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byoung
Senior Member
Username: byoung

Post Number: 481
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 9:09 pm:   Edit Post

Hi all.

After listening to Acoustic Brew by Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey, I've been thinking that I need to flesh out my collection with regards to acoustic bass.

Genre is not important- what I'm looking for are great recordings.

I've had difficulty listening to Mingus, et al, due to poor recording quality (I know that he's great, but I just can't get past the fact that his recordings sound like AM radio to me).

So what I want is not just great music, but high fidelity recordings, too. To be clear, this does mean that the mix-the-bass-to-the-back school of recording need not apply.

I'll finish with a question: what should I be listening to?
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 119
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 9:29 pm:   Edit Post

Have you heard "Thirteen Pictures"? It's a Mingus Anthology. Amazing work. Good recordings too.

Right now my personal favarite Upright Bassist is an earthly goddess. Her name is Kristin Korb. Not only can she kill on the bass, But she's got this voice that is indescribable. I have goose bumps right now writing about it. Check her out.

If I wasn't already married to a beautiful bass player, Kristin would have to file a restraining order against me because I wouldn't leave her alone until she promised to sing to me every day for the rest of our lives.

http://www.kristinkorb.com/

Yes I have a problem. No, I don't need help. I can stop anytime. Really I can.

(Message edited by alembic_doctor on January 09, 2007)
bob
Senior Member
Username: bob

Post Number: 804
Registered: 11-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 10:03 pm:   Edit Post

I think it would still help if you said a little about your musical preferences, favorite upright players (so far), etc.

I'm also pretty serious about hi-fi (though I can listen to most Mingus recordings anyway), and of course have given extra attention to playback of bass. And over the long term, I'd say that's about 80/20 upright/electric, probably more.

What is it you would like to hear?
-Bob
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 1202
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 3:29 am:   Edit Post

Some Mingus recordings can be bad, but there are plenty of good sounding remastered CDs. Not sure if it was remastered, but certainly Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus sounds great. Funny how Wikipedia credits Mingus with starting the 60s hype of thrashing instruments on stage ...

Paul Chambers on Miles Davis/Kind of Blue. Phenomenal player, and in some parts of this recording the bass sounds incredibly deep.
dadabass2001
Senior Member
Username: dadabass2001

Post Number: 730
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 5:34 am:   Edit Post

How about Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer: "Music For Two". The 2004 live CD is several compositions by each, plus three J.S. Bach pieces "for bass and shiny guitar'. It also includes a bonus DVD with a couple of bonus cuts and "Obstinato: The Making of Music For Two" by Bela's brother Sasha.
Also check out The Chick Corea New Trio "Past, Present, & Futures" from 2001: Chick on piano, Avishai Cohen on upright, and Jeff Ballard on drums.
Mike
keith_h
Senior Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 663
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 5:44 am:   Edit Post

I'll second Adriaan on Paul Chambers. He shows up all over the place in that era. Another must have, in my mind, where he appears in John Coltrane's Giant Steps. I've always liked Chick Corea's Akoustic Band, which featured John Patitucci on Acoustic Bass.

Keith
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 987
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 6:24 am:   Edit Post

Two of my favoutites would have to be Miroslav vitus' Universal Syncopations and Christian McBride's Vertical Vision (which also has some electric bass).

graeme
flaxattack
Senior Member
Username: flaxattack

Post Number: 1351
Registered: 4-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 8:03 am:   Edit Post

paul chambers is a must esp on ellington
ray brown
ron carter
byoung
Senior Member
Username: byoung

Post Number: 482
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 8:09 am:   Edit Post

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Bob,

I'm not looking for any specific type of music, just recordings that have a prominent upright bass sound, and sound great doing it.

Extra points for recordings with bass as the lead instrument.

