Your fave bass player of all time, numero uno, the mutts nuts with a YT vid showing why

[Guest]

I've noticed there are

 

(a) bass players generally admired 

(b) bass players I admire

(c) the bass players who played on the music I like listening to

 

....and there's not much overlap between those groups.

 

The one player who does make it to the middle of the Venn diagram is the OP's choice, Bernard Edwards. The tone and the articulation of every note, just glorious. 

[WinterMute]

Geddy Lee really got me into playing bass and the aggression and attack of his tone and playing are still evident in the way I play, so with a nod to all the other worthy contestants, Tony Levin, Pino, Chris Squire, Jack Bruce, Pastorius, Lemmy, so many others, it always going to be Geddy.

 

 

[Velarian]

2 hours ago, BillyBass said:

Loads of bass players stand out for me.  Special mention goes to (previously nominated) Geddy Lee and Tony Levin.  @Lozz196 has already mentioned Bruce Foxton; one of my bands does punk/new wave stuff and the Jam covers we do really are a cut above, bass line-wise, and Bruce Foxton did all that while jumping up and down.

 

So, as no one has mentioned Jean Jacques Brunel of the Stranglers, he shall be my nominee.  The bass in the Stranglers stuff when I used to go and see them really stands out, like Lemmy's bass in Motorhead...as Paul Del Bello points out in this YouTube video:

 

 

TBF @stu_g posted a link to a Stranglers video on the first page but it didn’t embed properly so you’d be forgiven for missing it 😉

 

However the video you’ve posted perfectly nails the brief of this thread. JJ would have my choice too. 

[TrevorR]

Well, of my top whatever of bassists Chris Squire, Geddy, ‘Nard and a few others have been namechecked already so I’ll nominate the leader of my joint fave band ever. Philip Lynott.
 

 

[Grassie]

Surprisingly difficult to find a decent version of this from their mid 80s prime, but this clip of Mr King and Co from 91-92 is great. I love the sound of that Alembic, and the bass break in the middle is awesome. 😎 As much as I adore many other bassists, I simply cannot deny the influence this man and his amazing band had on me. 😊

 

[Bilbo]

I used to always say that my Big Four were Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Jimmy Johnson and Percy Jones - each for different reasons. I have also grown to love Anthony Jackson whose work with Michel Camilo and Hiromi Uehara and others can be absolutely thrilling (the whole Camilo album 'Caribe' is a rollercoaster of absolute delight). If I have to say which one of these was the one who had the greatest impact on me personally as a player, it would have to be Jeff Berlin. Our shared love of Jack Bruce, his work with Bruford, Allan Holdsworth's 'Road Games', his solo albums. I have since found flaws in his concept that often make me doubt myself (I have found the same with Jaco and Percy Jones, if I am honest, although I still love both) - his chorus sound I find irritating and his obsession with featuring the bass when it doesn't actually work very well (his Low Standards and High Standards cds are a it icky - I don't think he understands the Art of it as much as he does the Craft), his obsessions over bass pedagogy (just let it go, JB) but I keep going back to his back catalogue of recordings and many of them are just absolutely fantastic.

 

It is appalling how little performance footage there is of JB where the sound is decent (a lot of it is mobile phone footage that sounds terrible). Here is a something I just found that gives a sense of where he comes from - the tune is 'Solar' by Miles Davis. I add a second track (recorded) just to show JB when he is smokin'. The tune is 'Emeril Kicks It UP' from the 2009 CD 'In Harmony's Way' - I also attach a link to a complete transcription I did of the tune.

 

 

 

Transcription link - https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/emeril-kicks-it-up-jeff-berlin/

[Bilbo]

PS - I love this thread - some great memories. JJB sounds 'kin brilliant, Jimmy Johnson's solo is stunning, Manring, Jaco, AJ with Michel Camilo (that is also transcribed on my website) - all such wonderful players whose work I have enjoyed over the years.

[Captain Bassman]

Posted this clip before but…

 

This guy… disgustingly talented git and all round bluddy nice chap who thoroughly deserves all the success he’s worked so hard for.

 

Taught me a lot back in the day (most of which I seem to have forgotten…maybe because he’s a left handed with his strings upside down…). Enjoy…

 

 

[Count Bassy]

I guess it would have to be Norman Watt-Roy.

 

Why? Here's a clue.

 

 

[KingPrawn]

Pino. For his ability to slot in. 

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by KingPrawn

[Killerfridge]

30 minutes ago, KingPrawn said:

Pino. For his ability to slot in. 

