bubinga5 Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 ive been researching this guy for a while now... his playing is just off the wall on this track imo.... he dances around that fret board for sure and all his notes are killer... he NEVER puts a foot wrong ever.... before Jaco there was the master.. imo.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsB543zqSM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 AMEN BROTHER! The way he played was almost an improvised stream of consciousness. I doubt he played the same thing twice. I love those little chromatic runs he does. Anybody else playing the bass lines he plays would be accused of being too busy but when he plays them they sound JUST right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 One of the aspects of Jamerson's playing that is seldon commented upon is the gift he was given of harmonically relatively sophisiticated songs like this. His concept was fairly narrow in some ways but the material he was required to play on gave him a huge canvass on which to weave his magic. A great player in the right place at the right time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Everything else seemed so regimented at Motown, he was lucky they allowed him the opportunity to develop his more complicated lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I'm in the middle of reading "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" and it would seem that a lot of the time,Jamerson would be allowed free rein on his basslines,and the songs would be actually moulded around them.1 track of the 8 track studio was eventually for his exclusive use,so that his bass could be to the fore.Although he did a bit of 'moonlighting' which he was usually fined for,recording at Motown was known to be put on hold until he was available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Steve Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Spot on, possibly the most underrated bass player in the history of underrated bass players (fortunately not by bass players themselves). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witterth Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1338734817' post='1678594'] One of the aspects of Jamerson's playing that is seldon commented upon is the gift he was given of harmonically relatively sophisiticated songs like this. His concept was fairly narrow in some ways but the material he was required to play on gave him a huge canvass on which to weave his magic. A great player in the right place at the right time. [/quote] what do you mean "his concept was fairly narrow"? is this all about reading? (Again) I think he played from the heart and thats a gift from the gods. you are right he played on some of the best songs ever written and from that point of view it would be hard to go wrong but to say "right place right time" dosent do Jimbo justice. so there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayPH Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1338682704' post='1678109'] ive been researching this guy for a while now... his playing is just off the wall on this track imo.... he dances around that fret board for sure and all his notes are killer... he NEVER puts a foot wrong ever.... before Jaco there was the master.. imo.. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsB543zqSM[/media] [/quote] Just seen the light myself. This is the yardstick imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayPH Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 This week I have been mostly listening to this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLDqlgRK100"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLDqlgRK100[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBob09 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1338734817' post='1678594'] One of the aspects of Jamerson's playing that is seldon commented upon is the gift he was given of harmonically relatively sophisiticated songs like this. His concept was fairly narrow in some ways but the material he was required to play on gave him a huge canvass on which to weave his magic. A great player in the right place at the right time. [/quote] "The gift he was given"?!?! Please! Not one of us has a gift. Jamerson didn't have a gift, Jaco, Mark King, Wooten, Marcus - They don't have gifts. They sit and shed for HOURS. You see them on stage and hear them on a record for a moment, what you don't see is their lifetime of dedication to make that moment seem so effortless. Gift indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 It's all Carole Kaye really you know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungle Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='AndyBob09' timestamp='1343811914' post='1755461'] "The gift he was given"?!?! Please! Not one of us has a gift. Jamerson didn't have a gift, Jaco, Mark King, Wooten, Marcus - They don't have gifts. They sit and shed for HOURS. You see them on stage and hear them on a record for a moment, what you don't see is their lifetime of dedication to make that moment seem so effortless. Gift indeed! [/quote] Surely people have innate talent? A pre-disposition to a certain discipline that coupled with practice makes them outstanding at it? You might consider that a "gift". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='AndyBob09' timestamp='1343811914' post='1755461'] "The gift he was given"?!?! Please! Not one of us has a gift. Jamerson didn't have a gift, Jaco, Mark King, Wooten, Marcus - They don't have gifts. They sit and shed for HOURS. You see them on stage and hear them on a record for a moment, what you don't see is their lifetime of dedication to make that moment seem so effortless. Gift indeed! [/quote] I think that the 'gift' that was referred to was the harmonic quality of the songs he was playing at Motown and not some 'gift' of talent or whatever from God or elsewhere. The songs were a 'gift' in the sense that they were very good for Jamerson's style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='AndyBob09' timestamp='1343811914' post='1755461'] "The gift he was given"?!?! Please! Not one of us has a gift. Jamerson didn't have a gift, Jaco, Mark King, Wooten, Marcus - They don't have gifts. They sit and shed for HOURS. You see them on stage and hear them on a record for a moment, what you don't see is their lifetime of dedication to make that moment seem so effortless. Gift indeed! [/quote] Nature vs. nurture. The verdict is still out on this right? Obviously it's a healthy dose of both for the best players out there, but I can't help feeling that with someone like Jamerson, it must have been the way he was wired. No one plays like that without being intrinsically musical, the hard work of 'shedding' comes after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='risingson' timestamp='1343814531' post='1755508'] No one plays like that without being intrinsically musical, the hard work of 'shedding' comes after. [/quote] You are begging the question. You can't prove 'nature' comes before 'nurture' by assuming that 'no one plays like that without being intrinsically musical' (i.e. 