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yanch 
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Joined: January 03 2010
Location: Lowell, MA
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Points: 3247
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 Posted: June 20 2010 at 17:05 |
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So many great points. Any one who listens to music intently and with enthusiasm, as most of us do!, will have there personal favorites. There really is no greatest, just lots of "really great" bass players. Almost all of the players I love have been mentioned, but I'll add one more-Dave LaRue-who plays with Steve Morse and the latest incarnations of the Dixie Dregs.
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Ronnie Pilgrim
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Joined: February 09 2010
Location: The South of TX
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Points: 771
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 15:46 |
 cstack3 wrote:
Excellent points, especially Jeff Hammond-Hammond! Long unrecognized, thanks for mentioning him!
I agree about Lake, the man was amazing in his day.....listen intently to the bass on the song "In the Court of the Crimson King" for example, he was just a kid! His work with ELP was sublime!
I'm a Squire freak myself, and also a huge fan of Ray Bennett's work with Flash, and the late/great Gary Strator of Starcastle.....all of 'em united by the use of a plectrum and round-wound strings on the bass guitar! The only way to fly in my opinion. However, my fretless work is fingers-only.
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I agree. Yes, Squire is a great bassist and has the recognition he deserves. Yes, Lake is a great bassist and does not have the recognition he deserves. But what puzzles me is Hammond. I love his work on studio albums, and he had more boundless energy live than any other bassist that comes to mind. But Ian Anderson publicly discredited him and said "they" used to have to teach him his bass lines note for note. So, is this just a case of "sour grapes" because Hammond left Tull, or is he really not that talented of a bassist?
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Tsevir Leirbag
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Joined: May 03 2009
Location: Montréal
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Points: 8321
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 15:32 |
- Christian Genet
- François Grillot
- Hugh Hopper
- Jannick Top
- Richard Sinclair
- Philippe Bussonnet
- Matt Thompson
- Joachim Florent
I prefer them all over Greg Lake.
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Les mains, les pieds balancés
Sur tant de mers, tant de planchers,
Un marin mort,
Il dormira
- Paul Éluard
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Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator
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Joined: April 27 2004
Location: Peru
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Points: 19535
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 14:20 |
rogerthat wrote:
Ahem, John Wetton? And Mike Rutherford deserves more credit than he generally gets. |
Yes, but he replaced Gary Thain in Uriah Heep with very little success. 
Iván
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warrplayer
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 18 2010
Location: Charlotte, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 111
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 14:09 |
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
warrplayer wrote:
warrplayer wrote:
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
[QUOTE=Tengent]
Well, his career is well documented, but the problem is that he ded at the age of 27, so he did in a few years what other do in a life time.
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electrocuted on stage wasn't he?
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duh, didn't read previous post carefully enough.
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You read the post well, but you quoted my post before I added more info (Even when your post appeared some seconds later).
Iván |
Okay. Whew. I'm not as scatterbrained as I thought then. 
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
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Points: 9869
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:53 |
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Ahem, John Wetton? And Mike Rutherford deserves more credit than he generally gets.
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Ivan_Melgar_M
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:49 |
warrplayer wrote:
warrplayer wrote:
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
[QUOTE=Tengent]
Well, his career is well documented, but the problem is that he ded at the age of 27, so he did in a few years what other do in a life time.
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electrocuted on stage wasn't he?
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duh, didn't read previous post carefully enough.
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You read the post well (didn't mention how he died), but you quoted my post before I added more info (Even when your post appeared some seconds later).
Iván
Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - June 20 2010 at 14:27
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harmonium.ro
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Joined: August 18 2008
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:46 |
Fusionman wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
Fusionman wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
are you familiar with Stanley Clarke? Jaco Pastorius? Helmut Hattler? Colin Hodgkinson? Peter Kühmstedt? Gerald Luciano Hartwig? Matz Steinke? I could continue this list endlessly....
