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I saw a band in the World's End in Finsbury Park back in the 90s who played awful pomp-rock with excruciating lyrics. During the intro to one of the songs, the bass player had his arms crossed across his chest with his eyes closed while the singer treated us to his deep observations about all the bad stuff in the world. Half the pub were really into it, the other half were openly p*ssing themselves.

+1 on John Goldsby's book - apart from the theory stuff, it's also a great read as it has loads of stuff about the great players. For more general jazz theory, I really like the [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine-ebook/dp/B004KA9UX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447237231&sr=8-1&keywords=jazz+theory+book+levine"]Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine[/url] and [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazzology-Encyclopedia-Jazz-Theory-Musicians/dp/0634086782/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447237267&sr=8-1&keywords=jazzology"]Jazzology by Eddie Rawlins and Nor Eddine Bahha[/url]. They're both very readable - Jazzology is a lot more like a school textbook (in a good way) and concise, whereas the Levine book is huge and sprawling but a real treasure trove of interesting stuff.

I can't read very quickly but as others have said, at jam sessions it's only the chord charts that really matter. For just chord charts, I'd strongly recommend iRealPro - it has thousands of tunes and you can play along with them at home, transpose them etc. I do also use the real book itself, but only for learning melodies in my own time.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1446559598' post='2900286'] If you don't want to go down the DB route you could always get yourself a Ashbory bass - don't be fooled into thinking it's a toy...makes all the right noises you'd expect from a real DB and you can pick one up for under £150. [/quote] Along the same lines as the Ashbory, the Kala Ubass also seems capable of getting a tone that's similar to upright. This guy's videos really make me want to buy one:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XChCuQ37DHA

There are examples of people playing "straight ahead" jazz on BG but these are very much the exception. It all depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to keep playing jazz because you're interested in the music then I'd recommend finding a double bass and having a try (maybe get a couple of lessons from a teacher). If you don't think it's for you, then you can carry on with the BG and make it work in a jazz setting. But I'm guessing that once you hear the sound from a DB you'll want to get one ASAP. That's a whole other journey, of course, but personally I've never looked back. And strangely enough, even though I rarely touch my BG these days, my playing on it has improved because in my experience learning the upright has forced me into a much more disciplined approach to bass playing in general.

[quote name='JoeEvans' timestamp='1446498979' post='2899900'] The constant height is great, and I just went with the general consensus of nut at eyebrow height, which seems fine; it would be easy to cut the wooden pin down a bit if it turned out to be too long. You could also just hang on to your old metal pin for times when you wanted a different height (e.g. sitting down, low ceilings etc). The bass also feels a lot more solid although that's mainly because the old 8mm pin was so wobbly at full extension (I'm quite tall). [/quote] Yep, I'm tall as well - Ben's endpin really helps things feel a lot more solid alright. Maybe that also helps the sound indirectly (i.e. you can focus much more on playing the bass rather than worrying about wobbles)

I have one of Ben's endpins and I'm really happy with it. I'm pretty sure than it sounds better than what I had before. But as TPJ says, the height being "just right" and lack of slippage is also a big bonus.

[quote name='Jazzjames' timestamp='1445629760' post='2893046'] Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams. " '64 concert " aka my funny valentine & four + more. [/quote] +1 I never get bored of listening to this lineup. The Plugged Nickel concerts are great as well.

I've played with drummers who seem to think that the only requirements are i) owning a drum kit and ii) believing that they can play in time. Other musicians tend to learn at least a basic knowledge of theory, even if it's just names of notes, and usually admit that they'd like to know more. But some drummers seem to adopt an "it's all about the feel, man" attitude and end up being sh*te. Which is a shame, because IMHO there's nothing like watching, or playing with, a good drummer.

I don't really listen to lyrics much, but I've always liked this:- "He left no time to regret, kept his d*ck wet with his same old safe bet"

If you chuck an immaculate 1958 Les Paul and a Squier strat out of a plane, which will hit the ground first? Who cares?