'nature' comes before 'nurture') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='bungle' timestamp='1343814070' post='1755500'] Surely people have innate talent? A pre-disposition to a certain discipline that coupled with practice makes them outstanding at it? You might consider that a "gift". [/quote] I don't think it is 'sure' at all. Do some people have an innate talent for assuming that 'nature' beats 'nurture' or have they learned to associate talent with the innate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='AndyBob09' timestamp='1343811914' post='1755461']Please! Not one of us has a gift. Gift indeed! [/quote] Don't agree with this! Even allowing for all the practice in the world, some people have more innate talent than others. Practice will improve this, of course, but if the "gift" is not there in the first place then the results will be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1343814870' post='1755515']Do some people have an innate talent? [/quote] Something like "talent" is far more likely to be polygenic in character, so it's not really a case of "having it" or "not having it". However, I think it is clear that some people have more than others... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I've read some daft things on basschat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1343815240' post='1755529'] I've read some daft things on basschat. [/quote] Agreed! Which bit in particular do you find daft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commando Jack Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 (edited) He was a great player and the new band I'm in are doing a few tunes with his basslines in. They are tricky because of all the chromatic runs and his tendancy to go places that wouldn't make musical sense normally but really, really work. Very enjoyable to play! Bilbo has a valid point in that he was playing high quality songs with rich harmonic content. I'm sure he'd nail a 4 chord turnaround, but if that's all he had to work with would he be known as the creative genius we know and love? Don't know about the narrow scope as I'm not at that level. Plus things have moved on now - if Hendrix were to just come out today nobody would be interested because his material has been surpassed technically. In the same way the role of the bass has been explored more and there are many players who can do what Jamerson did and more. But in his time he was a cut way above IMO. Edited August 1, 2012 by Commando Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1343815119' post='1755523'] Something like "talent" is far more likely to be polygenic in character, so it's not really a case of "having it" or "not having it". However, I think it is clear that some people have more than others... [/quote] Yes, I rather think your edit misquoted me there as I was actually being sarcastic and certainly wasn't asking the question you quote me as asking. I was rather making fun of those who do ask it. However, I think it is [i]not at all [/i]clear that some people have more than others... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pobrien_ie Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I really respect Jamerson's work and just love learning his lines, but alcohol problems aside, you have to wonder why he found it so hard to find work after the Motown days. Although the likes of Bob Babbitt (RIP) found it tough going, they adapted their styles and found work. Jamerson appeared largely unable or unwilling to change his style. Having said that, IMO we (electric bass players) are all forever in his debt...so many of the greats name Jamerson as a big, if not their biggest, influence! My favourite of his lines at the moment has to be I was Made to Lover Her, but I love Ain't too Proud to Beg and You Can't Hurry Love for their simplicity and effectiveness. I think it was the later Motown days when he was really let off the leash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1343812576' post='1755471'] It's all Carole Kaye really you know... [/quote] ...and the "wooden spoon" award for stirring the s**t, goes to KevB. Take a bow. The "gift v hard slog and practice" question, is an interesting one. I can see the arguments for both sides. No matter how good the alleged "gift" is, it is merely a diamond in the rough, and needs years of hard work and sweat for it to truly shine. Having said that, I do believe that some people possess that....lets call it..... "little extra" to begin with, that sets them apart from their peers. Others, besides Jamerson, whom IMO possessed this little extra, were the likes of Charlie Parker and Coltrane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 (edited) [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1343814712' post='1755512'] You are begging the question. You can't prove 'nature' comes before 'nurture' by assuming that 'no one plays like that without being intrinsically musical' (i.e. 'nature' comes before 'nurture') [/quote] I guess I'm just challenging the idea, but you're certainly right about the lack of certainty behind it all, I agree. [quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1343820487' post='1755665'] Having said that, I do believe that some people possess that....lets call it..... "little extra" to begin with, that sets them apart from their peers. Others, besides Jamerson, whom IMO possessed this little extra, were the likes of Charlie Parker and Coltrane. [/quote] I strongly believe in this as well amongst such a chicken/egg style argument. Edited August 1, 2012 by risingson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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