• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Your favorite jazz bass solos

#61
Bruce Lindfield said:
Wow - this discussion has really taken off since I last checked it out!! :eek:

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 subtleties 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?
Click to expand...

Really great points, here, to my mind. I also like the way you brought other players' musical response into the mix.

One of the great musical challenges in jazz is to create dynamics, IMHO. So much jazz happens at mf, f, or ff, from start to finish. With the rhythm section charging along, the soloist blaring away with self-absorption; the lack of contrast can be more than a bit monotonous, IMHO. It may be fun for the players, but what about the listener's ear and soul?

I really like music that goes into different "rooms," whether it happens with dynamics, timbre, tempi, or tonality. The traditional "bass only" solo (or maybe with drums and a few sparse chords from piano/guitar) really does take us into a another place, in a great way. :)

It seems to me, that in addition to what you are saying about the dynamic/timbre change having value for contrast, so much has to do with who is playing (I know, its kind of a no-brainer...). I have played with other musicians who made me sound like God was talking through my bass (but only for a few moments :hmm:). I have played with other players who just made me want to get back to the safety of my home. So much has to do with the musical space we make, with and for each other.
 
#62
monkmonk said:
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. :confused: 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.
Click to expand...

No sweat, and me too. I have about a million musical pet peeves as regards jazz, and especially as regards jazz played badly. I remember a time when I used to hate a lot of great tunes because I'd only ever heard them played too fast and without any expression whatsoever. Later, when I heard them played more musically (as they were originally intended), I discovered that they were in fact great tunes.

And not to derail the thread further, but I hear very little harmonically in jazz that I don't hear the origins of in older Western music.
 
#63
Chris Fitzgerald said:
No sweat, and me too. I have about a million musical pet peeves as regards jazz, and especially as regards jazz played badly. I remember a time when I used to hate a lot of great tunes because I'd only ever heard them played too fast and without any expression whatsoever. Later, when I heard them played more musically (as they were originally intended), I discovered that they were in fact great tunes.

And not to derail the thread further, but I hear very little harmonically in jazz that I don't hear the origins of in older Western music.
Click to expand...

+1

Reminds me of the stories of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie being really avid Bach fans. What is bop, ultimately, but some kind of baroque music with a different continuum? It really is mostly about the rhythm, isn't it?

Here's a further derail :):

Ever read the book, "The Great Pianists" by Harold C. Schonberg? He talks about those heavy players (Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc.) being known, first and foremost, as monster improvisers. Their compositions were apparently secondary, in their own time, to their abilities as improvising soloists.

Some cool stories about somebody suggesting a theme (probably some likkered up listener - "Hey, do you guys know any Bon Jovi?"), out of the blue, at some "salon" party, having one of these guys play it immediately, inverted, reversed, extended, embellished, harmonized, varied, with improvised counterpoint, throughout several keys, etc. Being able to play for minutes and minutes, without repeating themselves, based on some little musical kernel.

It hasn't really been that long since the "classical" players quit having to improvise as part of their daily gigs. Thank goodness jazz brought improvisation back to life. Seems, though, that there really isn't much new harmony under the sun, as far as I can hear...
 
#65
Eric Swanson said:
It hasn't really been that long since the "classical" players quit having to improvise as part of their daily gigs. Thank goodness jazz brought improvisation back to life.
Click to expand...

Isn't there a story that in the 19th Century, the trumpet part in Bach's Brandenburg Concertos was played an octave lower than written, as orchestral players just saw it as a mistake - but then in the 20th century, Jazz trumpet players showed you could actually play in the register that Bach wrote and now, most period performance recordings reflect that!! ;)

I bet Bach would have loved to have Jazz players work on his pieces!! :p
 
#69
I didn't read the whole post, but NHOP smokes on the chops stuff with Joe Pass....speaking of chops, Brian Bromberg's Wood and Wood II kind of make me feel like playing the harmonica :-)

Seriously, I find inspiration in the simple and complex -- salsa players (Cachao, for example) still kill me with their rhythmic approach....even in just the lines that they play.

As far as electric goes, Richard Bona, Jeff Berlin, etc.....

I told a great bass player and friend, that they were the reason I focused on DB when I was younger!!!

Peace and keep practicing..
 
#71
Brian Bromberg's soloing on Alan Broadbent's CD "Round Midnight" blows me away for its lyrical beauty and masterful yet tastefully applied chops. IMHO, his solos on Tracks 2 and 3 ('Serenata' and 'Lament') in particular raise the bar for bass solos to new heights.
 
#73
x15 said:
I love Avrell Shaw's solo with Mr.Armstrong, on how high the moon..
Click to expand...


I ran into this old thread today.
I think it should have been posted in the Bass Humor heading!
Whitey Mitchell, ( Red's brother ) once said something like this......If you'd take most bass solos and play them back on a horn or a piano...well, I hope you get my drift.
Arvells solo is a good example.
It also looks like maybe Charlie Haden got his left hand technique from Arvell.
 
#77
Paul Warburton said:
I ran into this old thread today.
I think it should have been posted in the Bass Humor heading!
Whitey Mitchell, ( Red's brother ) once said something like this......If you'd take most bass solos and play them back on a horn or a piano...well, I hope you get my drift.
Arvells solo is a good example.
It also looks like maybe Charlie Haden got his left hand technique from Arvell.
Click to expand...

I liked Arvell's solo:). I dont think it could be played on another instrument though.
 
#79
a solo that i think absolutely kills is by dave holland on the opening of happy jammy from the monterey suite, can't remember which album. It isnt your standard big band jazz, but it's a solo that has always stood out to me.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back