Guitars: Larry Coryell & Philip Catherine Yes, we know. It’s not a bass chart. BIlbo does play a little guitar and has spent some time developing his treble clef reading chops. Writing guitar parts out can be a lot harder that bass as there are often notes that ring longer than others and internal voicings…

Bass Player: Rob Palmer (Bilbo) Transcribing your own performances is always an interesting experience as it gives you a perspective on your own playing that simply listening to it doesn’t quite achieve. In transcribing his bass part for this performance of the old Sinatra favourite ‘Witchcraft’, we can see that basic building blocks of a…

Bass Player: Bryan Beller Bryan Beller has maintained a multi-faceted career as a bassist, composer, solo artist and clinician for over 25 years, earning his reputation as a uniquely talented yet supremely tasteful team player for instrumentally-minded artists. In the power super-trio The Aristocrats (with uber-players Guthrie Govan on guitar and Marco Minnemann on drums)…

Bass Player: Jaco Pastorius We all love this one! The tune ‘The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines’ was written by bassist Charles Mingus and lyrics added by Joni Mitchell for the 1979 LP she did based around Mingus’s music called, imaginatively, ‘Mingus’. Jaco played his ass off on the following tour on which Mitchell featured…

Bass Player: Dill Katz UK bass legend Dill Katz is one of the most experienced players on the scene today, having pioneered the use of the fretless bass in the mid-sixties. Yes, that is before Jaco. His work includes stints with Ian Carr’s “Nucleus”, Barbara Thompson’s band “Paraphernalia” and Afro/Jazz band “District Six”.  The transcription…

Bass Player: John Giblin Jon Anderson is primarily known for his work with the Progressive Rock band Yes but his solo albums are goldmines of greaet composing and arranging. The title tune of his 1980 album ‘Song Of Seven’ features all of the trademark features of his best work; great writing, rich vocal harmonies inscrutible…

Bass Player: Mark Hawkins Uk Prog rockers, Solstice, released their ‘Silent Dance’ album in 1984, right when Prog was pretty much as uncool as you could possibly get! Despite it’s critical unpopularity, there was a New Wave of British Prog around at the time and bands like Twelfth Night, Pallas, IQ, Pendragon and Solstice could…

Bass Player: Darryl Jones Darrryl Jones has an enviable pedigree and has performed with, amongst others, John Scofield, Miles Davis, Steps Ahead and Sting. Since 1993, Jones has been the bass player who has held everything down for The Rolling Stones. ‘The Munch’ is a very grounded player known for his groove rather than any…

Bass Player: Sting Known primarily for his role as frontman for post-Punk icons The Police, it is not widely known that, prior to his forming the band, Gordon Sumner was a double bass playing Jazzer. When The Police started to flounder, Sting put together a band featuring a selection of US Jazz players including Branford…

Bass Player: Jaco Pastorius The 1976 Joni Mitchell album ‘Hejira’ appeared at around the same time as the eponymous ‘Jaco’ LP and, given the nature of Mitchell’s audience when viewed against Jaco’s own, most people heard Jaco’s contributions to this album long before they heard his solo albums. The impact cannot be overstated and, for…