Geddy Lee – Bass Another chunk of Weinrib, this is the bass part for the tune ‘Red Lenses’ from the 194 Rush album ‘Grace Under Pressure’. These were the 1980s albums that a lot of us struggled with – synths, reggae, 4 minute tunes – we couldn’t cope. There is much to like about the…

Composer – J. S. Bach These Cello Suites are great for working on your reading chops as you end up with a musical experience that is fairly satisfying (isn’t practising Bass a bit boring sometimes?). I have tweaked this to allow for four string players to be able to do (the notes in brackets can…

Frank Zappa – Bass According to the interweb, Zappa plays the bass guitar on this choon. Who am I to argue with the interweb? I am not a masshoosive fan of Frank Zappa although I very much respect his artistry. He took the whole thing into areas where no-one else dared to go and his…

Rosanna Nicolosi – Bass This track was recommended by a Talkbass member. I have to admit that, whilst I was a massive fan of what was eventually called Fusion (I think it was still Jaxx-Rock when I was listening to it), I was never really a fan of Billy Cobham. Great player, it was just…

Stefano Cerri – Bass I have enjoyed this album since purchasing the vinyl the year it came out. It was always a little confusing who the bass players were on each track as the credits listed Cerri alongside Jack Bruce and John Giblin. I am pretty confident that this is Cerri, however, as the other…

Unknown (suspect sample) – Bass I know nothing about this thing other than it was from a movie that was supposedly a spoof on Three Men and a Baby or Four Weddings and a Funeral or something. Or was it Alien 3? It is a request from a Talkbass forum user. A relatively easy read…

Anthony Jackson – Contrabasse Guitar The more time I spend transcribing this guy, the deeper my respect for him. There are a couple of passages in this tune where I am struggling to get down what he is playing even when I slow it down to 25% of the original speed. This one is fun…

Anthony Jackson – Contrabasse Guitar One of those albums where the bass playing is stunning from the first note to the last. I first heard Michel Camilo on an album (yes, it was vinyl) called ‘French Toast’ which came out in 1984 and featured Anthony Jackson with both Dave Weckl and Steve Gadd but there…

Gary Willis – Bass I got hold of this album around the time that it was released. I had seen these guys talked about in guitar magazine and thought they sounded cool and I think I had heard Scott Henderson with either Jeff Berlin or Chick Corea. Anyway, the 1985 Tribal Tech album ‘Spears’ was…

Stanley Clarke – Bass This is a request from an email I got through the website – the track has a history. When Stanley Clarke and Jaco and a small number of other ‘superstar’ bassists started to appear on the scene, established bassist Charles Mingus was very scathing and suggested that, despite the chops, people…