Maybe for Jazz.
For rock, its a tossup between Geddy Lee and Lemmy.

That's the best bass player I ever heard. He's playin' so sweet, I'm gettin' chubby.

/^[pops]

Jaco was the greatest bass player. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.

Joystk: Jaco was the greatest bass player. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.

What about Joe Satriani?

/God bless Joe Zawinul...

EvilEyeBall: Joystk: Jaco was the greatest bass player. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.

What about Joe Satriani?

/God bless Joe Zawinul...

Satch plays guitar.

Joystk: EvilEyeBall: Joystk: Jaco was the greatest bass player. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.

What about Joe Satriani?

/God bless Joe Zawinul...

Satch plays guitar.

... I know...

He and Wooten are both Gods when it comes to bass.

Stanley Clark and i beg to differ

SilentStrider: Maybe for Jazz.
For rock, its a tossup between Geddy Lee and Lemmy.

You mean it's a tossup for 3rd place behind Mike Watt and Fish?

Meh.

filth: Mike Watt

Nice I came here to say this. The Minutemen blow my mind everyday.

I also like Darryl Jenifer a ton.

I love those sweet vintage ACOUSTIC bass amps in the backline.

Have any of the fark bassists here tried out the recently reissued vintage ACOUSTIC bassamps? They are only available at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend (online) and are very cheaply priced.

Their low price makes me skeptical but they look almost EXACTLY like 70s ACOUSTIC bass rigs.

btw--for you youngsters:
ACOUSTIC means Acoustic Control Corporation, NOT as in an amp for acoustic guitars. ACOUSTIC bass amps were regarded as the loudest and most thundering pro rigs back in the day. (along with SUNNO))) AMPEG and TRAYNOR)

Legend has it that an ACOUSTIC bass amp with the original massive 18" folded horn speaker cabinet could blow out a match at fifteen yards when you hit a low note.

Jaco,John Paul Jones,Larry Graham and many others played ACOUSTIC.

Right on, subby.....even though I like James Jamerson better.

Jaco is damn good.

But there's a lot of other good ones out there...

Personally, I like Stanley Clarke and Les Claypool. James Jameson was badass, too.

John Pattatuci and Marcus Miller are really good. Larry Graham and Bootsy. HELLO!!!

/We likes the funk
/Gotta have that funk

Anyway, it's silly to say "best" without putting in a style.

For example, Cliff Burton was "the best" at doing his thing.

So, Jaco is "the best" at Jaco stuff. But he doesn't lay down a grove like Bootsy or Jameson....


But the BEST bass player ever, obviously, Adam Clayton FTW.

HoboSong: Right on, subby.....even though I like James Jamerson better.

I read that as Jenna Jameson for some reason.

The Billdozer: HoboSong: Right on, subby.....even though I like James Jamerson better.

I read that as Jenna Jameson for some reason.

hahah ... i actually spelt the last name thusly.

/doh

Oh .. that Paz chick, in Zwan and in A Perfect Circle, I think she's on the list for being hot and feisty... good bass player, too

NICE (new window)

Tom Kennedy is damn good. He out-Jacos Jaco on this tune. (new window)

I've tried my best to purge absolutes from my opinions on musical talent (I mean, it's not sports, where it's clear who's the greatest in most cases.) But then, there's John Entwistle.

filth: You mean it's a tossup for 3rd place behind Mike Watt and Fish?

no and no. Geddy and Lemmy are gods. Anybody else in rock is a step below that.

Except maybe Flea, I'd put him a half step below.

I never met Jaco, though we were in high school in the same county for a time. I was in Florida when he was beaten to death by a bouncer at a nightclub. Still makes me sad to think of it.

SilentStrider: filth: You mean it's a tossup for 3rd place behind Mike Watt and Fish?

no and no. Geddy and Lemmy are gods. Anybody else in rock is a step below that.

Except maybe Flea, I'd put him a half step below.

You need to listen to Minute Men, Firehose, and Fishbone. Actually, I was listening to some old The Who songs the other day, and I was reminded how damn good Entwistle was.

