LearnGospelMusic.com Community
Gospel Instruments => Bass Guitar => Topic started by: Pearldrummer1 on April 22, 2006, 08:47:38 PM
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These 3 to me are the best of the best, and the cream of the crop, not to degrade any one else, but these are just the guys I grew up to learn from. So anyway I was listening to them all the other day, and they all play so different, Jaco with the sound of the wood and his harmonics, Miller with his slap technique, and Wooten with is overall quickness, and chords. So out of Curiosity which one (OUT OF THE THREE) would you choose? Give me your opinions, because if it were my choice they'd all be a threeway tie at #1.
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I'd say Wooten, he is the only one that I've heard that can copy all the greats. He has showcased all the different styles of music that he can play.
My opinion if you can do all that fancy slappin and solo stuff but can't play a simple bluegrass groove in 3/4 I can't call you great.
This point has nothing to do with the other 2 fellow you like, I too like them. I just picked my fav. of the three and gave a few reasons.
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Those 3 are nice, but Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Andrew Gouche are the ones who
motivates me. Larry Graham and Louis Johnson too.
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for me it would have to be marcus miller, he does stuff that i feel i can use the most in church service.
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My introduction to Marcus came from some of David Sanborn's earlier albums. His style can go
from smooth (It's You from the Voyeur album) to heavy on the dance (any Luther Vandross).
Jaco was more to bass the way "Bird" was to sax. A lot of his technique was based from his
reading music charts for trombone and combining with bebop grooves. I got to see that up
close and personal because he used to frequent the studio where I recorded in the 80's and
a colleague of mine has the infamous "Mystery Bass" that was talked about in Bass Player.
Victor is a whole 'nutha breed in bass. His flavor is like Heavenly Hash ice cream...it's all in there.
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bootsy rocks.. ;D
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I would have to say Victor. He can play any style of music. He can play lilke Jaco, listen to him play "Portrait of Tracy". He can slap just like Marcus. Actually, he has his own style of slapping. They all are excellent bassists, but Vic can do it all. He can take a scale and turn it into a grove.
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I would have to say Marcus hands down!!! His groove is unmistakable. He has the type of groove that gets all down in ya kneck and makes ya head just sway. He is soooo smooth also, and if you wanna talk about soloing listen to his solo projects and see how smooth his solos are. Not taking anything away from the others that were mentioned but I personally have to say that Marcus Miller is my favourite. I had the priveledge of meeting Victor Wooten and he was so cool and humble. In the short time that I had to chat with him, he inspired me greatly!
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I like Marcus more than Victor. I like Victor's technique and all, but his music just doesn't feel as "right" to me. It seems to other-spiritual. I know...I may sound weird. I have Bass Day 98, but I don't have any of Victor's cd. I listened to them, but couldn't bring myself to buy any. I have both the latest Miller cds.
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I don't see how you can compare for the title of #1
JACO
Jaco changed the way Bass was played. He began a change in it's role and opened doors for it's possibilities. Though I've never seen Jaco live. I've seen him on video and I have his music. At first I did not care for it. Maybe it was a generational thing but once I really got into understanding music and theory. All I can say is WOW. His speed and harmonic compositions were incredible for his time. Donna Lee and Portrait of Tracy still blow me away.
VICTOR
I see Victor as taking the intrument to the next level after Jaco. If you've never seen him live. It does no justice to what you hear on CD. He has such a wide range of abilities on the instrument. He can duplicate almost anyones sound. His musical knowledge is tremendous with his use of time signatures changes and rythmic variations. If you've never heard Bela Fleck...your missing something. If you're like me it's hard to enjoy the sound of a banjo, but they are one of the most encredibly musical groups around today. Victor is pioneer for the versatility of the bass.
