Bass Player is the world's most comprehensive, trusted and insightful bass publication for passionate bassists and active musicians of all ages. Each issue delivers the latest tips and techniques that are guaranteed to make you a better player.
When did the bass guitar truly come into its own? That’s a question which has led to many a discussion here over the years. The instrument first came into being in 1951, courtesy of L. Fender; it found its place in the Sixties; and it went stratospheric in the Eighties, as the state of the bass-making art took advantage of new technologies. Somewhere in the middle is where bass players finally took control of their frequencies, as well as some belonging to other musicians; and what a glorious explosion of creativity it was, for those of us old enough to see it. Welcome, then, to our look-back to the Seventies, the decade when bass grew up. Suzi Quatro is our guide, followed up by Timothy B. Schmit, Colin Bass of…
"My style just evolved. It wasn't something that I thought about" Tower Of Power are one of the most compelling funk bands ever formed, a large part of which is due to their former bass player Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia, who died on September 29 at the age of 69. His bass style, the band’s secret weapon, had to be seen to be believed, based as it was on super-dexterous picking, heavy muting and fills that defied all explanation—all delivered with supreme accuracy. TOP’s best-known song, ‘What Is Hip?’, is a perfect showcase for his playing: check it out before reading on, if you don’t have it running through your head already, of course. “People seem to associate me with ‘What Is Hip?’” he told me a couple of years ago.…
Gary Peacock, who performed alongside Albert Ayler, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Tony Williams, and many others, died on September 4 at the age of 85. Peacock was born in Burley, Idaho on May 12, 1935, and grew up in Yakima, Washington. By high school he was playing trumpet, piano, and drums, and after graduation attended the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles before being drafted into the Army. While stationed in Germany he played drums in a jazz trio, but was convinced to switch to bass after the group’s bassist left. Peacock later moved to LA, eventually playing with jazz figureheads like Barney Kessel, Art Pepper and Bud Shank, before relocating to New York in the Sixties. He had a long partnership with Canadian free jazz pianist Paul Bley.…
"When we recorded Bowie’s album The Man Who Sold The World in 1970, we felt we had had enough with the folk-rock influence of his previous Space Oddity album. We had met guitarist Mick Ronson during the mixing sessions, and we were very impressed with him. We wanted the next one to sound a lot tougher and more experimental. “Mick Ronson insisted I played like Jack Bruce. I rose to the occasion” “Mick really loved Cream and extolled their virtues. He insisted from the beginning of the album, ‘If we’re going to play in the same band, you’d better listen to Jack Bruce’. I did, and I think I rose to the occasion. Mick also told us all about Woody Woodmansey, who got the job as drummer. “The songs came…
BRYANT WILDER SOLO BASSIST, FUNK ENTHUSIAST My first bass was an inexpensive, no-name, short scale, J-style bass, that was sunburst with a super-high action. My first ‘real’ bass was a Fender Antigua Jazz; to this day, I wish I still owned it. Mr. Ken Smith built my first custom four-string bass made from African bubinga. I have also owned a wood grain, four-string Atelier-Z and a six-string Yamaha with overhauled electronics. My rig is all Epifani. “James Jamerson's bass-lines will be hummed long after we're gone. He was the greatest ever” To me, James Jamerson was the greatest bass player ever. For years, most people, including bass players, had no idea who was playing bass on those tunes coming out of Detroit. There are not many genres where tunes are…
Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler, born in 1949, has seen and done it all when it comes to the humble bass guitar. A founder member of the first ever heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, he formed a rock-solid foundation with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward that has influenced countless acts ever since. In between stints with Sabbath, he recorded and toured with Heaven And Hell, the post-Sabbath band featuring Ronnie James Dio on vocals, recorded three solo albums and guested with Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne. Lately he’s been playing in a new project called Deadland Ritual, armed with a formidable arsenal of bass gear from Lakland and Ashdown. Now 71, he’s a sober, pleasant chap – a long way from the pure rock’n’roll lifestyle he lived in the Seventies, when…