Bradley
southpaw
Intermediate Member
Username: southpaw

Post Number: 112
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 8:38 am:   Edit Post

Good question Bradley, I too would like to hear prominent upright bass players. Currently I am studying jazz and I agree with you, the old jazz recordings are like bad AM radio. I keep trying to listen to Paul Chambers & Ray Brown but the recordings are so poor that the bass is barely audible when the other instruments are playing.
If you know of any good jazz recordings that put the bass out front, please let me know.
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 120
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 9:39 am:   Edit Post

Hey Bob. What are you running for your HI-FI these days?
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 1996
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 9:41 am:   Edit Post

May I suggest Rob Wasserman's cds. I am very familiar with "Trios" which includes guest work by the following:

Carnie Wilson & Brian Wilson
Elvis Costello & Marc Ribot
Bruce Hornsby & Branford Marsalis
Edie Brickell & Jerry Garcia
Willie Dixon & Al Duncan .
Bob Weir & Neil Young
Les Claypool & Chris Whitley
Matt Haimovitz & Joan Jeanrenaud

He also has "Solo" and "Duets" cds out, but I haven't heard these. There is a lot of stand up, all recorded beautifully, and some very interestingly different stuff from this veritable who's who of performers.

Bill, tgo
southpaw
Intermediate Member
Username: southpaw

Post Number: 114
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 10:19 am:   Edit Post

Thanks Bill, I will listen to Rob's cd's.
jack
Intermediate Member
Username: jack

Post Number: 128
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 10:44 am:   Edit Post

Ron Carter was always one of my favorites. And his newer solo stuff is great too. I kind of prefer it to the way far out jazz of the 70s.

http://roncarter.net/officialSite.html
paulman
Intermediate Member
Username: paulman

Post Number: 168
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:39 am:   Edit Post

I'd like to suggest Jim Kerwin of the David Grisman quintet. I went to see them at COD in Glen Ellyn IL and woah, that was one Hot Dawg!

David posts free daily downloads, excellent recordings, sometimes posting things that are now out of print.

www.acousticdisc.com
jorge_s
Intermediate Member
Username: jorge_s

Post Number: 114
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:45 am:   Edit Post

Charley Haden has great recordings. Sound quality is superb. I especially enjoy the album "Beyond the Missouri Sky" with Pat Metheny. Just upright bass and guitar. Fabulous!
xlrogue6
Intermediate Member
Username: xlrogue6

Post Number: 116
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 12:06 pm:   Edit Post

If you really want to hear a mind blowing upright player, you've got to hear Alader Pege. Quick Google shows that "Winter Rose", a duet album with pianist Walter Norris is in print.
valvil
Moderator
Username: valvil

Post Number: 972
Registered: 7-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 12:29 pm:   Edit Post

I have over 60 CDs of Mingus. On the majority of them the bass sounds great, you must have had bad luck. Anything by Mingus on Impulse sounds great. The Thirteen Pictures anthology that Doc mentioned is a good buy & great sounding. The Columbia albums are great too. Unfortunately there's a lot of illegal Mingus stuff out there that looks perfectly legit & I suspect that's what you got; his wife, Sue is constantly waging a war against piracy.

Among the living I'd suggest Charlie Haden, Ron Carter, Rob Wasserman & Eddie Gomez & let's not forget Stanley who is actually a great upright player (amazing to see him do on the upright what he does on the electric!).

Among the dead, other than Mingus, Oscar Pettiford (Vienna Blues, Deep Passion), Ray Brown (his trio recordings or any of his stuff with Oscar Peterson), Paul Chambers and Nils-Henning Orsted Pedersen (who followed Ray Brown in the Peterson trio).

Valentino
flaxattack
Senior Member
Username: flaxattack

Post Number: 1354
Registered: 4-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 2:30 pm:   Edit Post

boy that guy val sure knows a lot about basses
:-)
bob
Senior Member
Username: bob

Post Number: 805
Registered: 11-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 4:09 pm:   Edit Post

Hey Bob. What are you running for your HI-FI these days?

