POO: Jamerson bass lines

Anything other than "You Can't Hurry Love" = lie

http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Shadows-Motown-Legendary-Jamerson/dp/0881888826

Still have not read this yet

bernadette!

xpost - That's a great read! (Altho quite depressing, too.) Pretty cool CDs too - those basslines are a marvel to hear unaccompanied.

Seems to me he had two quite different conceptions to deploy depending on whether the song was uptempo ("Can't Hurry Love", "Up-Tight" = punchy, straightforward) or midtempo ("What's Going On", "Tears of a Clown" = loose, jazzy, free-ranging). Right now, I'm in the mood for midtempo, so...

"I Was Made To Love Her" it is.

I hope they rerecorded some of those guest-stars-playing-James's basslines on the CD version of that book, MVB, cuz the ones on the cassette tape version were really dinky-sounding, with a few exceptions, like Anthony Jackson and Jack Bruce.

A few days ago I would have gone canonical with Marvin & Tammi's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" but today I'll vote for Syreeta Wright's "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" which I only paid attention to for the first time this weekend while listening to the Girl Group Hatbox- not because it's the best, but because it's a great example of how he could bring the funk to a midtempo number, playing a busy line with his trademark twists and turns without overwhelming the vocalist.

I stand by my choice from the other day.

He can be seen in this video: watch his right hand index finger - The Hook!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s
RIP James.

"Too Shy To Say"

love this bassline so much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwt3kr0_l6I

Not him. That was Louis Satterfield.

Who also played trombone. TS Louis Satterfield vs. Wilton Felder.

I once picked up a James Jamerson motown bass book from the library in excitement. I couldn't way to delve into it until I saw what the author transcribed. With the "hook" he did all of that. My paltry two fingers could not even comprehend what was on the page.

james redd- you sure? not doubting you but i got that off an online list of jamerson parts...huh...well mr. satterfield you rock.

http://soulfuldetroit.com/archives/6593/10479.html?1095568384

Look at the ** here
http://www.bassland.net/jamersonhits.htm

haha i don't even know why i was suddenly incredulous that an internet posting might be wrong..

either way, love rescue me.

There's a few of these isolated bass videos on youtube. I don't know what the aural equivalent of o_O is, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqtELR5GyfI

Bernadette. duh

There's a few of these isolated bass videos on youtube. I don't know what the aural equivalent of o_O is, but:

i have never got too far into those whole studio tracks bootlegs you can get but the what's goin' on one is great, weirdly compelling to me - the two rhythm guitar tracks on are perfect, you can walk to them sorta like a ride into the sun cyclical groove thing.

Another video in which you can see him, however briefly, especially shortly after the 6 minute mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8mKm9BZU3n8#!

It's a Martha and the Vandellas performance. You can see Dennis Coffey too.

That's amazing. The only other footage of Jamerson I've seen is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fopc4exF4D0

Yeah, thanks. I posted it upthread a year and a half ago on the anniversary of his death. Jamerson videos as rare as Robert Johnson photos.

Indeed they are; not too surprisingly, considering most of his most influential work was done in the studio. Still, actually watching "the hook" in action is a wonder to behold.

Thanks for posting the Martha clip.

To gaze for even a moment about that one finger from which so much great music came is a wonder to behold.

Putting this back since it went missing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNHNgnEJMTw

"For Once in My Life" is pretty amazing. Not a straightforward chord progression, either.

The mix buries him on the original, unfortunately. Some decent play-alongs on youtube.

That "What's Going On" footage is so beautiful. What's it from?

I love this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND-iW51idC0&list=PLA1BXtnC_q0YlEHmG1kFrlD4d-PkF3Y-o

I dig it when he gets all baroque

That "What's Going On" footage is so beautiful. What's it from?

I've been learning the transcriptions from the book and jesus fuck are they hard. The interesting thing, though, is that they're not necessarily hard from a one-fingered standpoint: that approach totally makes sense to me now. Two fingers on some of the 16th-note figures just wouldn't sound right. But the left-hand positioning/fretting, some of it is fucking nuts.

The transcriptions are a good start in learning the pieces, but I think you need to listen closely to the recordings to really play these lines. I was watching people play "For Once in mY life" yesterday on YT and in one video the guy is clearly reading the music but misses much of the feel. Easier said than done, obv.

otm

Yeah, once I have something of a handle on a transcription, I try to play along to the record (not the CDs in the book, but the original Motown). And that's just...I mean, then it's not about playing the bass, it's about contributing to/supporting the story being told.

Yeah, once I have something of a handle on a transcription, I try to play along to the record

Wow, you play bass as well. (I really like your drumming, as I mentioned previously.)

Thanks!

Researching early disco bass lines, found a pretty nice cover of this one here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Nn1TKkj7w

Just read elsewhere that Jamerson died 30 years ago today from pneumonia at the age of 47.

"Too Shy To Say"
― third-generation stripper (Eric H.), Tuesday, August 2, 2011 9:05 AM (2 years ago)

Almost just made the same joke twice.

OMG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qu_vCKJMuM

Really neat visualization:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAT3aVj-A_E

Just heard last night that Anthony Jackson had a stroke recently :( (I don't where to post this so I am posting this here)

Hoping for a recovery

In July. Not his first stroke -- he's been ill for a while, and had been playing a shorter scale instrument in the last year or so. I don't think he has gigged since the July stroke.

No. He can't play right now is what I heard.