 

Aw man, that live performance of GLIOTW is cheating

[cetera]

On 08/07/2022 at 09:22, Coilte said:

It has to be "Chicago's" Peter Cetera for me. Obviously the video clip is not him. I posted this clip because the bass lines are higher in the mix, thus giving us better clarity. The cover itself is spot on too. 

 

 

 

 

Yep, Peter Cetera is definitely my fave (hence my Basschat 'handle') and this amazing cover is a perfect example of why! So creative, melodic, grooving and solid..... and hugely underrated imho.
Closely followed, for me, by Tiran Porter with the Doobie Brothers....

 

[WinterMute]

On 12/07/2022 at 09:18, Grassie said:

Surprisingly difficult to find a decent version of this from their mid 80s prime, but this clip of Mr King and Co from 91-92 is great. I love the sound of that Alembic, and the bass break in the middle is awesome. 😎 As much as I adore many other bassists, I simply cannot deny the influence this man and his amazing band had on me. 😊

 

What a player he is, in a properly hardworking band too, it's a shame I never got on with that kind of music, I'm sure I'd have paid more attention to his playing over the years. Excellent.

[Bilbo]

I always loved Level 42s songs but not enough to really spend a lot of time with Mark King's bass playing. Same with Nik Kershaw; great arrangements and great bands but my head was somewhere else!

[Frank Blank]

Eugene Wright, man...

 

 

[Killerfridge]

Joe Dart:

 

 

[Count Bassy]

3 hours ago, cetera said:

 

 

Yep, Peter Cetera is definitely my fave (hence my Basschat 'handle') and this amazing cover is a perfect example of why! So creative, melodic, grooving and solid..... and hugely underrated imho.
Closely followed, for me, by Tiran Porter with the Doobie Brothers....

 

That's cheating. Only one allowed!  (i.e. I wish I'd thought of sneaking further choices in under the radar)

[Grassie]

6 hours ago, Bilbo said:

I always loved Level 42s songs but not enough to really spend a lot of time with Mark King's bass playing. Same with Nik Kershaw; great arrangements and great bands but my head was somewhere else!

I haven’t actually sat down and made a list, but I would say with some confidence that his playing on their recorded output is probably 50/50 slap/fingerstyle. Yes, he is one of the most famous slap players on the planet, but as his career progressed, you can hear the histrionics make way for a more restrained (mostly) style. 

[Barking Spiders]

8 hours ago, Count Bassy said:

That's cheating. Only one allowed!  (i.e. I wish I'd thought of sneaking further choices in under the radar)

Tut tut indeed. To the back of the class!  Yes indeed, just the one, to avoid another thread full of lists 😁

[casapete]

14 hours ago, KingPrawn said:

Pino. For his ability to slot in. 

Great clip, Pino in full sail but never losing the groove of the song.

Mind you, Steve Jordan ain't no slouch either....🙂

[mario_buoninfante]

On 06/07/2022 at 20:59, bnt said:

One bassist who consistently perked up my ears was Paul Webb of Talk Talk, especially on fretless: not the most flashy but he produced these snaking through-lines that often defined a melody complementing the vocals. 
 

 

such a good band!

[Madein1962]

For me, it was Bruce Foxton that made me want to try playing a bass but, having grown up in the 60s and 70s, Motown has always been around.

 

I imagine most people on here would recognize and start singing along to songs like "My Girl" or "I heard it through the Grapevine"  after the opening bar.

 

Regardless of what genre you prefer to listen to, you've probably bopped along to a Jamerson, Babbitt or Kaye bass line; even if you don't know who played on what.

[RussFM]

For me, while I grew up listening to John Deacon, it was Flea and Tim Commerford made me pick up a bass, but the player that I most aspire to play like is Jason Black of Hot Water Music. 

 

He's always my go-to example of player who fits the 'serve the song' mantra. A reliable and solid rhythm player who drives the songs, but uses spaces to add melodic fills,  just a few seconds that bring your attention back to the bass during a verse or when the guitars have been the focus. And thanks to the two vocalists, he's always front and centre of the stage, where he deserves to be!

 

 

[lowdown]

On 12/07/2022 at 09:18, Grassie said:

Surprisingly difficult to find a decent version of this from their mid 80s prime, but this clip of Mr King and Co from 91-92 is great. I love the sound of that Alembic, and the bass break in the middle is awesome. 😎 As much as I adore many other bassists, I simply cannot deny the influence this man and his amazing band had on me. 😊

 

 

The terrific Gary Husband on Drums as well..!! He's also a fair old Pianist/Keyboard player.

[oldslapper]

Pierre Brock got my attention on this album. Probably defined my finger style and default tone. 

Couldn’t find live version.