There aren't enough bass posts

[The G-string]

So I'll start one:

Who is your favorite bassist?

I'm into jazz so bear with me. I like Ray Brown and John Clayton for starters.

[Tone2TheBone]

Chris Squire had a pretty cool thumpy bright bass tone. I'm no expert on Bassists though. From a guitar player's point of view I enjoy ripping off Geddy Lee's bass licks from the CD "Hemispheres" on my Yamaha bass from time to time. heh

[The G-string]

Chris Squire had a pretty cool thumpy bright bass tone. I'm no expert on Bassists though. From a guitar player's point of view I enjoy ripping off Geddy Lee's bass licks from the CD "Hemispheres" on my Yamaha bass from time to time. heh

I can respect those ... I've not fallen-in-love-with any rock bassists as of yet, but I notice that when I love a song, it's often because of the bass line. Weird, I know. My son think that .. is it Flea? ... is awesome. I can't get past tRHCP's lead singer's voice to hear anything else.

[The G-string]

Oh wait - - I just thought of a very important one ... *laughs* ... Paul McCartney! Where would we all be, were it not for the fab four?

[Tone2TheBone]

Oh I totally agree there. Paul is tops. :)

[The G-string]

And with my quote, how can I forget John Paul Jones? Duh! So I guess I do admire some rockers, after all.

[Robert]

My favourite - Jaco Pastorius.

My favourite modern day player - Gary Willis (www.garywillis.com)

[Nelskie]

Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy is easily my favorite bassist, perhaps due to his primary role as band's front man / lead vocalist. Phil showcases his talents for both in the song "Chinatown", off of the album of the same name. The band was also one of the forerunners of the 70's dual lead guitar sound, and featured such killer axemen as Scott Gorham, Gary Moore, Brian Robertson, and John Sykes.

[marnold]

I've gotta throw in Iron Maiden's Steve Harris--the ultimate metal bassist as far as I'm concerned.

[Nelskie]

marnold - Kudos on mentioning Maiden's Steve Harris. He is an absolute MONSTER on bass. Saw those guys on their "Powerslave" tour in the mid-80's, and it was totally mind-bending experience. What a band!

[Katastrophe]

Don't forget about Stu Hamm... The man is incredible on bass!

John Enthwistle was an absolute monster...

Billy Sheehan can tear the bass up, and according to my former guitar teacher, is pretty darn good on guitar, too.

[tremoloman]

I don't play bass, so I haven't been exposed to many great players. From artists that I admire, Geddy Lee and Simon Gallup come to mind. Both play bass lines that stand out and stick in your head. When I hear Fly By Night (http://mfile3.akamai.com/14122/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/usrm/_%21/363/140363_1_05.ram?auth=daEakdTc_cTa0dic7bnbMagawbpbs brcHdO-bdWCsQ-Ci-agfde&aifp=1234&obj=v30923), Marathon (http://mfile3.akamai.com/14122/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/usrm/_%21/376/140376_1_04.ram?auth=daEcsamdMaHaCbUcScyb_cjdXdda7 csbech-bdWCuf-Ci-idcej&aifp=1234&obj=v30923), or YYZ (http://mfile3.akamai.com/14122/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/usrm/_%21/371/140371_1_03.ram?auth=daEatdad_cBa9a7dwd5dBcsdgdGaN dLajcs-bdWCu7-Ci-jgaee&aifp=1234&obj=v51028) from Geddy or Push (http://mfile3.akamai.com/14122/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/usrm/_%21/407/94407_1_05.ram?auth=daEd_cBcZbudSdYbTbNcgcocQaHaBa ocubJ-bdWCwD-Ci-dfhdc&aifp=1234&obj=v10212), 2 late (http://mfile3.akamai.com/14122/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/usrm/_%21/119/508119_2_12.ram?auth=daEasd1bFbtchb0aVbZdlbab4cXb1 bwcDcx-bdWCvL-Ci-igdcc&aifp=1234&obj=v40601), or To The Sky (http://mfile3.akamai.com/14122/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/usrm/_%21/119/508119_2_09.ram?auth=daEcod4bWaMd6bOcWcHaDa2chd9cC cBcVcO-bdWCvL-Ci-eggcj&aifp=1234&obj=v40601) from Simon, they just make me want to pick up a bass and join in! :)

[Spudman]

I'll throw my $.02 worth in here as well.

