steve swallow's playing...

[Guest akanalog]

i have been listening to a lot of gary burton's work recently. and it almost all disappoints me. the stuff is never as good as the musicians would indicate.

i think a big part of this is that burton plays glossy light vibes in my opinion. his playing is too flightly and not percussive enough for my tastes. i would rather he be less virtuoistic and more rhythmic or something. i don't think ECMs production values help but i feel this way about his RCA work too.

the one album i like a bit better is "new quartet", which is about the only one without steve swallow on bass. which leads me to that i think swallow is an even larger reason than burton i don't like these albums. the way he plays e.bass to me-it isn't even bass. if i was producing an album with him on e.bass, i would call in another bassist to give me what i wanted out of a bassist. there is no power or tone to what swallow does-it is just these short notes one after the other. no deep resonance or groove. no soul, in my opinion. on the "new quartet" album i think abe laboriel does bring some of these qualities and the music is that much better for it.

burton did actually have two bassists on some of his swallow albums but since the bassist was eberhard weber, this didn't help matter since weber definitely, though he is great, doesn't play a traditional bass role either.

one album i do like is "hotel hello" which is...burton and swallow. but since they are playing alone, their instruments are not tethered down by what is their expected roles. they are just "instruments" not "bass and vibes" and in this context they sound fine.

[Brandon Burke]

I love him on those early-60's Giuffre records with Bley. Basra too...

[Joe G]

I like him with John Scofield. His soloing in that context is something I've always admired.

[Guest akanalog]

I love him on those early-60's Giuffre records with Bley.  Basra too...

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well i just meant his ebass work. his acoustic work is nice. i agree.

[jazzbo]

I like the RCA Burtons, don't know the ECMs. Swallow's ebass work doesn't bother me. At all.

I think Burton's playing is wonderful on these as well.

I guess it's just different strokes for different folks.

[sal]

I love Swallow's electric bass playing. Completely original and grooving.

[Jazz Kat]

I always dug his name.

[SEK]

I've always been fond of Steve Swallow's playing, both acoustic and electric.

I like Gary Burton's pre-ECM recordings much better than most of his ECM stuff.

[danasgoodstuff]

Not a big fan of Swallow generally but I liked his work on the BN Sco/Friz thing. Gimme Duck Dunn or Tommy Cogbill any day; in fact I could name 'bout a dozen R&B players I'd take over jazz guys on electric...

[kenny weir]

Gimme Duck Dunn or Tommy Cogbill any day; in fact I could name 'bout a dozen R&B players I'd take over jazz guys on electric...

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I saw Scofield a week or so ago - and agree completely with this sentiment.

Edited May 26, 2005 by kenny weir

[Joe G]

Not a big fan of Swallow generally but I liked his work on the BN Sco/Friz thing.  Gimme Duck Dunn or Tommy Cogbill any day; in fact I could name 'bout a dozen R&B players I'd take over jazz guys on electric...

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If you're referring to Sco's album "Grace Under Pressure", that was Charlie Haden on bass.

[JohnS]

Like! Both his accoustic and later electric. Very personal melodic playing on electric bass.

[king ubu]

WHOAH! That's just plain wrong man!

... the way he plays e.bass to me-it isn't even bass.  if i was producing an album with him on e.bass, i would call in another bassist to give me what i wanted out of a bassist.  there is no power or tone to what swallow does-it is just these short notes one after the other.  no deep resonance or groove.  no soul, in my opinion.  on the "new quartet" album i think abe laboriel does bring some of these qualities and the music is that much better for it.

...

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Seriously, I think I can hear you, to some point, but I couldn't disagree more!

For me, if anyone, Swallow is the one who developped his own, very very soulful, and very personal, and very natural sound on electric bass.

I never got into those hyper-bassists, like Victor Bailey etc... maybe Tacuma, and of course Jaco, but still, Jaco's sound (not his style, not his lines, not his wack 16ths runs, just his sound) is so much closer to the "standard" sound of electric bass.

Related, to some point: the latest Downbeat (Nat Cole on cover) features Charlie Haden in the BFT - he talks about his reaction upon hearing Swallow plugged in. He phoned him immediately and told him not to do it etc., but then it seems Swallow promised that if he'd do an album on acoustic again, it would be with Haden... let's hope that happens!

Something more about Swallow: he's a composer, too. I would fully agree that he is no match at all to the lady who's "steady gig" he has been (that's the way she announced him at a Zurich duo set some years back...), but still, his tunes (check out "Always Pack Your Uniform on Top" and "Deconstructed" on WATT) are more than mere playing vehicles, they have some great grooves, some good harmonic ideas, sometimes odd metres, and they always have beautiful or funny or whatever melodies that stick in your head. That's a quality, I think, that many, if not most, mainstream guys nowadays don't have, still they write discs full of tunes that don't sound like nothing...

(I assume it got clear now that I simply *love* Swallow, so please take my introducing line with a grain of... whatever you like!)

[robviti]

without a doubt, i prefer the double bass to the bass guitar (i don't even like to call it an electric bass). that being said, if there has to be a bass guitar in there, i'd rather have steve swallow playing it.

[alankin]

Steve Swallow's electric bass guitar =