has got to be Les Claypool from Primus. I saw them a couple of weeks ago in MPLS and he absolutely amazed me. I don't think anyone can make a bass sound the way Les does. The guy is in a league of his own. If you don't believe me just check out primuslive.com. All the shows they do are put on this website and made available for download for $9.95. I wish Prince would do that!!!

If anyone knows of another bass player anywhere near the status of Les Claypool, I would like to hear about them.
[This message was edited Fri Jun 25 13:07:10 2004 by way2funky]

There was a VERY similar thread run on this topic already. What, a couple of weeks ago? Everyone that has been or will be mentioned r all excellent. It's going 2 come down 2 who your fave is. Or even "favorites".

Are you experienced? Well, I am.
Jimi Hendrix

Charles Mingus, maybe? Just a guess.

James-Brown-era-Bootsy.

Nothing but pocket.

BlaqueKnight said:

You've GOT TO BE SHITTING ME with your whitey-black-man oppression bullshit.

Stanley Clarke was a GOD in the late 70's. Les is just the latest, black or white. Let it go man. Talent is everywhere, and it's been appreciated for years. Les ain't bringing the black man's art to the mainstream.

...

...

Flea did.

otan said:

Riiight. As if what he said isn't common.

BlaqueKnight said:

Too true...
I remember back in the 1980's there was this really shitty band called "Level 42" and their singer/bassplayer was this dude named Mark King and everybody was all up in arms about his bass playing skills, he was even called the best bassplayer in the industry back then and you know for what?
Because he slapped the bass... I was like WHAT THE FUCK??!!
People were actually praising that guy as if he invented it...
But anyway Victor Wooten has my vote for technique and to be quite honest I think Prince has got an amazing and fun skill...

Neversin.

namepeace said:

I agree...No one could play, compose, or conduct like Mingus could...

Neversin said:

Like blackguitaristz said, it all comes down to what style you prefer or even Favorites---Because I'll tell you...as a black kid growing up, I heard everyone from Larry Graham and Louis Johnson up through Victor Wooten and Oteil Burbidge, and I Still prefer Mark King's style of playing and thumbing over a lot of these guys--and it's all down to his approach to the rhythm,not really how much technique he has(and he he has a lot)-- he actually studied primarily as a drummer (definitely a Lenny White disciple), he approaches the Bass differently than a lot of guys who have studied the Bass guitar or upright Bass for decades --a lot of times he's essentially playing drums on the Bass, if that makes any sense-- now Victor Wooten is probably the baddest all around cat out there today in terms of technique, but I've never heard anyone Thumb the way Mark King does on the Level 42 track " The Pursuit of Accidents" (BTW- I know people are gonna shoot me, but as much as I like Wooten's playing, I have his solo albums, and I'm not that knocked out by his compositional skills--just my preference, but Compositionally, I'll take any of Level 42's albums over any of Wooten's solo albums...and again, just my personal thang...) (Don't shoot me! )

And I feel the same about Mark Adams from Slave...I know hundreds of guys that have Much More skill overall, But I will still take his feel over cartloads of guys with technique coming out of their asses! I've heard alot of people put him down because he does alot of Jamming in E, not as versatile as a Stanley Clarke, for example...But if I had Mark's feel for the Funk, I'd Jam in E all day long, Morning, Noon and Night, 24/7!!

but, going back to level 42 and Mark King, The Pop Press probably Did go overboard on Mark abilities--and he knows it---He himself remarked (in the Level 42 biography) that a lot of it probably Was this "Wow, Here's a white guy playing like this" kinda reaction in the pop world-- and he laughed off that "Best Bass Player in the World" stuff...he's quick to defer to the Stanleys and Jacos and Louis Johnsons of the world...But he's got his own approach, it works for him...an' I'm still diggin' it...a lot of brothas(and Sistas) are...

In closing, a quote from Meshell Ndegeocello in Bass Player magazine:

"...and I also really like Mark King from Level 42. That's some great, solid Bass playing..."

an' a quote from EWF's Maurice White In Rock and Soul magazine:

" There's a group now (that Verdine and Larry) are producing called Level 42 that are very Funky! - You should check out their Bass player--He's A Monster!"

again, just a matter of personal preference...

[This message was edited Sat Jun 26 7:12:49 2004 by paligap]

...and the same with Prince--compared to, say, Rhonda Smith-- While Rhonda has Lot more overall technique on the Bass than Prince, and She's arguably the best Bassist he's ever had, she's never gonna have Prince's particular feel for the Funk, that greasy slippery thing that he has when he plays the bass! Her approach is more studied , but--again it's an innate feel and it's not something you can really learn in Music school...

Meshell Ndegeocello too, has a certain feel...again, hundreds of other people with much more technique, but they don't have her sense of rhythm...that's an individual thing...
[This message was edited Sat Jun 26 7:32:15 2004 by paligap]

Jaco Pastorious
Larry Muthafunkin Garraham
Victor Wooten