A little off-topic, Doc, but relevant I guess if we're talking about listing to upright bass recordings...

CD player: Ayre D-1xe (also happens to be a world class DVD player)
Pre: Ayre K-1xe
Amp: Ayre V-3
Speakers: Aerial 10T
cables: Cardas Golden Cross (including most power cords)
power: two dedicated circuits with isolated grounds, a couple of Richard Gray Power Company "conditioners"
various acoustic treatments, some purchased, some designed/built myself

The Ayre components were actually acquired over the course of 8-10 years, a few years between each, and the CD/DVD and preamp were sent back for upgrades a couple of times. It's, uhmm, a pretty nice setup.

Now then, the music is what really matters. I'll have to approach this in installments, since it looks like I have about 900 jazz CDs... Here are some of the easy ones to start with.

Dave Holland has been my favorite bassist for more than a decade, as well as a great composer and bandleader. To get a good sense of all that, try "Dave Holland Quintet/Extended Play Live at Birdland". 2 disc set recorded (live :-) in 2003, with a great bunch of musicians who had been playing together for years. Terrific sound, not much audience intrusion, much of the time you could believe it was an excellent studio recording. Great music and performances throughout, one of my favorite recordings of the last few years.

In a duet setting (with piano), "Milcho Leviev and Dave Holland/Up & Down". Recorded live in Tokyo 1987, on the "MA Recordings" label. Anything on this label is pretty much guaranteed to be sonically outstanding (I just wish they had a larger catalog). Fabulous playing by both these guys, sound is about as good and natural as it gets. I can't recommend this highly enough.

If you just want Holland playing bass in your living room, his solo album "Ones All" would work. This one is thoughtful, introspective, a very intimate recording - I suppose you have to be in the mood for it, but if you are, then it really does sound like he's right there in the room. I could go on about Holland indefinitely, I have tons of his stuff.

Charlie Haden: yes, "Beyond the Missouri Sky" came to mind almost immediately (I still seem to be filing that one under Metheny, but it's a toss up). In a piano duet setting, "Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron/Night and the City" is a terrific live recording, great sound, beautiful music, sort of late-night nightclub stuff. My guess is many of you here would also enjoy "Charlie Haden & Hank Jones/Steal Away", subtitled "spirituals, hymns, and folk songs".

Of course there is tons of Haden (some more accessible than others), and I pulled out a few others to review but for emphasis on bass those three are a great start (and I assume I still get the extra credit points since the bassist shares the title credit, right?).

For our friend Stanley, if you haven't yet then you really must check out the first two Return to Forever albums - I still think this is some of Stanley's best work ever. The first one, self-titled "Return to Forever", has some lengthy upright solos, nice stuff. You've probably heard him play some of this stuff since, but perhaps (depending on your taste) never quite as well.

"Light as a Feather" is described by some as one of those "perfect albums", and his playing is fantastic throughout, though even more notably for being one of the instruments on equal footing. (By the way, he apparently plays electric and upright on both of these recordings, but I have to admit that it's sometimes hard to tell... if anyone can clarify that for me, I'd appreciate it.)

"The Rite of Strings" has good, and prominent, upright sound, though I find it a little boring and tend to listen to it as background music.

I've sort of lost touch with Christian McBride, but was a big fan in his early sideman years. The first one that came to mind was "Joe Henderson/Lush Life, The Music of Billy Strayhorn", which opens with a beautiful duet of Henderson and McBride, though McBride is solid throughout. (When I saw Henderson live shortly after this, I was disappointed McBride wasn't on the bill - but Larry Grenadier did not disappoint in the slightest.) And while we're at it, "Joe Henderson/So Near, So Far - Musings for Miles" has my friend Holland on bass, plus John Scofield and Al Foster, all very tasteful stuff.

