The Jazz Bass Book: Technique and Tradition

by John Goldsby

Overview

(Book). More than a player's manual, this book portrays jazz bass as a vital element of 20th century American music. Citing examples from key recordings in the jazz canon, the book defines the essence of the musical contributions made by more than 70 important jazz bassists, including Ray Brown, Eddie Gomez, Charles Mingus, Milt Hinton and many others. Bassists get expert guidance on mastering proper technique, practice methods and improvisation, plus new insight into the theoretical and conceptual aspects of jazz. The companion online audio features bass plus rhythm section which allows readers to hear technical examples from the book. Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879307165
Publisher:	Backbeat
Publication date:	09/01/2002
Series:	Bass Player Musician's Library
Edition description:	BOOK & CD
Pages:	242
Sales rank:	647,909
Product dimensions:	8.39(w) x 10.89(h) x 0.55(d)

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
	Preface: Bass Is Beautiful	ix
	Intro	xi
Section 1	The History	1
Chapter 1	Walking Through the Years	3
Chapter 2	It's Got to Be Bop!	10
	I Be Bop, You Be Bop: Learning the Language	11
Chapter 3	A Matter of Trust: Five Classic Rhythm Sections	16
	It Takes Guts: Playing Acoustic Acoustically	19
Section 2	The Players	21
Chapter 4	The Early New Orleans Bassists	23
Chapter 5	Wellman Braud	25
Chapter 6	John Kirby	27
Chapter 7	The Tuba in Jazz	29
Chapter 8	Walter Page	31
Chapter 9	The Basie Bassists	34
Chapter 10	Bob Haggart	36
Chapter 11	Slam Stewart	39
Chapter 12	Milt Hinton	43
Chapter 13	Benny Goodman and the Swing Bassists	48
Chapter 14	Jimmy Blanton	49
	The Ellington Bassists on Record	51
Chapter 15	Israel Crosby	54
Chapter 16	Oscar Pettiford	56
Chapter 17	The Beboppers: Curly Russell, Gene Ramey, and Tommy Potter	60
Chapter 18	Eddie Safranski	62
Chapter 19	Chubby Jackson	63
Chapter 20	Ray Brown	64
Chapter 21	Harry Babasin	68
Chapter 22	Afro-Cuban Bass	70
Chapter 23	The Cello in Jazz	72
Chapter 24	Paul Chambers	74
Chapter 25	Doug Watkins	79
Chapter 26	Sam Jones	80
Chapter 27	Percy Heath	82
Chapter 28	Charles Mingus	84
Chapter 29	Red Callender	90
Chapter 30	Wilbur Ware	91
Chapter 31	The Thelonious Monk Bassists: Ahmed Abdul-Malik, John Ore, and Larry Gales	94
Chapter 32	Jymie Merritt	96
Chapter 33	George Morrow	97
Chapter 34	George Duvivier	98
Chapter 35	Red Mitchell	100
Chapter 36	West Coastin': Leroy Vinnegar, Monty Budwig, Monk Montgomery, Joe Mondragon, Curtis Counce, Albert Stinson, and Joe Comfort	104
Chapter 37	Scott LaFaro	108
Chapter 38	Jimmy Garrison	112
Chapter 39	Coltrane and Beyond	114
Chapter 40	The '60s Mainstays: Bob Cranshaw, Butch Warren, and Larry Ridley	117
Chapter 41	Charlie Haden	119
Chapter 42	The Avant-Garde	123
Chapter 43	Ron Carter	125
Chapter 44	Richard Davis	128
Chapter 45	Eugene Wright	129
Chapter 46	The Bill Evans Bassists: Chuck Israels, Gary Peacock, Eddie Gomez, and Marc Johnson	130
Chapter 47	Dave Holland	136
Chapter 48	Peter Ind	138
Chapter 49	The Europeans	142
Chapter 50	Wilbur Little	145
Chapter 51	Rufus Reid	146
Section 3	Technique	151
Chapter 52	Practice, Practice, Practice	152
	What's It Called?	154
	How Do You Tune It?	155
Chapter 53	Play in Tune!	156
Chapter 54	Chord Symbols and What They Mean	158
	Chord/Scale Chart	159
Chapter 55	Form, Key Centers, and Compositional Styles	160
Chapter 56	The IIm-V7 Progression	168
Chapter 57	Minor Chords and the Minor IIm-V7 Progression	172
Chapter 58	Melodic Walking Bass Lines	175
Chapter 59	Adding Rhythmic Interest to Walking Bass Lines	176
Chapter 60	Dominant 7 Chords and Scales	179
Chapter 61	Bebop Scales	180
Chapter 62	The Dominant 7 Etude	181
Chapter 63	Altered Dominant Sounds	182
Chapter 64	The Altered Blus Etude	184
Chapter 65	Arpeggio Exercises	185
Chapter 66	Major Melodies	188
Chapter 67	Where Do You Start?	190
Chapter 68	Mind Your Threes and Twos	192
Chapter 69	Sight-Reading Tricks and Tips	194
Chapter 70	Playing Standards	196
Chapter 71	Etudes Based on Common Jazz Standards	198
	Ode Drip	199
	What Impressions?	200
	The Megafun IIm-V Blues	201
	Rhythm Etude	202
	You Are All the Things	203
	Le Cannet Solo Transcription	204
	What's Up Solo Transcription	205
Chapter 72	The Coltrane Progression	206
Chapter 73	Thumb Position	210
Chapter 74	Bowing Techniques	214
Section 4	Concepts	217
Chapter 75	Swing Is the Thing	218
Chapter 76	Integrity, Dedication, Respect, Competition, and Honesty	220
Chapter 77	Are You Versatile?	222
Chapter 78	Are You Creative?	224
	Epilogue/Dedication	226
	On the CD	227