Bilbo

Both, I guess. Where double bass was concerned, I knew that hearing my self properly was an issue (I can hear when I am playing but it is less clear what note it is and whether it is in tune) which prompted the IEM purchase but this revisiting of old stuff has made me realise that intonation of my electric playing is equally suspect. I actually think, on reflection, that one of the issues may be intention. You (Jake) mentioned once about playing what you hear and singing your solos in order to make the link between your ideas and their execution. The wrong thing to do is to let you fingers 'play' themselves i.e. singing what you are playing rather than playing what you are singing. Projecting this concept into the intonation debate, I am wondering how much of my intonation problem is a kind of built in latency between my ideas and their execution. I 'hear' a phrase or note (say a sixth) and my fingers dither over whether it is a natural or flattened sixth. This split second of indecision results in a subconscious 'miss'; a note that is marginally too sharp or flat, depending on the line. Not enough to be caught on the fly, particularly in a live situation, but, during playback, when my 'miss' rate is one in three or four or five, it all starts to fall apart..... Its certainly less of an issue when I am playing lines, walking or ostinatos. It is when I am improvising.

I have been cleaning and, to a limited extent, purging my music room and, whilst I was doing it, made the mistake of listening to some old live recordings I have done with all sorts of bands (they were on cassettes; that's how old they were) and the one thing that kept screaming at me throughout, apart from the shocking timing in the early days, was 'intonation's out, intonation's out)'. I then went to the Great Jaco lines thread and briefly listened to some old Jaco and thought 'his intonation is spot on throughout'. The $64,000 question is; how do I get my intonation to be that accurate. Mine isn't a million miles off now but it is not as impeccable as JFP III's. I am hoping my new in ear monitoring system will help. What do others do to ensure that their intonation is up to par when they are playing live? PS I could also start a thread on 'testosterone and tempo'....

Some other great performances that have not been mentioned Al DiMeola – Suite: Golden Dawn (single track from Land of the Midnight Sun but the rest of the cd is Anthony Jackson and Stanley Clarke!!) Michel Colombier – Dreamland (from Michel Colombier) - can't remember how many tracks Jaco is on. Beautiful melodic fretless. Black Market from Weather Report’s 8.30 live album) Night Passage – the whole Weather Report album Flora Purim - Las Olas (from 'Flora's Song') - beautiful melodic fretless. Black Market - Weather Report. Jaco is only on half the tracks but the rest of the cd is Alphonso Johnson and he is equally awesome. Jaco Pastorius - Word Of Mouth – Three Views of a Secret, Liberty City, Word of Mouth and John and Mary. The first track, Crisis, puts a lot of people off so be warned +1 for Bright Size Life – 8 tracks of pure brilliance from Jaco, The US live Jaco album ‘Twins’ is a must have (it is available in the UK as ‘Invitation’ but that was a single LP and Twins was the same lp but a double with more stuff on it and longer versions. Nativity - AIrto Moriera from ‘I’m Fine, How Are You?’ (single track)

I have never really experienced nerves in a playing situation. My self talk is appalling anyway and I am always aware of how I am playing but I don't really care what anyone else is thinking at any given moment. If I am not happy and someone says it was great, it doesn't make me feel any better. Likewise, If I think it was great and someone says it was sh*t, I'm inclined to dismiss them.

Couple of nice moments but I have never bought any Floyd and never listen to it by choice. I just find it all a bit bland harmonically and rhythmically. Some nice melody, I'll give you that, but even that can be a bit samey. I think I just got to them too late in my listening career. Does it matter that I have never been pissed or stoned?

Lots of useful thoughts here, guys. Thank you. I have my own thoughts, of course. Just one point, in response to the 'all these cats are dead and American' point. Very true but people who are alive are not always willing to cooperate with projects like this or may be involved in something themselves (Steve Swallow is working with another biographer, for example) so the dead guys tend to be less 'complicated' in terms of putting the material together. Dead people are also less concerned that you leave out the embarrassing bits so you can sometimes get a more complete picture (there were a few people I wanted to speak to during my Chambers research who refused to coppoerate with the project as they had wanted to 'protect' PC in some way or wanted to carry on with their lives without opening old wounds etc e.g. a couple of ex-girlfriends, one of PCs sons, some musicians who wouldn't speak to me etc). The Amercian bit is certainly a factor (although Vitous (Czech), Gomez (Puerto Rican), the two Lopez' (Cuban) and Holland (UK) aren't American - that's 33% of the list) but I guess that s an indication of the genre we are discussing. I also need someone who has a sufficiently substantial career to warrant the research - someone who has done three cds probably isn't going to fill's a book!! I also need to consider who is sufficiently interesting to warrant the research. A book on Basingstoke's leading bass player is not going to get published, even if he's brilliant!