I'm a huge fan of Patricia Barber (pianist, vocalist, composer), and I'm surprised her long time bassist, Michael Arnopol, isn't better known. He's not flashy, but I always feel like playing after hearing him, and the sound quality on Barber's recordings is always top-notch. Really, you should just buy all of them, it's too hard to pick one. But since we're looking for prominent upright work, on "Cafe Blue" she covers "Ode to Billy Joe", with just voice, someone doing fingersnaps, and Arnopol on bass - I use this for evaluating my system and room acoustics. Just for fun, on "A Distortion of Love", Marc Johnson happens to be the bassist and they do a sweet version of "My Girl". The story here is that between songs, Marc was noodling the bass line to it for practice, and they sent someone out to pick up the sheet music so they could record it.

Or you could go with "Companion", a live recording (with Barber on organ rather than usual piano), with several covers, including "The Beat Goes On", "Use Me" (Bill Withers), and even "Black Magic Woman". Lots of tasteful bass work throughout, more solos and stuff than usual.

Despite all these odd covers (and they really do work), she is truly a first class jazz musician and composer, and for that sake my first three choices would be "Verse", or "Live: A Fortnight in France", or "Modern Cool" (which includes "Light My Fire" and "She's a Lady"!). Her latest, "Mythologies", is again excellent and pushing in some new directions, but I wouldn't choose it for upright bass.

Let's see, what next? I generally stay away from recordings by Brian Bromberg under his own name (I guess I lose extra credit points here...), though I find "Wood" to be a fun album, all upright, well-recorded and definitely prominent. I somewhat regret that I relented and bought "Wood II"... but he has done some outstanding work as a straight-ahead sideman, a great example being "Alan Broadbent/You and the Night and the Music". Another high quality recording, great playing by the trio, and very fine work including numerous solos by Bromberg.

It's not that hard to find Ray Brown recordings that sound great - try anything on either the Concord or Telarc labels. And don't forget the classic "Sonny Rollins/Way Out West". If you just can't get enough upright, I think he has at least two "Super Bass" recordings (I only have a couple of tracks on a bonus disc, but they are fun).

Glen Moore does some interesting stuff. I have all three volumes of the group called "MOKAVE", some of which might be a little out there depending on your tastes, but these are AudioQuest recordings, great sound. I think Vol. 3 is my least favorite, I'd probably start with Vo. 1, but I really enjoy all of them. (Heads up: in case you're inspired to play, it might be helpful to know that he tunes his upright - built in 1715 - as CADC.) However, I haven't listened to his solo "Dragonneti's Dream" in a few years, which suggests it wasn't a favorite.

For Scott LaFaro, I might choose "Bill Evans Trio/Sunday at the Village Vanguard" just slightly over "Waltz for Debby", but that's a tough call. The safer bet would be to pick up the 3 disc "The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961" to get both of those and more, with an outstanding remastering job on Riverside.

I think I need a break here. I'll review a little and see what I can come up with for guys such as Gary Peacock, Vitous, Eddie Gomez, Cecil McBee, George Mraz, the list just goes on and on... and maybe a few more obscure but deserving players.

-Bob
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 124
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 5:58 pm:   Edit Post

I think Bob gets the award for longest post ever.

Bob, I'd love to check your system out sometime.

Am I the only Kristin Korb fan?
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 4689
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 6:17 pm:   Edit Post

I thought I would add one comment that I think is on point to the original question.

First I should mention that I do have some low frequency hearing loss in one ear.

Miles' "Kind of Blue" is one of my favorite albums for a lot of reasons. It's been a big influence on my music education.

When I listen to "Kind of Blue", I like to listen to Miles of course, and Coltrane, and Evans (and Kelly), and Cannonball, and Jimmy Cobb. But I have a hard time listening to the 1950's era recording of the bass. And I'm guessing this is Bradley's concern.

So while I highly recommend Kind Of Blue, I'm not sure it meets the criteria, as I infer it, that Bradley sets out in the initial post. However, the fact that I don't think it meets the criteria may actually be of little value in the overall scheme of things.

