Anthony Jackson – Bass From the 1994 Michel Camilo Big Band recording, this is AJ’s bass part to the opening tune ‘One More Once’, which was also the title of the album itself. A basic 12-bar with a kind of Rock ‘n’ Roll feel, there are some tasty Jackson fills in there (written, I reckon,…

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…

Arthur Maia – Bass Arthur Maia (9 April 1962 – 15 December 2018) was a Brazilian composer and musician. Maia played with musicians such as Djavan, Gilberto Gil, Marisa Monte, Lulu Santos and Ney Matogrosso. His compositions usually present a fusion of Jazz, Funk, Swing and Reggae. When I got into Brazilian music, he was everywhere…

Robbie Shakespeare – Bass Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the Reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as one of the most influential reggae bassists, Shakespeare was also known for his…

Matt Penman – Bass Originally from New Zealand, Matt Penman moved to the U.S in 1994 to attend Berklee College of Music, and in 1995 to New York, where he maintains an international performing, recording and teaching schedule as one of jazz music’s most in-demand bassists. He is an established member of the SFJazz Collective,…

Tim Esau – Bass Something from another of those wonderful Neo-Prog bands from the 1980s that are still going, this is the Tim Esau bass part top the tune ‘1312 Overture’ from the 2014 IQ album, ‘The Road Of Bones’. It isn’t in 13:12 but there alternating 6:8 and 7:8 bars which comes to 13:8…

Graeme Murray – Bass A nostalgia trip for me, this time. I was speaking to my brother via WhatsApp and he shared that he was listening to the 1984 Pallas album, ‘The Sentinel’ which I hadn’t heard for probably 30 years. I looked it up on YouTube and had a listen and this one caught…

Dave Brown – Bass Well, it had to be done. Three versions of the same song – all different in their own ways. This is probably the one that most of us have heard first and the easiest one to read and play. From the 1970 Santana album, ‘Abraxas’, Dave Brown’s bass part for the…

Jay Anderson – Bass Bassist/composer Jay Anderson is among the most versatile and respected jazz artists performing today. Born in Southern California, Anderson began playing acoustic bass at the age of twelve. Throughout junior high, high school, and college, Anderson won numerous awards for excellence in both Jazz and Classical Music. One week after receiving…

Chris Thomas – Bass Grammy nominated, Christopher Thomas was born in 1970 in St. Louis, Missouri. Although he’s the only musician in his family, he took to music as if he were a born legacy. His musical venture began with the violin, then quickly gravitated towards the cello and finally settling with the double bass at age…