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I know most of the names on that list and none of them are prog, they're all Jazz/Fusion/Blues bassists...so what about Albert Lazlo??
---
To Open Post:
Chris Squire and Geddy Lee weren't exactly prog-Mozarts, but I'll grant the opening post that they weren't terrible either. As slightly above mediocre as Jonas Reingold is in composing Karmakanic, his proficiency on the bass and ability to groove effectively are superior to any of the opening post. As a bassist, I like to believe the best bassist is the least noticed bassist.
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ahem. have you forgotten that jazz-rock is a sub-genre of prog? of the bass players named all played with bands that are in the archives.
to name two other great bass players: Dave King and Eberhard Weber. both played with the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, but also with other artists who are in the archives, like Snowball and Embryo (King) or Volker Kriegel (Weber)
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I think Jazz-Fusion is lumped in with Prog-rock because of their coexistence and propensity to have fans which delve in both genres. If anything...Prog-rock should be a sub-genre of Jazz-Rock considering the chronology of Music. They inhabit the same space, but are entirely different experiences.
That being said; the actual composition and execution of the two styles is entirely different. Jazz-Fusion as iconified (in my opinion) by 'Weather Report - I sing the body electric' displays freeform elements constructing a story accompanied by persistent improvisation. Prog rock on the other hand communicates a message through arranging compositions in a way which central themes (both melodically and potentially lyrically) are expressed recurrently. If you'd like to compare say... Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior to Banco De Mutuo Soccorsoro - Darwin* there's again a huge difference. Banco seeks to express its self from central themes in which music paints the emotions...where as RTF simply builds an enchanting environment.
I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a well accepted Jazz-Fusion album which has a central theme which is reiterated throughout the albums. I think you'd be equally hard pressed to find a prog album which paints an image of a scene without granting a position on it.
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I don't agree at all, a lot of my favourite jazz-rock is based on tight composition and structured experimentation and not of free form and improvisation, just to mention Brand X, Jonas Hellborg's projects, Weather Report's "Black Market" is also a good example, Herbie Hancock's "Crossings" & "Sextant", Mar de Robles, Freakzoid, Santana's fusion albums, Colosseum, Elephant9, Jaga Jazzist, Leb I Sol, One Shot, etc. etc.
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warrplayer
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 18 2010
Location: Charlotte, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 111
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:28 |
warrplayer wrote:
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
[QUOTE=Tengent]
Well, his career is well documented, but the problem is that he ded at the age of 27, so he did in a few years what other do in a life time.
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electrocuted on stage wasn't he?
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duh, didn't read previous post carefully enough.
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warrplayer
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 18 2010
Location: Charlotte, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 111
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:24 |
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
[QUOTE=Tengent]
Well, his career is well documented, but the problem is that he ded at the age of 27, so he did in a few years what other do in a life time.
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electrocuted on stage wasn't he?
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Ivan_Melgar_M
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Joined: April 27 2004
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:11 |
Tengent wrote:
I adore Thain, but he wasn't that well documented at all was he? Didn't he only appear on 2 Heep albums? Where else can I hear him?
And personally, my favorite bass player is Mont Campbell. He's also an incredible composer.
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Well, his career is well documented, but the problem is that in September 15, 1974, after along tour, he received a severe electric shock o stage that almost killed him.
He never recovered,. his behaviour became erratic and his heroine addiction went beyond control, so he had to leave Uriah Heep, he died a few months later at the age of 27.
He was the bass player in 5 Uriah Heep albums:
- Demons & Wizards
- Magician's Birthday
- Live 1973
- Sweet Freedom
- Wonderworld
He also played in
- Ken Hensley's
- "Proud Words on a Dusty Shelve"
- Keef Hartley's Band
- Halfbreed (1969)
- The Battle of North West Six (1969)
- The Time is Near (1970)
- Little Big Band Live at The Marquee 1971 (1971)
- Overdog (1971)
- Seventy-Second Brave (1972)
Plus a solo album and a couple of smaller bands.
