Which Female bassist has the best technical skills?

[stingrayPete1977]

OK as the other thread by Pixiechick23 keeps getting derailed about other peoples favourite female bass players not being very good technically we might as well have one aimed at that very topic!

I will kick it off with the same answer as my favourite one Esperanza Spalding, that goes for bass and Double bass.
[media]http://youtu.be/2aRC3YY3svs[/media]

[url="http://youtu.be/jgnDE_5Wxiw"]http://youtu.be/jgnDE_5Wxiw[/url]

I still like Marta Altesa, and I still haven't nailed Master Blaster anywhere near this!
[media]http://youtu.be/OIs6qCe3wpU[/media]

Edited August 9, 2014 by stingrayPete1977

[skej21]

Yolanda Charles for me...

http://youtu.be/BcsM10YBC6A

[Dad3353]

Technical skills..? What, like sheet metalwork, or car mechanics..? [size=4] [/size]

[size=4]([i]OK, I'm going. 'Twas just a joke. Put that knife down[/i]...)[/size]

[stingrayPete1977]

Yolanda did a great set an NRCM a few years ago

[stingrayPete1977]

Oh I nearly forgot this one! Crazy pizz and arco skills
[url="http://youtu.be/T93WcrvtVj4"]http://youtu.be/T93WcrvtVj4[/url]

[timmo]

I am not qualified enough to determin who is technically great, and that goes for male and female, but i know who i like.

[stingrayPete1977]

I dont like to put people into skilled or unskilled camps really, I enjoy a track by the band Hole as much as that clip of Uxia Martinez above but I think its fair to say one is more technical than the other, not better, not worse just more technical.

[Doddy]

I'll go with 2 of your choices Pete.....but the girl off YouTube? I don't see it at all.

[timmo]

Funnily enough, i just saw this.It could be an interesting read, and widen my knowledge of female bassists.
http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2014/08/female-bassists-august-2014-7th-anniversary-issue/

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1407442331' post='2520671']
I'll go with 2 of your choices Pete.....but the girl off YouTube? I don't see it at all.
[/quote]
That is Esperanza Paul she is really......ah hang on you mean....

[stingrayPete1977]

[url="http://youtu.be/u_AI2v-4DTs"]http://youtu.be/u_AI2v-4DTs[/url]
She is probably more in her comfort zone here Doddy? OK the lines are not hers anyway, but I like her playing.

[seashell]

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1407441175' post='2520648']
I am not qualified enough to determin who is technically great, and that goes for male and female, but i know who i like.
[/quote]

Yep, pretty much this.

[icastle]

It's nice to see someone actually using that third finger on their playing hand.

I don't think she's a real bass player though - she almost smiled a couple of times.

[Bolo]

Didn't she tour with Jamiroqai or whatever after these vids?

[timmo]

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1407482083' post='2520886']
Didn't she tour with Jamiroqai or whatever after these vids?
[/quote]Yes, but as far as i know, she never played live on stage with them. I have seen some photos of her on the tour, but never one of her actually live, just on the soundcheck before anything started.

[scalpy]

The only example of her work I know is the rather un festive Merry Christmas but I think I'll give this one a miss this year, but Tracy Wormworth from the waitresses rinses the bass part. Definitely a bonus at that rather fallow musical season.

[hollywoodrox]

Marta Altesa is really good, I am sure there are more technical players though , someone could be technically adept but not really lift your heart with their music, that I suppose is why it is easier to vote for someone we like, like in the other thread, spalding charles and a lady who bilbo mentioned who was amazing on db all stand out technically

[stingrayPete1977]

There's some debate as to whether Tracy wormworth played on the record, afaik it was a jazzer session player from new York that was too busy to play the live shows?

[JTUK]

From the videos here that I have looked at.. I'd start with Yolanda,
she starts from a good groove POV and you generally need good technique
to get very far with that.
The one thing that could be a technical hinderance ...to a degree...is that
women tend to have smaller hands altho that copier of PT lines gets round
them pretty well on her video.

[Bilbo]

Linda Oh seen here with Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas. For her electric chops go to Spotify and look up Linda Oh, 'Deeper Than Happy' from her CD 'Initial Here' which features a bass solo that sounds to me like Bruford/Holdsworth era Jeff Berlin.

http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=A0JVeKKI7io

[Bilbo]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1407499294' post='2521167']
women tend to have smaller hands
[/quote]

I have never believed that big or small hands make any discernable difference to an individual's ability to play a bass. The one finger per fret thing is obviously a problem but tens of thousands of players use the three fingers thing without any discernable detriment in their playing (can you 'hear' a four finger per fret player'? - discuss). Most double bass players use three finger s and I don't think there is much to be said about the inadequacies of the technique. In short (see what I did there), little people can be great bass players too!

[Dingus]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1407500675' post='2521193']
I have never believed that big or small hands make any discernable difference to an individual's ability to play a bass. The one finger per fret thing is obviously a problem but tens of thousands of players use the three fingers thing without any discernable detriment in their playing (can you 'hear' a four finger per fret player'? - discuss). Most double bass players use three finger s and I don't think there is much to be said about the inadequacies of the technique. In short (see what I did there), little people can be great bass players too!
[/quote]

I would have to respectfully disagree with you on that , Bilbo, in so much as it's not just the size of a players hands but their overall physical stature that can be an advantage or disadvantage. A lot of more accomplished bass players do tend to be larger individuals. I have noticed that for a long time.

It can only help to have a physical dominance over the instrument. Think about how much easier a smaller, short scale instrument is to play. Then imagine if your bass was 1/3 proportionately larger in relation to yourself how much more daunting a prospect it would be. Of course smaller folks can learn to play well, especially if they learn good habits in terms of physical technique , but bigger people have a very real advantage, it would seem to me.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Dingus

[Dingus]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1407443270' post='2520692']
[media]http://youtu.be/u_AI2v-4DTs[/media]
She is probably more in her comfort zone here Doddy? OK the lines are not hers anyway, but I like her playing.
[/quote]

There has been some discussion about this girl before. I think she plays very well and I wish her all the best, but the pertinent question about her is would she garner the same kind of attention and acclaim for her playing if she were a man, even a very attractive one such as myself?

[Dingus]

The thing is, playing well isn't about having technique which is good, better or best. Although most great bass players do have great technique. A lot of the female bass players mentioned in the other thread are lacking in far more than just technique. They are short of taste, imagination, flair and overall ability, just like countless of their male counterparts.

"Technique" is a much misused term in any discipline . Most bass playing - even tricky playing- can be executed with pretty basic techniques, or without those techniques if you want to make life much harder for yourself. Discussing which bass players have the best technical skills won't automatically be the ones that play bass the best, ( and before we get into another heated discussion about what is the criteria for excellence, by best I mean in the most musically pleasing and effective manner. ) All that is meant by good technique is having a thought-out system of playing that makes executing whatever you are playing as easy as possible to get right. That is very useful thing , but in itself it won't make anyone a excellent player. It's what you do with that good technique that counts.

[philparker]

One of my favourites is Tal Wilkenfeld - at least she is not just playing 'covers'!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC02wGj5gPw

Edited August 18, 2014 by icastle
Link Fixed.