paulconnolly Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Today's Sunday Times culture section has an article on Larry Graham claiming that "he did for electric bass what Jimi Hendrix did for electric guitar". Well did he? Full article here [url="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/music/pop_and_rock/article1155278.ece"]http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/music/pop_and_rock/article1155278.ece[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) I don't really like these types of comparisons, but you could say that they were both pioneers who found new ways to express themselves on their respective instruments. Jimi redefined what the electric guitar was capable of, and to a certain extent LG did the same with slap on bass. Edited October 28, 2012 by Roland Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Hard to argue that anyone but Jaco is the bass equivalent of Hendrix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I'd agree with Jaco in terms of how he pushed boundaries beyond what anyone thought was possible with the instrument. Larry was a good groover and invented one technique but Jaco was so much more innovative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popoctave Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I'd agree that LG was the first to exploit the electrification of the bass, Jaco pushed it on then, on more of a virtuoso thing, not as easy on the ear or as popular as his forebearer though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) Don't compare. On the other hand.... I would say that LG has influenced more players than JP, as there are far more players playing slap lines than players playing fretless, chords or harmonics. And while JH influenced many guitarists, including Clapton, I think that Clapton has been the more influential guitarist of the two. Edited October 28, 2012 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulconnolly Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 So would it be more reasonable to say that Jaco = Hendrix but Graham = Les Paul? Both Graham and Les Paul established the instrument in terms of influencing future players but Hendrix like Jaco pushed the envelope of what could be done with electric guitars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popoctave Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='paulconnolly' timestamp='1351466489' post='1851585'] So would it be more reasonable to say that Jaco = Hendrix but Graham = Les Paul? Both Graham and Les Paul established the instrument in terms of influencing future players but Hendrix like Jaco pushed the envelope of what could be done with electric guitars? [/quote] Les Paul established the Les Paul, Jaco established the fretless but LG INVENTED FUNK as we know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='popoctave' timestamp='1351468115' post='1851614'] Les Paul established the Les Paul, Jaco established the fretless but LG INVENTED FUNK as we know it. [/quote] I think James Brown had quite a bit to do with it as well! I agree that the comparisons are a bit crazy, Jaco always gets lumped in with Hendrix though and it's probably a bit more apt than the LG comparison IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 One of the things I love about Hendrix was his use of effects and weird guitar sounds, and I like to think this was as important/influencial as his actual playing. Same goes for Larry Graham on bass, so in that respect, it's a good comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 It's all a bit silly really isn't it? Bass just doesn't have an equivalent figure to Hendrix because it's not normally a lead instrument in pop and rock. Jaco was on the jazz scene so very different. Closest to Hendrix in terms of changing the way people played? Maybe Jamerson, but he was hardly a pioneer of the possibilities of electrified sound - OTOH Hendrix did that, the fact it was on guitar is almost secondary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hendrix was just something else, a real pioneer. Larry Graham is a hell of a player and has a voice like God, but you can't compare him to Hendrix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 It's a throwaway statement. No more point to it than saying Larry Graham did for bass what Nancy Sinatra did for boots, or Bernard Matthews did for British turkey farming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1351510598' post='1851857'] Hendrix was just something else, a real pioneer. Larry Graham is a hell of a player and has a voice like God, but you can't compare him to Hendrix. [/quote] That's what I was thinking. And like it or not, the bass as an instrument just doesn't have the same standing as the electric guitar. My mum at 78 has heard of Hendrix, and my 16 year old nephew wears a hendrix T-shirt, but I've never met anyone other than bass players who have even heard of Larry Graham. (great player though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 (edited) Most of the people who write these articIes havent a clue on the subject they write. Hendrix and graham are totally different like an orange and a banana. Jimmy hendrix was great but i think the myth gets blown out of proportion sometimes,there were loads of session men (which was what hendrix was) who could do what hendrix did,its just he got the breaks and the chance to expand. Edited October 29, 2012 by YouMa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisthebass Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1351459388' post='1851478'] I'd agree with Jaco in terms of how he pushed boundaries beyond what anyone thought was possible with the instrument. Larry was a good groover and invented one technique but Jaco was so much more innovative. [/quote] Agree - Pastorius was a pioneer when he was the top of his game before drugs & bipolar became an issue. If his overdose hadn't killed him, Hendrix would have been working with the likes of Gil Evans & Miles Davis - probably would have been the first mainstream rock guitarist to cross over into the field of Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1351522022' post='1852096'] ....Hendrix would have been working with the likes of Gil Evans & Miles Davis - probably would have been the first mainstream rock guitarist to cross over into the field of Jazz.... [/quote] Second, John McLaughlin had already done that when he joined Tony Williams' Lifetime in 1969. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 He looks great for 66! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1351512876' post='1851911'] It's a throwaway statement. No more point to it than saying Larry Graham did for bass what Nancy Sinatra did for boots, or Bernard Matthews did for British turkey farming. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Mornington Crescent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mornington Crescent? How did you get there so quickly and what rules did you play by?[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'd of thought that Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce and John Entwhistle had a major hand in defining what bass was about, for me anyway. [/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1351557451' post='1852708'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'd of thought that Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce and John Entwhistle had a major hand in defining what bass was about, for me anyway. [/font][/color] [/quote] I don't know. Putting aside my personal feelings towards their playing,McCartney was hugely influenced by what Jamerson was doing and Jack Bruce was basically taking Jazz and Blues and applying them to a rock style. I think they were important players within their genres(Entwistle too,despite me not liking him) but in the same way,so was Larry Graham. Graham was as important to funk as Bruce was to Rock,but with the added spice of (possibly) creating a whole new playing technique that has spread throughout music. But,calling him the 'Hendrix of Bass' is just wrong. Magazines have been saying that for years about Jaco and that's wrong too.They each brought their own thing. Larry Graham does what he does,and does it very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 was anyone else using effects on bass like LG before he did it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I suppose that it all depends on when you first picked up a bass as to who influenced you. I started playing in 1965 so those were my influences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Hendrix is familiar by name to at least 95% of non-musicians who listen to rock music, and his work is familiar to 95% of musicians who play guitar. Jaco is familiar by name to less than 5% of non-musicians who listen to rock music, and his work is familiar to 5% of musicians who play bass. One of these days I'll have to get round to having a listen to him. McCartney, Wyman, or Entwistle would be the ones who got the popular recognition, and I wouldn't exactly describe McCartney or Wyman as mould-breaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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