Favorite bassists everyone

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Steve Harris - Iron Maiden
Jason Newsted - Metallica
Timmy C. - Rage Against the Machine
Rachel Bolen - Skid Row
Nigel Tufnell - And no, we aren't going to bloody do Stone Henge tomorrow!
 
Aaron,

Ya gotta learn about Jaco.

Try the All Music Guide, they have a fairly decent nutshell biography, discography, etc..

http://www.allmusic.com/

and plug "Jaco Pastorius" into the search field at the top...


regebro,

Thanks for mentioning Mick Karn. He's really amazing and doesn't sound at all like anybody else.


-AlChuck
 
A.Cheney,

You might want to check out a book called "The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorious" By Bill Milkowski.

Most people have their opinions on who is great or not. I don't know to many that don't agree on his greatness. He loved the Jazz idiom, but could rock as crazy as any of them. He probably suffered from Manic Depression, but also drug abuse, and then took to jumping onstage at other people's shows and challenging the bass players. And then totally stoned, would get in fights with big, mean guys in bars. There still seems to be some mystery to the specifics of his death. But he was found outside a bar in florida beaten to death. There's a song he wrote called "Three Views to a Secret" that is considered a classic among Jazz buffs. Check him out and Weather Report. He's not on every Weather Report album though.
 
Hey, you have forgotten about the all-time greatest, the one who made Sid Vicious believe he could play bass, the one who have turned thousands of kids on to bassplaying, the one who´s still the coolest ever on old clips, the one with the bass down to his knees, the Charles Manson of punk, Dee Dee Ramone!!! And I´m serious, check out old video-clips of pics of a young Dee Dee Ramone and get blown away!! I bet some people here saw the Ramones play in the seventies, and you can bet your asses that I´m extremely jealous!! Matt Freeman´s good, but what his got in talent he lacks in image. Dee Dee´s the opposite. (Yes I know he´s not a great musician, but I don´t wanna be either...)Remember Dee Dee!!
 
Thanks.

I checked out Jaco Pastorious on the allmusic.com site. What a great site. THanks AlChuck!
I also got ahold of a couple mp3's. I really liked a live version of MercyMercyMercy. He definitely has some chops. A little frantic at times...
HIs tone and a few of his licks reminded me of that classic bassline that opens the Barney Miller theme. That wasn't him was it?
Does anyone know who that was?

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
There has been a bunch of poorly recorded material put our since his death. Some of which caught him in varying states of decline. This stuff is great as historical perspective and a tribute, but not indictitive of his true abilities. Listen to all his stuff!!!

I use to know who played the bass for Barney Miller, but I forget now. It was written by Jack Elliott. A Bass playing friend use to always whip that out during a jam when we were back in high school.
 
Some Jaco highlights:

his bass part on Al DiMeola's "Suite: Golden Dawn" from Land of the Midnight Sun

anything from Weather Report's Heavy Weather, especially "A Remark You Made" and "Birdland"

"Night Passage" from Weather Report's album of the same name

"In France They Kiss on Main Street" from Joni Mitchell's live Shadows and Light

"Donna Lee," "Continuum," "Portrait of Tracy" from Jaco Pastorius

"John and Mary" from his Word of Mouth
 
I love the whole Night Passages album, The last song "Madagascar" at the end Jaco just opens up the bass, nothing technical, just all out sonic assult. Love that.

Another good Jaco highlight. The Birthday Concert. Besides great players, Jaco's in good form.
 
Favorite basists:
Me
Les Claypool
Some blind guy that I met at a catholic youth rally I was forced to go to
 
Catholics

Hay Les, I though MrQ and I had that all sorted out and it's me. Understand the mistake though. The Catholics did a number on me as well. I don't hate them just don't want nothing to do with them. Did like the idea of confession could raise hell all week then confess and everything was okay. Oh well that was the good old days most everyone I know today saw through that BS. I belive in God but not like the Catholics... Later, Donny!!!
 
Dave Edwardson (neurosis)
Dave Curran (Unsane ->RIP)
Simon Gallup (The Cure)


these are not funky flashy bass players but both of them write many of their bands tunes on bass and have great sound/tone and riffs.
 
Great picks...but....

These are some amazing bass players, but I believe one has been overlooked. I saw Wooten play in a very intimate setting once, at a clinic in a guitar store. He was an amazing bass player, as well as an amazing human being, with a huge heart. He loved to interact with the audience, and was totally up for one on one discussion. It wasn't an expensive show either. Five bucks. It was free for me cause I worked there...
Now for the but....
He had another guy playing with him. Another fabulous bass player. He played a six string fretless, and the two together were phenomenal....they sounded like an orchestra. His name was Steve Bailey, and he was also a very kind hearted individual that just happened to have amazing skill and precision when it came to playing the bass guitar.
The original songs they wrote were amazing. And they truly played as an artist painted a masterpiece, there canvas being the air, each brush stroke a vibration in the air that sent a sweet, yet intriuging sound into the realm of sound and music.
 
Jeff Andrews- plays in jazz/fusion type bands like Vital Information, Frank Gambale.

Alphonso Johnson- played with Santana in the 80's, lots of session work. Knows how to lock in with the drummer like an anchor. Great to see live.

Pete Trewavas- one of the great rock bassists that guitar magazines will never write about. In the British band Marillion. Has a Geddy Lee influence but is more restrained.
 
Wide Awake,
Have you checked out the band "Transatlantic" yet? Pete Trewavas is the Bass player along with Mike Portnoy(Dream Theatre) Neal Morse(Spocks Beard) Roine Stolt(Flower Kings) If you like Progressive Rock you'll like this!
 
Gotta' give much luv to Stanley Clarke and Lou
Johnson(of Bros Johnson) for employing the innovative
"thumb-slap" percussive technique that's used in syncopation against a kick and snare.
 
Chris N- I do have the Transatlantic disc. It is impressive but I expected it to be. I have followed Pete Trewavas's career for a long time and he just gets better and better. I've been harrassing the guitar magazines to do an article on him for years, but I know it's a futile effort. Guitar Player magazine ranked Marillion- Misplaced Childhood as one of the 10 best progressive albums of all time and they gave steller reviews to the Transtlantic disc. Yet, they will NEVER do an article on the guitarist's involved on those albums. Not fashionable enough I guess.
 
I agree with everyone so far, but here is a sure favoright of mine no-one has mentioned, Boz Burrell (BadCo) and his ampeg scroll bass.
 
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