I was talking to some of my friends today about playing music. And we talked about how so many musicians are concerned with playing fast and high, and loud.
Bill Huntington
I guess the objective here is to get house, satisfying the ego. This kind of playing is what I call acrobatics and is most often devoid of real music. I challenge you to listen to Miles. He plays more music in one note, just one single, beautiful note than the sum total of some “artists’” output. This gymnastic approach to music includes players of all kinds of instruments.
As my jazz bass instructor Bill Huntington put it, there are certain things expected from the bass player. In graduate school Bill had the idea of an independent class for me with Ellis Marsalis. It was great. The class was one-on-one. The name of the course was “The Role of the Bass in The Rhythm Section.” It’s very funny that one time I remembered Bill telling me to play more BASS. I was playing a multitude of notes in every measure, as high and as fast as possible. I asked myself, “How can I possibly play anymore bass?”
Around the same time I remember talking to Ellis and he told me that normally the bass is not a young man’s instrument. I think this is because maybe it takes a while to settle down, and to realize what it means to play the bass. Bill wasn’t talking about flurries of notes, he wasn’t talking about superimposing harmonic structures, or even using altered scales. He basically was talking about playing some low notes, playing the root of the chord, using voice leading in a way that it leads the players and the listeners to the next chord, and helping to propel the band rhythmically.
As a matter of fact, the older I get, although I don’t know if my students like it because I might not be as flashy as they want to see their teacher, the more I realize the importance of a well executed simple bass line. Of course, it has been pointed out to me, that what seems simple to one person may not necessarily be simple to others. I think it really helps that I am a composer and I can think about playing the bass from the viewpoint of what it sounds like as a whole. Listen to the music and it will tell you what to do. Quite often, all you have to do is get out of the way.
I remember when I first started to get an idea about what it meant to play bass, I would imagine that I had headphones on and that I was listening to the music rather than performing it. This brings up a very important part of successively playing in a group: listening.
So, I guess what I really feel about this, is that the role of the bass in the rhythm section for me, has at least three different gears that I can use. One is a basic supportive role. The bass player must believe how important and how beautiful this can be. This role must not be belittled in any way. To be able to properly execute a whole note at a slow tempo with good feel, tone and intonation, can be more of a challenge than trying to play Cherokee at some blistering tempo. (But don’t get me wrong, that’s a blast!!!) If you are a bass player, accept the invitation to be part of the group. Ask yourself what you can bring to the gig as a bass player. Being able to assume this role undoubtedly contributed to why I played 45 gigs in the month of August.
Second gear is much more interactive. Sometime this style is called floating or may simply be considered contrapuntal. The goal of this style is the Village Vanguard recordings by Bill Evans and Scott La Faro. Occasionally I get to play this way, and I love to do this as well. This style can be compared to a conversation among the players. It is a wonderful feeling to play with this sort of freedom, but it is definitely not for every gig.
Third gear is taking a solo. This is when it is time for the others in the group to support me. Just as the role of being the bass player includes half notes for the “two” feel and quarter notes for “walking,” the solo tends to speak in eighth note. This is the time to sing, to become the focal point of the music. It is time for the bass to take over as the main narrator of the story.
Whatever the role, whatever gear you may need, being a bass player is a beautiful thing. It is the most wonderful instrument in the world. Be sure you touch your instrument everyday.
