Iyo who is the best bass player?

[Matched Gripper]

Don't leave out Scott Lafaro Seriously, I think that Charles Mingus was not only a great composer, but had amazing technical skills on bass, and although he passed away too young to realize his full potential, Jimmy Blanton needs recognition since he is considered the father of modern bass playing.

I forgot John Patitucci among living bassists.

 

[mtarrani]

I forgot John Patiucci among living bassists.

I forgot John Clayton in the living category. Actually, I forgot everyone in the living category since the ones I mentioned in my original response were dead

 

[JimmyM]

None. Great ones exist but everyone seems to have something they do better than others and something they do worse.

 

[stickmakeboom]

Too many to mention, and of course "best" is VERY subjective when it comes to music. But in my opinion these are some of the greatest and most influential bassists that I enjoy listening to-

James Jamerson
Victor Wooten
Pino Palladino
Les Claypool
Joe Dart
Edgar Meyer (upright bass player)

And I'm probably forgetting some lol

 

[Kcmcc]

James Jamerson
Paul Chambers

On impulse those two seem good choices. George Porter Jr, Paul McCartney, Larry Graham, Ray Brown, all pop into my head too.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

So many great bass players, in no particular order:

Macca
Stuart Zender
Niels-Hoenning Ørsted Pedersen
Steve Harris
Chris squire
Jaco
John Paul Jones
Flea
James Jamerson
Carol Kaye
Larry Graham
Bootsy

Who would I take in my band?

McCartney in his prime.

He's got the golden songwriting touch, has one of the best voices in pop/rock history, has tone for days and a great ear for mixing/arrangement/production.

Plus he almost always comes up with bass-lines that aren't full of "bassisms". A lot of the stuff he does isn't what a "schooled" bassist would do and the songs benefit from that by being more memorable than some other songs in the same genre with cookie-cutter bass-lines.

 

[gretschdrummer]

Jack Bruce

 

[DanRH]

Favorite is a much more appropriate question. So, so many. I haven’t seen Richard Bona’s name mention or Kai Eckhardt, so I’ll throw their names in…

And about 20 newish guys… well, you know.

 

[Trilock_Gurtu]

"Best" bass player for what? Funk? Classic Rock? Modern Rock? Reggae? Soul? Jazz? Pop? These subjective threads always crack me up.

 

[mtarrani]

"Best" bass player for what? Funk? Classic Rock? Modern Rock? Reggae? Soul? Jazz? Pop? These subjective threads always crack me up.

The OP did preface the title with "IYO" (In Your Opinion). Eliciting opinions seems reasonable [to me, anyway.) That was how I framed my responses to this thread. I also learned about bassists I never heard of from other responses. It's all good; it's all fun

 

[Ludwig4life]

Paul Jackson ? That dude rips

 

[DanRH]

Anthony Jackson as well. Chuck Rainey. Carole Kaye. Leland Sklar. Will Lee….The list is endless…

 

[Trilock_Gurtu]

The OP did preface the title with "IYO" (In Your Opinion). Eliciting opinions seems reasonable [to me, anyway.) That was how I framed my responses to this thread. I also learned about bassists I never heard of from other responses. It's all good; it's all fun

That wasn't the original title when I commented. It didn't have "IYO", just who is the best bass player.

 

[mtarrani]

That wasn't the original title when I commented. It didn't have "IYO", just who is the best bass player.

Then your post was spot-on.

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

As a drummer and (a more successful!) bassist, this is hard to answer. Firstly, live or dead? Pretty much any jazz bassist hitting those walking bass lines must be respected. I really like Ron Carter, of course, and Mingus and Stanley Clarke, but I am also a huge fan of Jaco P. I do love Dave Holland and Christian McBride, too. Jaco, though, took bass to a whole other level. I do love Geddy, John Paul Jones, and Billy Cox (later Hendrix). Jack Bruce also sang! Having been a bassist in a reggae band, those guys also know how to groove hard. Bob Marley's bassist, Aston Barrett, was pretty amazing. Also, disco/funk players - James Jamerson comes to mind. I have heard Victor Wooten play various things and the guy is a monster. There's just too many to figure this out.......

 

[El Larry]

Duck Dunn, and Paz Lenchantin top my list.

 

[multijd]

Bill Bruford, “All bass players were created equal. Eddie Gomez is more equal than others!”

But seriously Oscar Pettiford who was the Art Tatum of bassists.

 

[mtarrani]

Bill Bruford, “All bass players were created equal. Eddie Gomez is more equal than others!”

But seriously Oscar Pettiford who was the Art Tatum of bassists.

Thank you for mentioning Pettiford. He and Mingus also had the distinction of being virtuoso cellists. Come to think of it, Eldee Young (bassist for Ramsey Lewis Trio) was quite the cellist too. He and Lewis' drummer, Red Holt, did an album together that featured Young on both instruments.

 

[snaretemper]

Tom Kennedy, I love how he combines his bass with weck!

 

[Hypercaffium]

"Best" doesn't exist imho but one of my favourites is Tim Commerford.