MacDaddy Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Just the bass and vocals to What's Going On? Out of context that bass line sounds like aimless noodling IMO, but play the full song and it's sublime. How did he do it? What's Going On, bass and vocal What's Going On, full song Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKenrick Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 While it's tough to distil Jamerson's genius into a list, here are some things that I love about his line on 'What's Going On' (which is, as an aside, I think one of the greatest recorded parts of all time). Jamerson had complete mastery over the following areas: 1. Chord tones 2. Chromatic approaches (aka 'enclosures'). It's jazz, but not as we know it. 3. 16th-note syncopation 4. Being so drunk during tracking that he had to lie down on the floor (if the legend is to be believed) Out of all of these, I find myself most inclined towards working on number 4 when practice time allows. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timhiggins Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I guess one persons aimless noodling is another persons perfect line... for me it stands up as a really strong line by itself and just becomes one of the all time great lines in the mix. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) Standing In The Shadows Of Motown explains both his musical style and his life. Essentially he was a jazzer on upright (as were many of the Motown regulars) and applied those concepts to pop songs. In terms of noodling vs fitting in, the Motown groove was generally very straight on drums and rhythm guitar, which gave him the freedom to stretch out - with busy drums and other instruments it would have been a mess. As Anthony Jackson says near the end of the book - “rhythm section as chamber ensemble” Edited January 30, 2019 by FDC484950 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) I've never understood the full story on this - I know the movie shows Nate trying to play it on his back as per the legend, and I have seen the amazing footage of Jamerson playing it live, but I thought the original recording was Bob Babbitt? I haven't tried listening to it originally, but last time I listened I thought the original sounded more Babbit-esque? I thought I remembered Bob trying to claim it on another clip, but maybe he was referring to the album as a whole.....I've always been confused on this point. Edited January 30, 2019 by Huge Hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I honestly don’t think either player knew for certain about any given track. Motown often has each player record a version then they used the best one. Story from babbitt was of him and Jameson arguing in a bar about who had played on a tune they could hear on the juke box. Even they couldn’t tell when it was somewhat freshly done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKenrick Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Didn't Carol Kaye come out with some compelling evidence that showed her uncredited involvement with Motown? (Sorry, I couldn't resist). IIRC it's Bob Babbitt on 'Mercy Mercy Me' and 'Inner City Blues', but 'What's Going On' sounds about as Jamerson as Jamerson could get. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I couldn’t compose bass lines like Jamerson if I was being held at gun point let alone drunk!! Phenomenal musicality and music IQ that man! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soledad Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 On 29/01/2019 at 18:45, TKenrick said: 1. Chord tones 2. Chromatic approaches (aka 'enclosures'). It's jazz, but not as we know it. 3. 16th-note syncopation I agree it was those three, I've ignored 4 because JJ gets a kind of reverence from me. But to those 3 he put his mark on it all, a sort of fingerprint - what we call soul, or feel, or cool or whatever. Carol Kaye was obviously really good, but couldn't hit that intangible cool feel IMO. And of the three, maybe Babbitt deserves a bit more recognition? (just so long as JJ remains top). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 James Jamerson was a perfect storm. He had a total understanding of musical theory, perfect timing, unique harmonic ideas, an ability to think and play on his feet, an understanding of how the bass could enhance and lead a tune, how to play complicated and busy lines in a way that didn't detract from the song, a bunch of fellow musicians, producers and writers who happily gave him all the space he needed and a record company boss who allowed him to do what he liked and paid him a fortune at the same time, all driven by an ego the size of Texas. He developed a totally new and unique style of playing. After JJ the role of a bass playing got significantly more complicated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 On 29/01/2019 at 17:23, MacDaddy said: Just the bass and vocals to What's Going On? Out of context that bass line sounds like aimless noodling IMO, but play the full song and it's sublime. How did he do it? What's Going On, bass and vocal What's Going On, full song According to Wikipedia David Vand De Pitte wrote the bass line and Jamerson (lying on the floor because was so drunk) played it exactly as written. It's stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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