He made in a few yeas what others do in a life time.
Iván
Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - June 20 2010 at 11:26
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jammun
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 14 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3449
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Posted: June 20 2010 at 00:28 |
As Hunter S. once said, Mother Of Sweating Jesus!
Greg Lake. Anyone here ever heard of Crimson or ELP?. sh*t yes, he's da' man. Singlehandedly kept up w/ Fripp and Emerson! Name another.
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Can you tell me where we're headin'?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon.
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Tengent
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 17 2009
Location: Evansville, IN
Status: Offline
Points: 119
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 23:39 |
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
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I adore Thain, but he wasn't that well documented at all was he? Didn't he only appear on 2 Heep albums? Where else can I hear him? And personally, my favorite bass player is Mont Campbell. He's also an incredible composer.
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Triceratopsoil
Forum Senior Member
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Location: Canada
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Points: 18016
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 19:10 |
Oh wait, Joachim Florent is the best prog bassist from Jean Louis 
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Ivan_Melgar_M
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 19:07 |
as usual nobody mentions the late Gary Thain from Uriah Heep.
Not only Prog, but the best rock basist ever IMHO.
Iván
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CinemaZebra
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Joined: March 13 2010
Location: Ancient Rome
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Points: 6795
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 18:40 |
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clarke2001
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 18:37 |
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Greg Lake is an incredible bass player. His talent was overshadowed by Emerson and Palmer, which were stellar. Okay, he was sloppy at times (on some live documents) but his melodic lines are INCREDIBLE. And unique - I never heard a bassist having that approach - hence, the tag 'greatest' could apply to Greg lake, in a way.
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cstack3
Forum Senior Member
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Joined: July 20 2009
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
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Points: 7276
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 15:49 |
[/QUOTE] the two are by far not as distinct as is being claimed. take for example a classic prog track like "Los Endos"; there are lots of jazz-rock elements in it. the same is true for "Sound Chaser" by Yes. lots of Guru Guru or Kraan tracks have the same symbiosis. even some tracks by High Tide. and that's just a few examples [/QUOTE]
Yeah, I acknowledge the influences back & forth... Daryl Stuermer burned up the stage when I saw Genesis' "And then there were 3" tour (1977?), and his jazz-rock phrasing really expanded the music! They should have recorded with him, but Rutherford wanted to be a guitar hero 
I think that "prog" (of the British/European vein) really anchors itself in Western classical music modalities, while jazz-rock wandered all over in its influences, particularly into blues, trad jazz, even world/African/Indian influences.
The entire category "prog rock" is so broad and inclusive that it really has no meaning to me. I've seen Rush, Queen, Deep Purple etc. all mentioned on this website, and each band certainly had progressive elements, but I don't find them as inventive as the earliest Yes & King Crimson.
Make mine a Rickenbacker bass and a Mellotron!!
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Kojak
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 03 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 264
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 15:47 |
topographicbroadways wrote:
first off But having played Rush, Yes and ELP basslines ELP stood out as the most complicated hardest too work out and by far hardest too play. Kieth Emersons left hand plays some of the most difficult sequences of notes imaginable on Keyboard, and Greg Lake translates this too Bass guitar, harder and much more complicated, Tarkus, Karn Evil 9 2nd Impression and The Endless Enigma are prime examples of how complicated Lakes bass playing got.
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Wow, I guess for that alone, he's way up there. I always thought it unusual that someone who is musically creative could also have such a business head as well, but that's veeeeering way of the bass subject...
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Triceratopsoil
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 03 2010
Location: Canada
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Points: 18016
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Posted: June 19 2010 at 15:33 |
CinemaZebra wrote:
I'm really the first to mention Tony Levin?
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He's not a bassist, he's a sticker 
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Greg Lake, Greatest Prog Bassist!
