Max Bennett – Bass Born in 1928, Bennett’s first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura. He served in the Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, and then played with Stan Kenton before moving to Los Angeles. There he played regularly at the Lighthouse Cafe with his own ensemble, and played…

Janek Gwizdala – Bass So, you can play ‘Donna Lee’ – you and every other electric player in the known universe! Playing BeBop heads is a great way to develop your ear and your phrasing chops but there are a million heads out there and knowing the first three in the Charlie Parker Omnibook is…

John Mole – Bass Another tune from the legend John Mole. Mole was the mainstay behind Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum II alongside guitarist Gary Moore, keyboard player Don Airey. Moore went on to have a fairly successful career as a bandleader in his own right and Airey has been the first call guy in most mainstream…

Dave Holland – Bass I have spent a long time listening to and transcribing Dave Holland’s bass parts and solos and he has long been one of those players who I can recognise pretty much instantly. This part and solo is so characteristic of his playing. The composition, by guitarist Kevin Eubanks, is the perfect…

Neil Murray – Bass I love these Gary Moore penned ballads they did with Colosseum II and on his ‘Back On The Streets’ album. Such beautiful melodies. I always wondered why he didn’t follow this route and stayed in the Rock and Blues idioms. I guess he has to make a living and these ballads,…

Janek Gwizdala – Bass Janek Gwizdala is an internationally acclaimed electric bassist, composer, and educator, widely recognized for his innovative voice on the instrument and his work at the forefront of modern jazz and fusion. Over the past two decades, Janek has performed and recorded with an astonishing roster of world-class artists, including Mike Stern,…

John Giblin – Bass Another fundamentally simple line but there is a lovely little solo that Giblin double tracked over the top of his own bass part. I transcribed the solo rather than the ‘bass’ part because the bass part is the same as the previous two choruses so it felt like the more productive…

Tony Levin – Bass One of the coolest players in contemporary music, Tony Levin is the first call guy for King Crimson, Peter Gabriel and a host of others too long to mention. Top drawer professionalism. I did this transcription not because I love the tune but because I love the VIDEO! And, most of…

John Giblin – Bass I remember agonising over this tune in the 1980s as I couldn’t get the octaves in the main riff to settle properly. It’s all about the right hand fingering, innit? This is the complete bass part for the opening tune on the 1980 Jon Anderson album, ‘Song Of Seven’, entitled ‘For…

John Giblin – Bass This guy should have had more credit than he received. He did a lot of great work with artists like Jon Anderson, Kate Bush, Chris De Burgh, John Martyn and many others but, for some reason, he seldom gets referenced. A very distinctive fretless voice from the 1980s, her played a…