Are you serious? Have you missed the other massive thread on the youtube version of this? Its stunning....

There are already books on Carter and LaFaro (both fairly recenr releases). Dave Holland not old? He's 66 this year, not ancient, I'll give you, but certainly twice as old a Paul Chambers was when he died

Jazzers almost never use clicks.

Wall hangers for the basses?

Ladies Night In Buffalo - Dave Lee Roth Higher and Higher - the bloke that sings Higher and Higher (load of old tosh)

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1330677623' post='1561273'] I remember Cubase having a 'humanise' option to it's quantise. it simply adds more feel by imitating a human drummer [/quote] I pressed that button once and my PC got off with the guitarist's girlfriend and was sick in my gig bag. Never again.

NHOP!!! Didn't think of him!!

Some of the 'starter fodder' ones that were around in my day were: Peaches - The Stranglers The Chain - Fleetwood Mac (theme from Grand Prix) Can't Hurry Love - Phil Collins Dallas 1 P.M. - Saxon

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1330607457' post='1560226'] As someone who worked with Frank Zappa material and Alumni in the 2 years following his death I would say keep one eye on the owners of the estate!!! [/quote] Very true. Fortunately, few Jazz musicians HAVE any form of estate!!

True but there are always stories to tell (and like the world needs another jazz and drugs 'crash and burn' story).

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1330604750' post='1560121'] Never heard of any of them, sorry. Surely you cant make money on selling books that the majority of the population have never heard of ? [/quote] Money is not the only driver, Daz.

I am not aware on anything being done on Ray Brown. Percy Heath was bass player with the Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles, Dizzy, Milt Jackson and the Heath Brothers. 'kin heathens.....

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1330601750' post='1560019'] Matt Freeman [/quote] Is there a 'shudder' emoticon?

The various artists route has done several times, Len. It would disappear into the ether and be competing with loads of other publications. A stand alone biography has the potential to find its niche more readily (I should add that I have no real ambitions to sell millions of copies; if I did I wouldn't write about jazz bass players ). There is another aspect to it, Jake. Writing about living people means you can offend them and get sued. Its is harder to offend someone who is no longer with us and they tend to be less litigious !!

The imminent publication of my Paul Chambers biography leaves me wanting to start my next piece of research and I have not yet decided who to look at. I did want to write Steve Swallow's story but, having discussed it with him, I discovered that someone else has that in hand. So, who do I look at? Haden would be my first choice and Holland my second. I am also interested in Pettiford, Watkins, Lopez Sr and Clarke as subjects. Hinton is a possibility but some of the others are less likely to gain commercial attention? Anyone got any preferences? Who would you like to read about? PS Mingus has been done several times and far more comprehensively than I coudl hope for.

True but in 1986, Wal was a new company and their basses were not being given away as part of a sponsorship deal (never were, if I am correct). Same with Eden; they were a new company back when I got my Eden. I say look at what your people actually use rather than the adverts. When I say 'if its good enough for them...' what I am actually suggesting is that mastering your instrument is only partially about the kit and more about your ears and mind. If your bass is, for want of a better word, 'good enough', why stress about that detail; spend some time on the music.

Commitment. That's all it takes. Buy a decent professional quality bass of a similar type to the ones your favourite players play (could be a Jazz, a Fodera or a Wal or whatever; its your call) and stop looking at everything else until you learn how to play the one you have properly. I bought my Wal (£740 mail order) because Percy Jones, John Giblin and a few other players I liked had them. That was in 1986 and I have not really looked at another bass since. Same with my amp - if its good enough for Gary Willis etc, its good enough for me. Everything else seems like chasing rainbows.