M-N-Y

I will happily concede that there is definitely some music which favours either the DB or EB. However in my personal opinion it has nothing to do with swing. From Bilbo's perspective I feel it is more about what he prefers and how the bass sound and feel 'sits' in a particular piece of music. (Bilbo please feel free to correct me if I'm off the mark) Having seen the Neil Cowley Trio this week I realised that the gig had to be done on DB, even though some of the tunes are quite loud as far as jazz goes. The instrument fits with the group. The bassist Rex Horan is also a great electric player as well by the way; however the sound would not suit the band even though at times it may well be more audible. On the point of Steve Rodby he played more DB latterly with the PMG, both on recordings and live. When he first joined the group around the time of the release of the album First Circle he would have been required to play more electric bass,as nearly all the previous PMG albums had featured either Jaco or Mark Egan on EB. As the band's material changed he gravitated towards DB. It could have been as a direct result of what was required by the composer of the music or what the state of mind of the composer or the player was at the time of the recording. Maybe a mellowing of Mr. Rodby's playing style led him towards the double bass on the later projects. Awesome player and some amazing music, I hope they do another PMG album at some point.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1332100486' post='1583334'] I think that ES track would groove a lot harder on double bass but there you are. In fact, that track, to me, illustrates the non-swingingness of the wrong timbre. As does this (which swings a little inspite of the bass sound): Play that Gary Willils tune 10 beats per minute faster and it wouldn't swing like it does. [/quote] That doesn't make sense. I don't believe I have ever heard anyone else play the tune faster or Willis for that matter. Until such a time it can't be ascertained whether it would swing at a faster tempo, you merely assume it wouldn't swing if played faster. I can't really make a judgement or offer an opinion on the Buddy Rich clips as my laptop speakers are fairly poor. I bet the band wish the bass player had left the fretless at home though....jeez. Despite my love for Buddy Rich (as I am a drummer first and foremost) I think the version of Birdland is pretty awful. It doesn't translate that well to a big band to my ears. As far as the tune 'Got a match' goes this version demonstrates the type of swing the Chic Corea version doesn't, or maybe isn't intended to. The bass player is Tom Kennedy by the way and strangely you may notice his upright bass is in the picture but not being played. Maybe it just didn't 'fit' the tune. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fDV6-m7V1M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fDV6-m7V1M[/url]

Much as I love Marcus, I don't think this particular version benefits from the mental speed double thumbing. All sounds just a bit frenetic on this clip.

I have had a great affinity for jazz from Norway, Sweden and the like since I saw Jan Garbarek at Bracknell in the late 1980's. This clip sounds fantastic. I will check out the recording. Thanks for posting.

Correct me if I'm wrong, swing is to jazz as groove is to funk. This is my two bob's worth. Swing and groove are intangible things related to how a piece of music 'feels'. When the music swings it skips along sublimely, with everything in place the rhythm section is often gelling and interacting in an almost spiritual way. The same with groove, and I don't believe it has anything to do necessarily with the quality of the musicians. I have heard pro players who can't swing or groove and amateurs who are awesome.As I mentioned in my previous post I think the drummer always has a massive part to play. I also don't believe a particular instrument creates any better type of swing or groove than another. It depends on the player(s). I am damn sure Christian Mcbride can swing just as well on electric bass as upright. Bobby Vega can groove just as well on acoustic bass guitar as electric. I think this clip captures some of the things I am trying to explain. Would it groove any better if it was played on upright or electric bass? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mCKQzrlSyI&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mCKQzrlSyI&feature=related[/url]

Great tune Bubinga, good spot...A few new personnel as well if the video is anything to go by. Can't really hear the bass too well on my laptop as the speakers are poor,but I'm sure the playing will be top notch.

I think this is one of the best examples of a song that swings that is played on electric bass albeit a fretless one. I think the whole tune has a lovely lilting swing feel and you can argue Willis isn't really playing a conventional walking line. Swing doesn't just come from the bass though, the drummer must also contribute and if the drummer is lacking the music won't swing regardless of how good a feel the bassist has got! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8NCG9wDRLc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8NCG9wDRLc[/url]

The backline is simply a Marshall combo. It may well be linked to some for of cab, but it is a simple, unfashionable (as far as bassplayers of the non metal variety are concerned) Marshall combo and it does sound great.

Great recommendation, thank you.

Hi Gareth, Glad you enjoyed the music. Any of the Sixun stuff is a good place to start. My own favourite CD's from the band are Nouvelle Vague, Nomad's Land and Palabre. The 20 years of Sixun live Cd is also very good. I do believe you can get a best of which would also be excellent. If you are a little more adventurous you can try Karim Ziad's Ifriyka or anything by Sakesho featuring Andy Narell on steel pans (awesome!!!). Cheers, Mark.

Thanks for pointing this out Mike, I hadn't thought of reading Uriah's take on his own playing. In the circumstances I feel he did a great job. + 1 on the other comments, it would be nice to have a buch of real kick-ass musicians getting exposure for playing more mainstream music. Cheers, Mark.

Pleasure Linus, glad you enjoyed it.

This clip features two of my all time favourite musicians, the incredible bassist Michel Alibo and the wonderful drummer Karim Ziad. Michel never ceases to amaze me; he is a true bass playing colossus and deserves so much more exposure. To those of you who haven't heard of him check out anything you can of the French band Sixun they are unbelievably good. Karim Ziad came to prominence as the drummer for Zawinul Syndicate. A superbly gifted player who glides through odd time material as though it's second nature (which it probably is), he hails from Algeria and he is more often heard with French and North African musicians thesedays. There are some great clips of his music on the net which I encourage you all to check out. The approach of the players is so fresh and makes a change from a lot of the more typical western fusion music that I manage to come across. Apologies, don't know much about the pianist. Enjoy the clip. By the way, check out the bass players backline. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r741Z-weDhY&feature=related[/media]

[i]Great video, awesome Moog solo by Shaun Martin. Off to the band on the wall in April to see them...should be great![/i]

Watching someone as talented as Uriah Duffy play the DL bass line makes me realise just how good Henrik is.