ChunkyMunky Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 [i]James Jamerson to Motown, Family Man to Reggae, Bobby Valentin to Latin and how Ray Brown is to Jazz. [/i] Who do you feel are the pioneers of each genre? I ask because I'm going on a massive transcribing spree and I'm looking to absorb a particular player of each style. Was Bernard Edwards the king of disco bass? What is your favourite line that said player has done? I'd love to hear what you lovely folks think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I've always like Scot LaFaro's playing in jazz. I did a lot of transcribing of his playing last year. Check out the Live at the Village Vanguard album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40hz Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Pop ~ James Jamerson Rock ~ John Entwhistle Funk ~ Larry Graham Disco ~ Nard' Jazz ~ Jaco Metal ~ Steve Harris/Lemmy Punk ~ Dee Dee Ramone/Glen Matlock My tuppence worth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyd Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 For jazz you could be nominating pioneers all day, but I'd nominate Cachao for the Afro-Cuban side of latin music - not only as a bass player but also as a composer he had a huge influence on the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Jaco is barely a Jazz player at all. He does make a contribution to Jazz on one level but is nowhere near hardcore and it would be wrong to call him a pioneer in Jazz. Fusion, yes absolutely. Funk maybe. 'Electric bass' definitely. In Jazz terms, however, he is certainly not a pioneer in any real sense. You would need to look at double bass players for that. The received wisdom says guys like John Kirby (first band leading bassist), Walter Page/Wellman Braud (started 'walking' with Ellington), Slam Stewart (early bowing solos), Jimmy Blanton (first 'soloist' in a mainstream band), Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, \\\\\\\red Callender, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers then guys like Gary Peacock, Scott LaFaro, Charlile Haden (Free Jazz). Jazz bass without Jaco wouldn't look much different whilst pop without Jamerson would be unrecognisable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1433509815' post='2791704'] pop without Jamerson would be unrecognisable. [/quote] Would it really? Would it not just be a bit different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBass Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Get on Spotify and listen to the best bass lines ever playlist. Lost of INCREDIBLE lines in there, not all by the pioneers as well! As far as things go, I'm doing something similar and bass players I'm most influenced by currently are Jaco, Jamerson, Pino, Michael League, and Nard. I think you have a VERY balanced group of players there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1433509815' post='2791704'] Jaco is barely a Jazz player at all. He does make a contribution to Jazz on one level but is nowhere near hardcore and it would be wrong to call him a pioneer in Jazz. Fusion, yes absolutely. Funk maybe. 'Electric bass' definitely. In Jazz terms, however, he is certainly not a pioneer in any real sense. You would need to look at double bass players for that. The received wisdom says guys like John Kirby (first band leading bassist), Walter Page/Wellman Braud (started 'walking' with Ellington), Slam Stewart (early bowing solos), Jimmy Blanton (first 'soloist' in a mainstream band), Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, \\\\\\\red Callender, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers then guys like Gary Peacock, Scott LaFaro, Charlile Haden (Free Jazz). Jazz bass without Jaco wouldn't look much different whilst pop without Jamerson would be unrecognisable. [/quote] Does Jazz have a pioneering electric bassist? My obvious suggestion would be Monk Montgomery, but then I really can't think of very many bass guitarists who play 'true' Jazz! (i.e., as opposed to some flavour of Jazz-influenced Fusion/Funk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Lloyd Brevett. Was there anyone before him that had the ska sound? I would say a fair few in the list aren`t really Pioneers, just great bassists who took the sound and genre to a new level. Maybe i am wrong though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) I can only really speak for metal, as the whole nu-metal thing was the only breaking new musical movement I've experienced first hand at the right sort of age for it. I didn't really go in for it initially preferring Death Metal etc. at the time, but I think metal fans have a lot to thank the whole Korn, Bizkit era thing for as suddenly people outside of the black jeans and black band teeshirt brigade were actually coming to metal gigs... At some of our gigs in the late 90s / early 2000s there were even girls in the audience Bass took on a new roll in nu-metal, coming to the forefront with slap and carrying alot more melody than metal had traditionally allowed for bass... hell