MARCUS
I saved Marcus for last because to me he my favorite. Not because of his slapping. Though I think that he is the "King Thumb Slinger". I'm not really all that into Slap that much. But he has accomplished so much. You cannot hardly go through a day without hearing something that he played on or that was copied from something he played on. His solo CD's are great but his stat sheet far outways his solo projects. From commercials to movie scores to almost any of the major players in Jazz. Marcus has played on it or with them. His versitily makes him the musicians bassist. Go to Marcus' website and check out his discography. I don't know how recent it is, but it's encredible.
http://www.marcusmiller.com/disco.html (http://www.marcusmiller.com/disco.html)
I don't know if you can say who the best is but you can certainly have a favorite.
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I wouldn't even disrespect them like that... One thing I learned from being around so-called bass celebs is they don't compete. It's considered bad eticit...So I don't compare them just like I don't compare myself to anyone...Build your house upon the person Christ has made you. Everything else is sinking sand....
Peace,
T.J.
Oh...yeah I like them all.
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It's considered bad eticit...
uhm brotha Willie .. what's that? were you trying to say Etiquette? :) :)
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I won't get into who's better than who but my personal favorite is Jaco. His imagination was out of this world.
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I like Marcus more than Victor. I like Victor's technique and all, but his music just doesn't feel as "right" to me. It seems to other-spiritual. I know...I may sound weird. I have Bass Day 98, but I don't have any of Victor's cd. I listened to them, but couldn't bring myself to buy any. I have both the latest Miller cds.
Have you listen to Victor Wooton's "Soul Circus" (his latest), track 12 I believe?
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All are #1 to me b/c they all bring something different to the table when they play or played.
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jACO BECAUSE:
1st: he practically made his fretless
2nd: his harmonics have that beautiful sound that makes you go crazy over
3rd: he's just plain nice man!!!????
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Not taking anything from any of these other legendary bassist, but I gotta choose Vic. Over the years listing to bassist I just can't find anyone as well rounded. He's the only one that I can really enjoy plucking because of all the things he can do with it. He also fingers well and taps as well as anybody I've ever seen. But best of all he plays so well within a band. If you haven't heard him with the Flecktones do yourself a favor & check them out. Also his over all speed. On the Bass Extreme dvd with Vic & Steve Bailey he plays Donna Lee almost twice as fast as Jaco and it's just as clean (that's not a knock on Jaco either he's a genius). Well that's just my opinion. They're all great but Vic is my #1.
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I think that I would have to go with Jaco although Marcus Miller is my favorite because Jaco has done things that have yet to be duplicated!!! Just check out his first CD and you will see:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004VWA7/qid=1156126617/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-4410363-7916147?v=glance&s=music
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These 3 to me are the best of the best, and the cream of the crop, not to degrade any one else, but these are just the guys I grew up to learn from. So anyway I was listening to them all the other day, and they all play so different, Jaco with the sound of the wood and his harmonics, Miller with his slap technique, and Wooten with is overall quickness, and chords. So out of Curiosity which one (OUT OF THE THREE) would you choose? Give me your opinions, because if it were my choice they'd all be a threeway tie at #1.
To me, the key phrase in your post is "they all play so different" Musicians who play at the level of skill and originality that these three (and many others) play at make them incomparable. If you and I try to play the same song in the same way we could be objectively compared for our skill, timing, interpretation, etc., but when you're comparing three very different musicians of this caliber, all at the top of their game and all extremely unique in what they brought to their craft, the only real answer is the one you came up with - they're all #1. Any other answer is merely subjective.
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Life is nothing but a progression of time and over Pastorius was great for his time, Miller took it to another level and then you got Wooten is is a combination of Miller, Pastorius, and Wooten...Wooten is so great he is a combination of himself. And this is said over and over but the man is the most unique of them all and can emulate whomever he wants and play in any style....
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I favor Marcus as well. Probably because I'm an older cat and grew up listening to old school funk, soul and Motown and I feel his style is the most accessable out of the list. I dig cats like Nathan East, Scott Ambush, Jimmy 'Flim' Johnson, Wilton Felder, Bootsy, Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Mark Adams, Nathaniel Phillips and even Japanese bassist,Tetsuo Sakurai!