Most incredible player - Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, Karmakanic, Tomas Bodin, The Tangent, Kaipa)

Most over the top player - Billy Sheehan (Niacin)

Best lead singer/bassist - Paul McCartney, Glenn Hughes

Mr. Tasty - Tony Levin, Victor Wooten

Worst - Me

[Matt]

The Chili Peppers' Flea is actually a very good bassist, but a bit too funky for my tastes. A friend of mine who plays bass and funk idolises him. As for my favourite bass player, probably John Paul Jones from Zep, probably the most understated member of the band too. And while I remember, the bassist from Cream, but I can never remember his name :(

regards

Matt

[marnold]

The Chili Peppers' Flea is actually a very good bassist, but a bit too funky for my tastes. A friend of mine who plays bass and funk idolises him. As for my favourite bass player, probably John Paul Jones from Zep, probably the most understated member of the band too. And while I remember, the bassist from Cream, but I can never remember his name :(

Flea can slap and pop with the best of them. The Cream bassist/vocalist is Jack Bruce. The first full "real" bassline I learned was "Badge" by Cream. I just happened to see them on PBS a couple of weeks ago.

[r_a_smith3530]

Hi all! I'm new to these lower realms. Ah, who inspired me? Well, my best friend was the one who got me to thinking about bass, so let's start with him. Once the seed was planted, I began to notice that many of the songs I liked were bass driven.

One of the first that caught me was Mel Schacher on Grand Funk's red album. He was one of the first to bring the bass out of the background. The second album that I remember for its bass noteriety was "The Romantic Warrior" by Return to Forever. Stanley Clarke's lead bass interplay with DiMeola and Corea on the cut "Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant" is nothing short of epic.

Being from Chicago, and spending many hours in the local blues clubs, there are two local bass players that have inspired me. Willie Dixon had it goin' on! There's a reason the Chess brothers gave him so much creative freedom. Meanwhile, another local bass player was making a name for himself as one of the original Ice Breakers, Albert Collins' blues band. Aron Burton went on to be the house bassist for Alligator records, fronting his own band, and today, out of retirement, he can be found backing up Liz Mandeville Greeson.

Of course I could not send this post off without mentioning the great James Jamerson. I only wish that he had gotten the recognition that he deserved while he was still alive. That is surely one of music's great tragedies!

The father of slap, and the bottom end under Sly and the Family Stone, Larry Graham, is another bass player who deserves many accolades.

So, that leads me to the present. I really like the work that Rhonda Smith is doing, especially her solo effort. She's done some great stuff with Prince, but its when she gets to lead the show that she really shines!

There's so many more that I could mention, but I know that I would invariably leave someone out, so I'll end here.

Rob

[SuperSwede]

Mr Pastorious is my favourite!

And welcome to this forum Rob, please take the time to write something about yourself in the "Fret Players" forum.

[Tone2TheBone]

John Baldwin (aka John Paul Jones) is so underated. I've been listening to, and watching A LOT of Zep lately and his playing and interaction with Bonzo carrying the rhythm behind Jimmy's often impromptu soloing is just too frikken cool...yet he is so unassuming in character. PLUS he's got the bass pedals down during the acoustic set when he's playing mandolin. :)

[warren0728]

I've got to vote for stanley clarke

i've seen him once live... at carnegie hall....a very interesting trio including:
bela fleck, banjo - stanley clarke, bass - jean luc ponty, violin

great show

ww