in most metal the bass was totally inaudible and considered an afterthought. Alex Katunich's (Dirk Lance) playing on Incubus's Science changed everything for those of us playing in metal bands at the time. The guy from Mudvayne (who's name escapes me) expanded on what Katunich started but when Science came out everyone wanted to play bass like that. Edited June 5, 2015 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Unfortunately, with so many sub genres there are going to be hundreds of suggestions, I would guess, but from me...... Rock..John Paul Jones.......Metal.....Steve Harris ......Heavy Metal...... Cliff Burton. For "pop" music I remember the mid eighties when Mark King was basically the only bassist that any non bassist could name, so I guess that would qualify as a pioneer...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number6 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 For Metal i definitely would look to Geezer Butler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Forgot Geezer. And Entwhistle. Blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damonjames Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Am I first to say Larry Graham??? No Larry, no slap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 [quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1433519715' post='2791834'] No Larry, no slap. [/quote]Perhaps that was the reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Apart from outright Death Metal, Bootsy Collins has done it all. Bootsy roolz [size=4] [/size][size=1]*[/size] [size=1]* couldn't find an emoticon with star glasses. [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) I'd add McCartney and Carol Kaye to the Pop genre, though James Jameson's contribution is undoubtedly immense. And as MacDaddy has just said, I think Bootsy Collin's contribution to funk needs to taken into consideration too. Edited June 5, 2015 by silverfoxnik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Danny Thompson did a lot to establish a kind of default sound for the acoustic / folk singer-songwriter world, particularly in his playing with Nick Drake and John Martyn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 [quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1433512297' post='2791732'] Does Jazz have a pioneering electric bassist? My obvious suggestion would be Monk Montgomery, but then I really can't think of very many bass guitarists who play 'true' Jazz! (i.e., as opposed to some flavour of Jazz-influenced Fusion/Funk) [/quote] Exactly. What defines pioneering? I would suggest Steve Swallow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Give it a couple more pages and everyone will get a mention. Nothing changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFry Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 +1 for Lloyd Brevett. I hear a lot of him in Sting's lines . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raslee Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 [quote name='timmo' timestamp='1433515321' post='2791776'] Lloyd Brevett. Was there anyone before him that had the ska sound? I would say a fair few in the list aren`t really Pioneers, just great bassists who took the sound and genre to a new level. Maybe i am wrong though [/quote] I was going mention Lloyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raslee Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 [quote name='timmo' timestamp='1433515321' post='2791776'] Lloyd Brevett. Was there anyone before him that had the ska sound? I would say a fair few in the list aren`t really Pioneers, just great bassists who took the sound and genre to a new level. Maybe i am wrong though [/quote] I was going to mention Lloyd Mike Howlett for Gong genre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1433509815' post='2791704'] Jazz bass without Jaco wouldn't look much different whilst pop without Jamerson would be unrecognisable. [/quote] I suppose that goes back to a previous thread and who decides what constitutes jazz (or any other genre) and does it encompass fusion or not, etc. It is undeniable (although somebody will be along in a minute to do just that) that electric bass playing would be completely different without Jaco... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1433509815' post='2791704'] Jaco is barely a Jazz player at all. He does make a contribution to Jazz on one level but is nowhere near hardcore and it would be wrong to call him a pioneer in Jazz. Fusion, yes absolutely. Funk maybe. 'Electric bass' definitely. In Jazz terms, however, he is certainly not a pioneer in any real sense. You would need to look at double bass players for that. [/quote] Hmmm a bit disingenuous - can't let that go by... For the period of jazz YOU like maybe but jazz is much more than Bebop. For those not stuck 50s/60s, he was a huge pioneer... playing with a harmonic and rhythmic granularity which was entirely new. Let alone his pioneering use of harmonics and fretless bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.