is really unlike any other bassist that I can think of; his sound is actually more reminiscent of other instruments, maybe the human voice with tinges of Japanese flutes. Hard to describe.
In what way is this opinion so inflammatory? If he had said, "M0d4L TuN35 R teh SuXX0rz LOL!!!111!!", that would be one thing. But instead he stated the *he* hates modal tunes. Personally, I fail to see how Don hating modal tunes affects the rest of us one way or another. I hate cookie-cutter-booty-video-R&B. Is that an inflammatory opinion as well?
Did he claim it did?
Or, instead of interpreting a simple statement as an epistemological dissertation subject, it could simply mean that he hates modal tunes.
If a modal tune were played in a deserted forest and Don didn't hear it, would he still hate it? Only Don knows.That would be quite a stretch of logic, wouldn't it?
Can't remember he exact year... but Bassball is a lot earlier than that. Could be 1962?
In what way is this opinion so inflammatory?
Or, instead of interpreting a simple statement as an epistemological dissertation subject, it could simply mean that he hates modal tunes.
That would be quite a stretch of logic, wouldn't it?
Chris,
Thanks for the reality check. I was just implying the genesis of contempory "modal" jazz seems to stem from the beginning of Western classical music.
And also that the label modal jazz is meaningless, because depending on the player, alot of music that is called modal has enough harmonic movement to obliterate the term. Don, sorry for the hot headed reply. m(_ _)m
You %100 have a right to your opinion. I respect that. I feel that, as artists, we need to keep our hearts and minds open to all kinds of influences. Especially the ones we "hate". And I need to apply that ideal to myself, and other peoples opinions.
Wow - this discussion has really taken off since I last checked it out!! 
As to the "pitched drum" debate - I must say that as a listener, I quite like the fact that bass solos are rhythmic and make use of space and time.
So - you hear many,many choruses of horn players filling up all the space with endless harmonic variations, while the rhythm section go mad - then the bass solo is like an oasis of calm and a nice contrast, where working closely with a drummer who for once is being quiet and sensitive can allow subtelties that weren't apparent before...?
OK - I like to hear any instrument being melodic - but in the context of a live performance - then to me a bass solo in Jazz is much more useful as contrast or a chance to explore areas that haven't already been covered - why just do the same as every other, preceeding soloist?
As to the "pitched drum" debate - I must say that as a listener, I quite like the fact that bass solos are rhythmic and make use of space and time.
So - you hear many,many choruses of horn players filling up all the space with endless harmonic variations, while the rhythm section go mad - then the bass solo is like an oasis of calm and a nice contrast, where working closely with a drummer who for once is being quiet and sensitive can allow subtelties that weren't apparent before...?
OK - I like to hear any instrument being melodic - but in the context of a live performance - then to me a bass solo in Jazz is much more useful as contrast or a chance to explore areas that haven't already been covered - why just do the same as every other, preceeding soloist?
I think I know what you mean...some modal tunes, that sit on one chord for a long, long time, can feel (to me) like I am waiting for the bus to come.
These are the only video clips that I know off that feature Terry soloing, and don't show off the variety of his abilities as a player, or musician. I know that BBC just taped his most recent performance conducting the Moscow Philharmonic (Tchaikovsky 6th, plus two of Terry's orchestral pieces), but that's another forum...
One thing I appreciate about Terry's musical output is his variety and range. If we don't like him playing on this modal tune, we can hear him playing over changes ("Blue and Green").
If we don't like that, we can listen to his hundreds of film scores; if we don't like that, we can listen to his many orchestral and chamber ensemble compositions. If those don't suit, we can listen to him conducting others' orchestral pieces.
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