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I listen to Jaco more than Miller or Wooten. I started playing fretless before I moved onto fretted and Jaco was a big inspiration for me back then. I love Miller's playing, especially all the stuff he did with Miles Davis. My own personal bass tone is really modeled on his, so I could say that Miller has had an influence on my playing. Wooten...hmmm...I admire his playing, but at a distance. That guy frightens me! I don't own a lot of Wooten material. His style is somewhere that I don't feel compelled to explore. I admire the guys talents...I really do, but as impressive as his skills are to me I never had the urge to sit down and study him. I love his melodies and grooves, but all the slap, natural harmonic and tapping tricks I could live without. My friend Jon is a very skillful player and loves Wooten. A few years ago, he showed me how to play a lot of his tricks such as the thumb up/down double slap technique and how to play some of his crazy solo's using that technique. I can do that very confidently, but I very rarely find a use for it other than showing off on a bass store whilst I am test driving some gear! Wooten has elevated these kinds of techniques and made it into an art form and I do enjoy listening to his playing and I identify him as one of the best out there, but I don't feel that his techniques are a necessity for my every day playing and what I have learnt from him hasn't really influenced my own style. Everyone has their own tastes and influences for various reasons. I have always been suprised that Wooten hasn't rubbed off onto me as much as I thought he would. :-[
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I agree with Willie. Each one of these cats bring something different to the table. So you will find a lot of us "Old School" bassist are uncomfortable with saying who's best because we all have different elements to add to the mix. And if I said one is better then that's a sign of disrespect in my mind. For example I had a keyboardist to ask me to slap because that's what he liked. He didn't understand that "I do what I do" and don't try to mimick any one. So I used a "Tappng" technque that I use that "sounds" like a typical slap. He had no clue as to what I was doing. I said all that to say, I look at each player and find something I like in them regardless of skill level.
Peace
Groucho ;D
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It's got to be WOOOOOOTEN!! Marcus miller is older and very experieced, Jaco changed the history of the bass, but
Victa? he's a mystery! He was created to play the bass and has made improvements on whatever anyone has done on the bass.
He plays any music style and i love him cus he awes everone including other musicians who plays other instruments.
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All three have carved their own niche into the art of playing the bass. But it's really hard to single out one as an absolute favorite. I mean how can you leave out the man the invented thumpin' and pluckin' on the bass. The great Larry Graham. I'm sure they all had an influence on the three that this post is about.
Now I can give greatr points about all 3 such as.......
Marcus Miller: He is immortalized on recordings by Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, The Jamacia Boys, etc. His solo intro to David Sanborn's "Run For Cover" is one of my all-times faves. That is one of my "test songs" when I try out a bass in the store.
Jaco: "Portait of Tracy" is absolute genius. Who would have ever thought to compose an entire song out of harmonics, and more? One of the most beautiful songs ever written. Go on YouTube and see how many players have taped themselves "ATTEMPTING" to recreate this masterpiece.
Victor Wooten: I met this man. I was actually nervous. This man made everybody get on the ball. A crazy amount of talent. I feel he took over where Jaco left off. I went to a Prince afterparty after one of his shows. Victor Wooten was in the house. Prince called him up to sit in. Wooten was so funky, he had Prince making the "OOOOOOOOOO" face. Now if you can make Prince go nuts, you are a bad man.
I can go on and on about many other basses, but i would then have to jack this post. I will not do that. I feel you on loving the work these men have done. I just can't choose one though. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hard.
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Bass alone?, I gotta go with Vic Wooten...as Bigfoot Bigthumb stated, I have have also met Vic Wooten on several occasions and he is an absolute monster, and he is very versatile as far as the bass goes. From a few concerts with Dave Matthews band, to Bela Fleck, to gospel albums, to Jaco's big band songs. His version of Donna Lee is crazy too!! If this was for overall musicality then I would go with Marcus, because he plays so many instruments and can basically do a whole album by himself,bass, drums. keys, and horns you name it at a high level of skill with no outside help. Imagine if Jaco was still around though....He would be untouchable.