Bilbo

Get another one in before work. This is the complete Hans Glawischnig performance of the tune 'Hola' from the 2019 Miguel Zenon album, 'Sonero: the Music of Ismael Rivera'. Not that challenging although you will need to concentrate as there are a couple of trip hazards. The arco section in the middle is difficult to place as it relates to the sax part so is kind of 'rubato'. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/hola-miguel-zenon/

Someone asked for it - the complete bass performance of 'Robbery, Assault and Battery' from the 1976 Genesis album, 'A Trick Of The Tail'. Good luck. You're gonna need it! 😎 https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/robbery-assault-and-battery-genesis/

Complete Christian McBride performance of 'Cry Me A River' from the 2001 Diana Krall album, 'The Look Of Love'. A lovely tune which McBride plays straight. An easy enough read. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/cry-me-a-river-diana-krall/

A bit of a failure. I have gone back and fore with this one several times but cannot begin to make sense of the arpeggios he is using in the middle section. I have some shapes but cannot find a way to write them down that allows for it to be interpreted accurately. The whole performance is out of time and so the whole transcription is a vague approximation but it is such a lovely performance, I didn't want to leave the work that I had done, or at least tried to do, rotting on a hard drive in Felixstowe! So, here is my approximation of the YouTube video 'Jeff Berlin Improvises Beethoven'. I hope it is of use to someone. I think this is JB's best solo bass performance of all of those tunes he has tried. It sounds genuinely beautiful and not just 'clever'. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/jeff-berlin-improvises-beethoven-ish-jeff-berlin/

Anthony Jackson's part on the tune 'Looking Up' from the 1989 Michel Petrucciani album, 'Music'. Another transcription I am proud of. 5 or 6 hours work but what a learning opportunity! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/looking-up-michel-petrucciani/

998 hits on Saturday. Wow.

I had a message from Jasper Holtby thanking me for his transcription but telling me it was wrong 😆 I never corrected it. I think he disagreed about the time signature but I couldn't work out what he meant. Neil Murray was very kind and Jeff Berlin was totally supportive. Robin Phillips of Solstice was cool as was Jon Poole of Life signs.

I admit it. I am beaten. Someone asked about the Seth Govan bass part to 'hangover, from the 2006 Guthrie Govan album, 'Erotic Cakes'. I thought, 'I'll have a crack at that, and off I went. 2:38 seconds in, I completely lost it - no idea what he is doing. The tune is in 9:8 ( a kind of swung 3:4) but he is playing 4 against the 3 (12:8 over 9:8) and then he does something else that I cannot figure out at all. Sounds hip as f*** but I have no idea how to get it down so I threw the towel in. Here is where I got to. If you can complete the transcription, let me know. Seth lives down the road to me so I am going to contact him to see if he can explain himself! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/hangover-guthrie-govan/

Another bucket list transcription but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be (to transcribe, not to play). The complete Steve Rodby performance on the tune 'And Then I Knew' from the 1995 Pat Metheny Group album, 'We Live Here'. Some great groove playing in the closing quarter of the tune. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/and-then-i-knew-pat-metheny-group/

Something that is pretty much as simple as it gets, the Dusty Hill bass part for the ZZ Top tune 'Jesus Just Left Chicago' from the 1973 classic, 'Tres Hombres'. Solid root playing without an ounce of fat. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/jesus-just-left-chicago-zz-top/

From the legendary 1982 album, 'The Nightfly', this is the complete Marcus Miller bass performance on the Donald Fagen tune, 'The Goodbye Look'. What an album and what a line-up of bass players. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/the-goodbye-look-donald-fagan/

Something different, a Hermeto Pascoal tune called 'Sempre Feliz' from the the 1986 album, 'Brasil, Universo'. The bass player is Itibere Swarg. Some nice Brazilian stuff but not nearly as crippling as it sounds! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/sempre-feliz-hermeto-pascoal/

I just moved the Ozzy track behind the Scofield track so Ozzy's is listed as transcription no. 666 on the list on the front of this thread. 👺🤘

Another track I have adored since I first heard it on John Scofield's 1989 album, 'Flat Out'. The track is 'Secret Love' and has this lovely swinging Latin feel that is not quite a bossa but is just lovely. Nothing more than 8th notes but some lovely rhythmic displacements from Mr. Cox. And what a sound. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/secret-love-john-scofield/

My little tribute. 6 billion bats can sleep easlly tonight. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/crazy-train-ozzy-osbourne/

I felt a bit jaded after the 11:49 transcription so wanted to try something in a higher register that didn't keep me down in the region of the low B. This came up on my mp3 player and I thought I would have a go. It is not a bass part at all but the melody to a Ralph Towner tune called 'Ecotopia' from the 1987 Oregon album of the same name. Something very different. The melody does some lovely things with the rhythms so have a go and see where it takes you. A nice exercise. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/ecotopia-oregon-melody-transcribed-for-bass/

I am proud of this one. The complete Anthony Jackson performance on the tune '11:49 p.m.' from the 2012 Hiromi Trio Project album, 'Move'. One to read before you try to play! it has a long section in 5:8 that is not something you see very often, certain not for prolonged sections of improvisation, so it will test you, especially as the note groupings AJ uses are not consistent. There is also a unison section (also in 5:8) that will break a few bones! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/11-49-p-m-hiromi-uehara-trio-project/

Thanks, Jolltax. Proper notation is so much more useful than tab but there is a dearth of material to learn on. that's why I include easy tunes as well as more demanding one. Beautiful music doesn't have to be hard to play or hard to read.

I don't think I posted this one yesterday even though I finished it - what a plonker. Dave's request for the Kenny Gradney bass part to 'Let It Roll' from Little Feat's 1988 album of the same name. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/let-it-roll-little-feat/

Doing that BOC transcription reminded me that I have never tried this. A ten-minute transcription of Kasim Sulton's bass part for the track, 'Bat Out Of Hell' from the 1977 Meatloaf album of the same name. Sometimes, the motivation to try transcribing something is because it is there! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/bat-out-of-hell-meatloaf/

Another one someone asked for, Mel Schacher's bass part for 'Footstompin' Music' by Grand Funk Railroad from the 1971 album, 'E Pluribus Funk'. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/footstompin-music-grand-funk-railroad/

It's increasingly obvious to me that I am entering my second childhood. This is a Kasim Sulton performance of the tune 'E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)' which I took from a live Blue Öyster Cult video on YouTube. This track takes me back to listening to the band's live album, 'Some Enchanted Evening' when I was a kid. I always loved the harmonies on this track and the verse riff is sick. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/e-t-i-blue-oyster-cult/

I have made a start on Let It Roll but am knocking off for the night now so will finish it tomorrow. Blinding track.

I jammed with Ritchie Hayward of Little Feat once, with Pre-Feeder Grant Nicholas.

Bit of fun that someone was asking for on one of the Facebook bass transcription forums. This is the complete Mel Schacher performance on the tune 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' from the 1974 Grand Funk Railroad album, 'All The Girls In The World Beware'. Straight as they come. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/some-kind-of-wonderful-grand-funk-railroad/