Jaco for jazz

James for soul

and It's BOOTSY, BAY-BAY! for funk.

Great rock? Butch Trucks - style in a genre that has none.

Rock is the simplest bass out there; Trucks jazz/soul underpinnings
makes (made) him the best.

mfaby: Great rock? Butch Trucks - style in a genre that has none.

Rock is the simplest bass out there; Trucks jazz/soul underpinnings
makes (made) him the best.

Ummm, Butch Trucks is a drummer.

John Wetton [wetton/bruford era King Crimson, U.K.]

Jack Bruce [Cream]

Lemmy [Hawkwind, Motorhead]

Geddy Lee [Rush]

John Entwhislte [The Who]

Tony Levin [Peter Gabriel, King Crimson]

Tina Wheymouth [Talking Heads]

Chris Squire [Yes]

Jaco was incredible, obviously, but for my money, Victor Wooten is the best EVAR.

Submitted for your approval:

Amazing Grace solo
Bass/guitar slap battle with brother Regi
Guesting on DMB's #41 (sound is a little shiatty, sorry)

Sorry for my wrath but:


Claiming somebody can "out-Jaco" on a song Jaco wrote three decades ago reeks of ignorance.

I am sick and tired of clueless f*ck-tards claiming sh*t like that.

"...blah...blah...so and so can out Hendrix Jimi or out Jaco Jaco...blah...blah..."

Pure idiotic hogwash.

You can't "OUT" innovate an original innovator.
Innovators are called "innovators" for innovating stuff out of nothing.
I have news for you -- it will never be 1974 again.
You can not push the envelope on the electric bass like that again. Jaco innovated a musical instrument that was still basically new. Bass players today have 60 years of electric bass playing to draw from. When Jaco began there was only less than 18. Jaco was totally original with his mastery of the fretless,sliding harmonics and melodic chords and double stops.
NOBODY HAD DONE ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THAT BEFORE

The ONLY way you can "out" some innovator is you will have to wait for a totally new form of music to be born and a completely new musical instrument to be invented and then push the envelope while still within the new music's infancy.

No love for les or sting yet

No nuh-uhs here. He's maybe tied with Charlie Mingus for the position, but he's at least one of the best.

/Used To Be A Cha-Cha > you

craigdamage: Claiming somebody can "out-Jaco" on a song Jaco wrote three decades ago reeks of ignorance.

I am sick and tired of clueless f*ck-tards claiming sh*t like that.

Hey, yaknow what? F*ck off. It's a figure of speech, asshole. Also, Jaco didn't write The Chicken, PeeWee Ellis did.

I am sick and tired of clueless f*ck-tards claiming sh*t like that.

Third_Uncle_Eno: Tina Wheymouth [Talking Heads]

Ha ha, no.

How come there is a bass jerk off thread every other week or so? It's getting a little old.

Great player, but not too much of a song writer.

Also drug and alcohol abuse didn't help. Probably kept him from greater success. All that potential burnt up.

Ellis/Pastorius share credit on that one. Don't argue,we have friends like wiki for verification you know.

Sorry for the insult bro (how could I really insult a man with JPJ as moniker?)

However,you must admit spitting in the wind with your "out" claim.

I do not deny I really enjoyed your link though.
Tight,technical and superb.

Nobody mentioned John Paul Jones? I would say I like Stanley Clarke over Jacoffo just because stanley plays all different kinds of basses, from standup to piccolo. He also does alot of slap and finger tapping. But Jaco is the king of fretless Js. I also like Micheal Manring.

craigdamage: Ellis/Pastorius share credit on that one. Don't argue,we have friends like wiki for verification you know.

Actually, Jaco's credit is only the Soul Intro he added. Ellis wrote the tune. And yes, Wikipedia does have verification: "Ellis's composition "The Chicken" was made famous by the electric bass player Jaco Pastorius, who recorded it on his album Invitation." ^cite

Jaco (especially with Joni Mitchell, of all people)
JPJ
John Entwistle (he was actually playing horn parts on the bass)
Paul McCartney
Rick Danko (check out the Last Waltz for some insane fretless playing)

That's about it for me.