And I should mention that I'm speaking from recollection; I haven't actually listened to the album recently, and my memory is notoriously suspect.
dannobasso
Senior Member
Username: dannobasso

Post Number: 438
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 6:44 pm:   Edit Post

I find that many upright players have intonation (fingering) styles that direct my attention away from the performance. This may be an intentional expression that i can't appreciate. I do find that Pattitucci and Meyer have excellent technique and I really enjoy their soloing. I've been meaning to get an NS 5 to explore that aspect of playing and develope further.
This post shows me I have a bit of catching up to do with many performers. Oh. btw Oregon's Out of the Woods has always been a fave album.
bob
Senior Member
Username: bob

Post Number: 807
Registered: 11-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:57 pm:   Edit Post

Dave, exactly what version of Kind of Blue do you have? I've been through original vinyl, and at least 4 (maybe 5) CD versions. The first CD issue was absolute crap, but at least the last couple have been very good. I'm still having a little trouble figuring out exactly how many notes Chambers plays in that introduction section of So What, but there are a lot more than I ever imagined. A recent version, and good headphone playback, would probably do the trick, he's really good throughout.

Pattitucci is maturing very nicely, and rapidly moving up in my list of favorites. If you're a real jazz fan, not just starting out, check him out on a few of the more recent Wayne Shorter albums, notably "Footprints Live". Not that he's the standout here, but this is some really great stuff all around and he's a big part of it.

Doc, I'm forever indebted (Doc was my Alembic dealer), so email me sometime and we'll work it out. Things are a little hectic right now, but try me once the weather warms up a bit.
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 128
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 12:05 am:   Edit Post

You're on Bob. Things are hectic for me too. I'm still at work trying to nail down an Audio / Lighting / Multi-Media / Acoustics design for a new Church thats being built on the Fast Track. They gave me adeposit last week and they have not yet approved or seen a design. I love Faith.
darkstar01
Member
Username: darkstar01

Post Number: 63
Registered: 6-2005
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 12:55 am:   Edit Post

Personally, I think by ignoring the records from the past masters just because of recording quality, you're missing out on a large fraction of the beautiful bass playing that has been recorded in the history of the instrument.
I primarily play upright, and listen to a LOT of older jazz material, and i rarely have a problem with hearing the bass on records past the bird era (although i will agree at that point it was bassically a bass drum as far as the recordings are concerned).
Anyway, I cant help but throw in a list of players and bass records I would suggest to anyone trying to get into it, and seeing how most of the records and players I would suggest have been named, I'll try a few you may not know, in no particular order.
Don Thompson on Jim Hall Live!... one of the most melodic bass players I've ever heard, and he plays piano extremely well, but not on this record.
Larry Grenadier with the Brad Mehldau Trio on anything they've recorded, really. Larry is an awesome player and a fantastic guy who i had the opportunity to meet last year after a trio show. He plays with lots and lots of people, but I always like to plug Mehldau.
Charnett Moffett with McCoy Tyner on Land Of Giants.. Charnett is one of the most technically hypnotizing bass players I've ever seen, on acoustic or electric. He likes to slap with his bow, and It's very interesting.
I saw some people named Christian McBride, another one of my favorites, but I didnt see a mention of his newer record Live At Tonic. Its pretty incredible, and I'd suggest any fan of fusion, jam, or jazz check it out soon.
Dave Holland Quintet Live At Birdland.. excellent bass work aside, this is one of the greatest jazz dates in the last 20 years. Dave is an incredible player, from his days with Anthony Braxton on, and his writing is brilliant.
Gary Peacock is always great with the Keith Jarrett trio, but I find his bass sound lacking on some of those records. There's a box set of the trio live at the blue note where his sound is great, though.And if you like free improvised music, which I do, he had an amazing run with Albert Ayler in the 60s. Check out Spiritual Unity.
Some great records for George Mraz are with Joe Lovano on I'm All For You and Joyous Encounter. The band really captures the old school straight ahead, and Lovano is a genius.
Scott Colley, Boris Kazlov (i think thats how you spell it... he plays mingus's bass!), Peter Washington, Reid Anderson (from The Bad Plus), Chris Wood (from Medeski Martin and Wood), so on and so forth.
Sorry if that turned into CD reviews more than suggestions, but they're good records, I PROMISE! :D

