Bassists

[montg]

With experience it seems possible to readily identify and distinguish horn players. The signature sounds, rhythmic placements etc. of say, Lester Young, or Hawk, or Rollins are almost immediately identifiable even for an amateur like me.

But, for me at least, the signature sounds of bassists are difficult to catch. What's distinctive about Paul Chambers, for instance. Or Ron Carter? etc. The sound? Note articulation? I guess what I'm asking is HOW should I listen to the bass?

[sidewinder]

I'm just listening to PC on an original LP of 'AT's Delight'. That sound is instantly recognisable but it's hard to put into words what makes it so distinctive. With PC though his playing has such great timing, swing and clarity that it's always a joy to listen to. Especially the work with Wynton Kelly such as this session.

[Jazz Kat]

I can really tell Percy Heath by his percision. If you notice, when he plays you never hear the strings vibrating as opposed to like Charlie Mingus or Paul Chambers. Heath was very subtle, and he had a very clear tone.

[tooter]

Following in the steps of Sidewinder (If indeed sidewinders take steps!). In a BFT a while ago I easily identified Ron Carter just from the way he plays the notes somehow, the resonance, the style of plucking the strings - it's not easy to put into words but you know it when you hear it. This is not a lot of help I know. He is about the only one that I think I can usually identify. I find drummers every bit as difficult if not more so.

[tooter]

Oh - and the arco bass of Paul Chambers is very distinctive too. He does not play the higher notes so much as some bass players when soloing I would say, and gets a really big sound. Eddie Gomez springs to mind for this - frenetic is the word perhaps. And of course you can sometimes recognise the voices from the sing-along devotees, like EG. But you don't want to listen to that. The trick is to ignore it if you can.

[Rosco]

There are some bassists who have a recognisable style; I can usually spot Ron Carter just for his use of pedal points, slides and slurs and manipulation of the beat; Charles Mingus (who else plays that *hard*?); Charlie Haden for his sound (and you can always hear his fingers clicking ); Scott LaFaro just for his basic approach to the instrument. Electric bassists are often easier. Jaco, Steve Swallow, Marcus Miller all have very distinctive sounds.

In a sense it's the curse of the job. Very often the better a bass player is, the less you 'hear' him. *Feeling* it is another matter of course...

[JSngry]

What's distinctive about Paul Chambers, for instance.  Or Ron Carter?  etc.  The sound?  Note articulation?

Yes, and yes.

For me, it's about tone first and foremost. The greats on any instrument all have their own distinct tone. From the tone comes personal nuances of attack/articulation, rhythmic idisyncracies, etc., all of which heighten the individuality. But for me, it all starts with the tone. You can tell Mingus a mile away just by the tone he gets, and regardless of what he's playing. Same w/Carter, Chambers, Haden, Pettiford, Blanton, et. al.

Hearing the lower frequencies as cleanly as you do the middle and upper ones might take some "practice", but it can be done. The rewards are great, too, because so much jazz (and of all music in general, especially music operating in some form or fashion from an Afro-derived perspective) is built from the bottom up in terms of group dynamics. A great soloist will still be a great soloist in a band with a weaker bassist, but put a stronger player in for the weaker one, and the odds of the group turning into a great band increase exponentially.

One of the first principles of "traditional" jazz I was taught was that a strong bassist can carry a weak drummer, but not vice-versa. I've since learned that that is not the case 100% of the time, but it's true far more often than not. And even in the rare instancew where a drummer can pull a bassist along, it requires Herculean effort, and the results inevitaly have a bit of "struggle" to them.

[Harold_Z]

Technique and actual sound meld and that is what makes a bassist identifialble. Bassists are very vulnerable to modern recording techniques and a recording engineer can often obscure a bassists sound.

[montg]

But for me, it all starts with the tone. You can tell Mingus a mile away just by the tone he gets, and regardless of what he's playing. Same w/Carter, Chambers, Haden, Pettiford, Blanton, et. al.

Hearing the lower frequencies as cleanly as you do the middle and upper ones might take some "practice", but it can be done.

I've been trying to focus on the bass more lately, which is what prompted this question, but I definitely need to 'practice' more. Any suggestions for well-recorded pieces where I can pick up the nuances and distinctions would be appreciated. For instance, someone mentioned the 'hardness' of Minugs' attack which, now that you mention it, I've noticed before (e.g., Haitian Fight Song).

[.:.impossible]

Richard Davis is another bassist that usually jumps right out of the speakers for me. His lines are completely elastic and his tone is always impeccable. I think Richard Davis is able to pull things off technically that other bassists wouldn't even consider.

Most bassists have built up incredible strength in their forearms and hands, allowing them to play the bass at all. Then there are the bassists that have been mentioned in this thread who practiced every chance they got until strenghth was no longer a limitation and imagination became the primary factor.