Dwight_Yeast: Jaco (especially with Joni Mitchell, of all people)
JPJ
John Entwistle (he was actually playing horn parts on the bass)
Paul McCartney
Rick Danko (check out the Last Waltz for some insane fretless playing)

That's about it for me.


Holy farking fark. Thats pretty farking close to my lineup (except you're missing James Jameson up at the top, and the honorable mentions for Lesh and Cassidy)

Add me to the McCartney, Jamerson, Danko squad...

but add Bill Black and Willie Dixon please.

I always think it is hard to rate musicians. I think a broad category is more accurate. You can say Jaco, The Ox, JPJ, etc. are all first rate players. But how can you compare across music styles? The best you can say is "xxx's" playing means the most to me. For example, my favorite bass lines have been by James Jamerson. But that doesn't mean that I thought Jaco was better or worse.

Here is James backing the Jackson 5 on Darling Dear (new window)

But I must say that I am looking for future greats too:
Little Tal has been impressing me recently. Here she is with Jeff Beck (new window)

Jeff Berlin is certainly underrated as a jazz bassist.

Link (new window)

Would have picked a longer clip, but I was at this show, so I used this one.

<i>John Paul Jones 2009-01-18 04:26:01 PM
mfaby: Great rock? Butch Trucks - style in a genre that has none.

Rock is the simplest bass out there; Trucks jazz/soul underpinnings
makes (made) him the best.

Ummm, Butch Trucks is a drummer.</i>

See? thats how important bass to rock and roll: the DRUMMER can do it.

Anyway. my bad. Barry Oakley for the correction and my comment about him still stands.

The_Philosopher_King: I always think it is hard to rate musicians. I think a broad category is more accurate. You can say Jaco, The Ox, JPJ, etc. are all first rate players. But how can you compare across music styles? The best you can say is "xxx's" playing means the most to me. For example, my favorite bass lines have been by James Jamerson. But that doesn't mean that I thought Jaco was better or worse.

Here is James backing the Jackson 5 on Darling Dear (new window)

But I must say that I am looking for future greats too:
Little Tal has been impressing me recently. Here she is with Jeff Beck (new window)

Well Darling Dear, in my opinion, should be the benchmark. Sure, you have your Geddy Lee's doing some really neat sounding stuff with a good taste for axe and amps, but he's not in the same league.

Jaco, is incredible, but a complete showoff, and his hot-doggin' took away from his bass playing to the point where he's great as a model on how to play the horns with a bass, but also how to bore the audience with vibrato, harmonics, and other useless self-masterbetory bass tricks

I'm playing Okonkole y Trompa at my recital, so I'm getting a kick out of this.

Tom Kennedy used to host games shows in the 60s. And he played bass? Is there anything TV stars can't do?

Came for the Rush fanboys. Not disappointed. Now get back out there, your camaro needs waxing and you're late to your job at AutoZone!

Magnetar: This guy is pretty good:



/hot

Yellowjackets, sweet.

The_Philosopher_King: Little Tal has been impressing me recently. Here she is with Jeff Beck (new window)

The annoying thing about her is that she's a good player -- but not that good. A male musician with her talent (in the jazz field, anyway) wouldn't go nearly as far as fast.

John Paul Jones: The annoying thing about her is that she's a good player -- but not that good. A male musician with her talent (in the jazz field, anyway) wouldn't go nearly as far as fast.

I'm not so sure. She has had positive reviews of her solo work from Bass Player magazine and has gotten gigs with top performers. Not just Jeff Beck, but Jazz greats like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and also non-jazz performers like Susan Tedeschi and Steve Vai. I don't think she would have gotten those gigs if she was just average. I am sure the "little white Aussie girl" effect opened some doors for her, but she held her own once opened

HoboSong: Well Darling Dear, in my opinion, should be the benchmark.

Me too, it kills me to think of all the people that thought that was Jermaine playing