just my 2 cents.
Austin

Oh! I forgot to mention, one way I got over not being able to hear the bass was having two 15" JL subwoofers put in my car. That helps, trust me.
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 129
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 1:03 am:   Edit Post

Dual 15" Subs. Hell, the neighbors can hear that bass.




Still the only Kristin Korb fan
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 130
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 1:10 am:   Edit Post

Mingus' Half-Mast Inhibition just came on the radio. What an awesome piece. I'd like to make a movie just so I could use this piece in it
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 989
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 1:50 am:   Edit Post

I've got to agree with Bob re. pattituci(sp?). i've been a fan since his 'on the corner' album came out (on LP). He came across to Edinburgh a couple of years back with Wayne Shorter and was nothing short of amazing. They put him fairly high in the mix and his soloing was as clear as a bell. Now I just need to see him playing his electric and my life will be almost complete.( I'll be seeing Victor Wooten with the Flecktones in 2 weeks which promises to be a good night). Back to pattituci, I can highly recommend his solo albums for having a good upright content, especially One more Angel and Communion.

graeme
hankster
Member
Username: hankster

Post Number: 88
Registered: 6-2004
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 7:29 pm:   Edit Post

There's a brilliant Jim Hall recording with Don Thompson playing bass - recorded in about 1973 or 4 - which features some of the most relaxed, lyrical high register playing ever. Thompson plays more keyboards these days, but is a brilliant bassist and this recording is exquisite.

Rick
bob
Senior Member
Username: bob

Post Number: 809
Registered: 11-2002
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 9:59 pm:   Edit Post

I'm sorry to say I don't have a clue about Don Thompson, are you referring to "Circles"? I'll check it out.

Speaking of Jim Hall, I was looking for more Ron Carter stuff today, and there are two duo albums by these guys, "Alone Together" and "Telephone", both live, first around 72 and second early 80s. My copy of Telephone (Concord label, made in Japan and labeled Export Only) has noticeably better sound. But I prefer the performances on Alone Together, and the sound is at least quite good.

Carter is on tons of classic stuff back in the 60s and 70s, but I don't feel he's been as strong recently. So it was a very pleasant surprise to hear him on the latest Bill Frisell album, no title, simply "Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian". Great album, Carter is in excellent form, and you won't have any trouble hearing him.

If you want to hear Paul Chambers more clearly than on Kind of Blue, you might try "Bass on Top", which as you might guess is under his name, a quartet with Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, and Art Taylor. I think he was a lot better with his fingers than a bow, but you get some of each here.

Dave Holland Quintet Live At Birdland.. excellent bass work aside, this is one of the greatest jazz dates in the last 20 years.

Great to see I'm not the only one, Austin. Good thing you didn't go 30 years, though, or we'd have to debate the relative merits of Conference of the Birds.

You're also right that Peacock often doesn't come through as well as I'd like on the Jarrett trio recordings, and that the 6 disc "At the Blue Note" is an exception with overall great sound. At least at one time, there was also a single disc compilation of this stuff.

I dug out another Peacock album, "Gary Peacock and Bill Frissell/Just So Happens", on the Postcards label, and right now I'm thinking this may be THE most natural upright bass recording I have. Frissel is relatively spacey on this one, Peacock is awesome.