To me, Richard Davis' approach to his instrument is like no other. Listen to Out To Lunch! or Rip, Rig, and Panic or the Walt Dickerson duets for examples of his playing. The Andrew Hill recordings as well.

I love bassists. My brother is a bassist and being around him, watching and listening to him practice incessantly for the past six years has put a lot into perspective for me. When I attempt to play, it is hard enough to find the note, let alone with any sort of volume and tone.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Two words: Wilbur Ware.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Actually, can I have two more words? Malachi Favors.

Both Ware and Favors have hugely distinctive, and appealing, sounds to my ears at least.

Fred Hopkins as well.

[Guy Berger]

Two of my favorites are the two Charlies, Mingus and Haden.

Guy

[maren]

Nearly all of the above, plus...

Cecil McBee -- his very own swing, that reminds me of a LITERAL swing hanging from a tree -- how it decelerates as it reaches its highest point, accelerates through the middle (bottom)? But hits those points at the exact time interval ("beat")? Plus his judicious use of overtones (false harmonics, they sound like: because you hear the fundamental as well) -- just doesn't sound like anyone else.

[.:.impossible]

The list is almost infinite... so many dedicated musicians who find their voice in the double bass.

Jimmy Garrison? Some of his solos from the live Coltrane quartet stuff I have heard are unbelievable. I heart bass.

[clifford_thornton]

I'd say the more analog the better - captures the true, woody sound... and strangely enough, I've always liked the way Richard Alderson recorded the bass on those ESP sessions. Gritty as hell!

[sidewinder]

Doug Watkins is another one - again very recognisable, great sense of time and very propulsive style that invariably adds great impetus to any session he was on.

Edited June 16, 2005 by sidewinder

[BeBop]

Somewhere out there is a recording where Jon Hendricks sings impressions of various bass players (Chambers, Mingus, et al.) Unfortunately, my music is 8,000 miles and 6 months away. But someone is probably familiar with this.

I suppose the focus of the distinctions made between bassists is on ideas, rather than sound/tone.

[Guest]

To me, a bass players 'voice' is usually as distinctive as a human voice is to the human ear. If the phone rings wecan usually tell a close friend or family member instantly, sometimes in one word. If we can't recognise that much, we can usually tell gender, regional accent, happy, sad, angry, formal etc. All we have to do is learn to hear the signs. It would be hard to say how we know these things so intimately but it is all down to familiarity (How many of us can tell which of our family members are walking up the stairs simply bythe sound?).

The first bass player I could recognise without fail was Marc Johnson because I spent along time lsitening to his Bass Desires LP (yes, pre CD days chaps). Then came Dave Holand, Ron Carter, Eddie Gomez (because I don't like his sound), Mingus (he had more than one sound), the Haden. Steve Swallow, Anthony Jackson, Jaco, It's all about familiarity. I remember hearing Joe Lovano live for the first time and thinking 'he sounds just like he does on his recordings'! Then Joe Henderson, John Coltrane. Then Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bill Evans: they are all unmistakeable when you get their sounds in your head.

You probably know more than you think already.

[BFrank]

Nearly all of the above, plus...

Cecil McBee -- his very own swing, that reminds me of a LITERAL swing hanging from a tree -- how it decelerates as it reaches its highest point, accelerates through the middle (bottom)? But hits those points at the exact time interval ("beat")? Plus his judicious use of overtones (false harmonics, they sound like: because you hear the fundamental as well) -- just doesn't sound like anyone else.

I was going to add Cecil, but you beat me to it.

[Spontooneous]

For some reason, Doug Watkins leaps out at me like no other bass player. Maybe because he had about the best intonation of anybody.

[Alexander]

Once again, I find that I can often recognize different bassists, but it's very hard to articulate exactly how I recognize them. I was listening to something recently (I think it was the Pacific Jazz Piano Trio Mosaic Select set), and I suddenly said to myself, "That bassist has to be Gary Peacock." Sure enough, it was him. Lucky guess? I'm not sure. As an instrument, the bass is almost subliminal. You're often more aware of it than you think you are...

[mikeweil]

Somewhere out there is a recording where Jon Hendricks sings impressions of various bass players (Chambers, Mingus, et al.) Unfortunately, my music is 8,000 miles and 6 months away. But someone is probably familiar with this.

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross did that piece twice: for Columbia (it is on that Legacy double CD with all their Columbia recordings) and live for RCA at Basin Street East. A great lesson in bass players' characteristics. He has it all down: their tone, the typical phrases, the swing feel. All that is part of a bass players sound. The unique combination of pet phrases with a specific sound and time feel gives them away.

The use of pickups obscures these characteristics - I find it hard to distinguish between them when they use picksups. It takes away the personal sound part.

[White Lightning]

Another Bassist that is easily recognizable is Buster Williams - for his sound and the way he bends his notes. The othe Bass players I can usually identify Are Mingus, Wilbur Ware, Haden and PC.