The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro is a great guide to playing various styles, plus it comes with a really good CD. In my experience, the tricky thing about playing latin stuff is that the rhythms on the different instruments all 'interlock' in a particular way so everyone needs to know how to play them. The basic patterns themselves aren't that tricky though and it's great fun when it all comes together.

If it's the GK MB150E combo that you're using and you're reasonably happy with the sound, you could try an extension cab for more volume (the MBX112 I think) instead of a new amp. You've probably considered this already but I just thought I'd point it out just in case.

If the bass root notes sound too low when you use alternative tuning is it worth just using standard tuning and learning to play the parts up around the 4th fret? Obviously this is going to involve more work but in the long run being able to switch fingering is a good skill to have anyway.

Two feel is used a lot in classic standards recordings - the Miles Davis Prestige albums are good examples:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36wafFjFdYs

It sounds like your own self-deprecating manner (which is a good trait) has been hijacked by the rest of the band to the point that they think it's open-season on slagging you off. If I were you, I'd stop being self-deprecating about your own playing and if they make remarks, just smile and ignore and eventually they'll stop. Plus, make them carry their own f**king gear.

I am an old fart/jazz nazi but I do agree with @Roland that there's real creativity in picking records to play and then mixing them together to create a decent set. It's not the same as being a musician, but it doesn't detract from the fact that some of my favourite musical experiences have been while listening to DJs. Having said that, there a line that sometimes gets crossed where the DJ gets a ton of credit for playing a particular old funk tune, say, and people seem to forget that the musicians who created that record are the ones who ultimately got people dancing.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1438899102' post='2838620'] Nothing, and I mean *nothing* irritates me more than the 'clap on beats 1 & 3' brigade. Have they no soul? [/quote] Reminds me of this:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MC9xlR_5w

I think that sometimes this kind of behaviour is due to the perpetrator not being able to make much noise at home, and them seeing the rehearsal as an opportunity to try things out at "gig volume". So maybe suggest that he spends 10-15 mins at the start of the session getting it all out of his system with an understanding that after this you all work together?

Ray Brown was fantastic. Christian McBride is a great contemporary player - his Conversations with Christian album has duets with various other musicians and some great examples of how to walk unaccompanied.

I think there are two discussions happening here. The first one is "to people who don't listen to jazz or don't like it very much, does it matter if the bass is electric or upright?" and I think the answer there is a resounding No. But if your definition of 'jazz' is the post-bebop form of music that usually swings and features mainly acoustic instruments, I'd agree with Bilbo that all other things being equal, a double bass's sound is better suited. Of course, there are lots of other forms of music, and jazz, where this doesn't apply.

That's a fair point Bilbo, and me posting it like that is taking it out of its context. My reading of what he means is that as a beginner you should concentrate on Time/Groove/Form (which includes creating varied walking bass lines) and that playing some of the more 'exotic' note choices should never be at the expense of the other stuff. But it's a great video so people who are interested should [url="http://youtu.be/SoIUfa98X3g"]take a look[/url] and get the proper context rather than relying on my interpretation.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1437152633' post='2824098'] Others may have differing appreciations... [/quote] Chris Fitzgerald (who has a great set of instructional vids on YouTube) does something similar. He has a list of Bass Line Priorities which is this:- [list=1] [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Time/Groove/Form [*]Interesting note choices [/list]

In my experience people who play too loud are doing it because at some level they're confusing loudness with dynamics and ability. We all remember those great moments at gigs where a good band raise the level of intensity up. But it's easy to forget that the reason this worked is because they'd been playing much more quietly beforehand. It's the contrast and dynamics that help make the music great, not the absolute volume.

One thing I've found is that when playing in a band (as opposed to at home) the mids are more usable than the bottom end. The low frequencies tend to cause drums to resonate and generally add to an overall 'muddiness' if not used carefully, whereas the mids sit more naturally in the mix. Of course, this depends on your amp, your bass, the music you play, your band mates' sounds etc, but it might we worth thinking about...