Still working through the stacks...
hankster
Member
Username: hankster

Post Number: 89
Registered: 6-2004
Posted on Friday, January 12, 2007 - 2:58 pm:   Edit Post

Nope, the album was Jim Hall Live!. Actually recorded in 1975. For a Thompson discography, go to this link:

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003408SUBDiscography

Rick
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 4692
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Friday, January 12, 2007 - 4:45 pm:   Edit Post

Bob; I'm listening to it now, and it's not as bad as I remembered it; in fact it's not bad at all. The CD I have is Columbia/Legacy 64935.

As for the opening of So What, I think I used a Marcus Miller version as a model when we came up with our take on the opening.

Also, and let me know if this is sacrilege; in the head where the bass has the melody, I play the flat two measures like the tonic measures, dorian mode with the flat seven instead of the raised seven that's in the original. Listening to it now, I can see how it adds interest to play the raised seven; but in the overall context of the song, the flat seven seems to make more sense. Historically, I believe it was probably the case that Miles didn't give Chambers much of a score to work from before the tape started rolling. I've wondered if Chambers had it to do over again, if he would have used the flat seven.

I just listened to Marcus' version; he uses the flat seven.

I just listened to the Blackhawk and Plugged Nickel versions and they're so fast I'm not sure there is even a seven in the line.

This might be an interesting poll question; how do you guys play it?
hankster
Member
Username: hankster

Post Number: 91
Registered: 6-2004
Posted on Saturday, January 13, 2007 - 4:15 pm:   Edit Post

Flat seven. Now I'll have to try it the other way the next time I play it.

Rick
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 1218
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 4:56 am:   Edit Post

Flat or sharp - not sure which seven you;re talking about, I'v always played the line as d-a-b-c-d-e-c-d - the only flat I can imagine there would be b flat?
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 1219
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 5:31 am:   Edit Post

It's supposed to be in a modal key. On the piano, starting at D, only the white keys - is that Dorian?

Standard minor has 6th and 7th played as majors going up (d-e-f-g-a-b-c#-d) but as minors going down (d-c-b flat-a-g-f-e-d). In Dorian, 7th is always minor.

(Message edited by adriaan on January 15, 2007)
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 4713
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 2:46 pm:   Edit Post

D-A-B-C-D-E-C-D = 1-5-6-b7-8-9-b7-8

Yes, Dorian is white keys starting on D.

(As a point of reference, if we were playing Aeolian (white keys starting on A), the 6 would be b6, B flat.)

But we're starting in D in Dorian mode; and the first phrase is as you have written it. The next phrase moves up one fret to Eb. Presumably we're still in Dorian mode and the pattern would be the same; however on the original it sounds to me that here the seven has been raised so that the phrase is
Eb-Bb-C-D-Eb-F-D-Eb
1-5-6-7-8-9-7-8

In Dorian this phrase should be
Eb-Bb-C-DB-Eb-F-DB-Eb
1-5-6-b7-8-9-b7-8

So in the original it sounds to me like the Eb phrase is in Ionian (white keys starting on C, the basic major scale).
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 1221
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 1:16 am:   Edit Post

Dave, I'll have to listen to that again - I don't remember a difference in the mode for the B section.
adriaan
Senior Member
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 1222
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 1:30 am:   Edit Post

It might be interesting to play the Eb line in minor descending - so with a flat 6th ... c-flat instead of c.
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 1000
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 8:41 am:   Edit Post

Veering back to the topic, can I recommend Stanley's 'Standards' album with drummer Ndugu Chancler and pianist Patrice Rushen. As you'd expect, Stanley's playing is well up in the mix but it's not a 'Bass' album, they gel very well as a trio. The package comes with a bonus DVD of their rehearsals and watching Stanley's soloing is humbling.

Graeme
paulman
Intermediate Member
Username: paulman

Post Number: 178
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:18 am:   Edit Post

I was watching a DVD of the Charlie Byrd Trio. Dang, those old guys could really tear it up! It was filmed in the late 80's I believe.

Charlie's brother Joe was an excellent upright player and I thought I'd throw his name into the fray.

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