Abraham Laboriel

                                     

Written down in history as the most hired bassist of our generation (Guitar Player Magazine), Abraham Laboriel continues to amaze in each and every song he plays in. This guy's got it all. Being Born in Mexico City, Laboriel always had aptitude for music. You can see much of the Spanish influence in many of his solos, because of the use of flamenco-style techniques. Laboriel is currently working in a band with Greg Mathieson, Bill Maxwell, and Justo Almario, called Open Hands. I personally don't listen to their music, however I really enjoy listening to Laboriel preforming his solos. Also, Laboriel is credited with using and reviving the 4 finger technique from classical guitar. He found a way to modernize the skill, and it proved very useful to him. Laboriel has worked with Michael Jackson, Barbera Streisand, Elton John, Herbie Hancock, Madonna, Paul Jackson, Jr., and so many more. Check out the videos for more!



Four Finger Technique Lesson

Abraham Laboriel Solo

Les Claypool

                            

Les Claypool is a 52 year old Bassist, known for his membership in the band Primus. Claypool is especially known for his Flamenco- style strumming, tapping, slapping, and whammy bar usage. Claypool typically plays alternative rock, funk metal, and progressive rock. As a group, Primus plays funk metal. Personally, I find their music a bit strange, especially in their hit song "my name is mud", because of the repetition of the phrase "my name is mud" throughout the song. As a  bassist, Claypool incorporates musical styles from around the world very successfully to create a distinct musical voice for himself. As a young adult, Claypool began playing bass and was just having fun with it. His good friend during his childhood was Kirk Hammett of Metallica. Later, Hammett pushed Claypool into joining the band after the death of their beloved bass player, Cliff Burton. James Hetfield, the singer for Metallica said that "Claypool was too good" to be part of their band, and that he should do his own thing. Claypool did so, creating Primus, which became unusually successful for their type of genre. I think the video I posted below shows his skill in bass the most-- slap bass is pretty difficult to master, and he plays it well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5XeVLJeMdE

Marcus Miller

Marcus Miller is almost always put in the "cannon" of best bass players because of his unique slap bass skills and bass lines. Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 14 1959. He was born to a family of musicians: his mother was a jazz pianist and his father was a church organist. By the time he was 13, he was proficient in bass, guitar, piano, and clarinet. These skills gave him the opportunity to play regularly around New York City. His skills pushed him straight to the top, and allowed him to play on over 500 different albums. These artists include Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Wayne Shorter, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, LL Cool J, and many many more. More recently, he came together with multiple different skilled musicians to form his own band, and started creating his own music. Marcus Miller has also won Grammy Awards for his producing abilities on other peoples albums. This guy can seriously do anything! Marcus Miller's signature bass is a 1977 Fender Jazz bass, shown in the picture above. Fender eventually came out with a Marcus Miller Signature bass series, but he doesn't use it that often. To really feel what Marcus Miller is all about, it is best to hear some of his best work. Check out his music below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Q8Ual3coM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBWcEyFZW78

Victor Wooten

Victor Lemonte Wooten, 1 of the 5 Wooten brothers raised in Newport News, Virginia, is an avid and talented bass player. Victor is the recipient of 5 Grammy awards,  and was put in the list of "Top Ten Best Bass players" by the Rolling Stones. Interestingly, all 5 of the Wooten brothers were musicians, and they eventually created "The Wooten Brothers Band". They became very successful as a result of their talents, and later on split off into their own individual paths of musical success. In 1988, Victor joined Bela Fleck in the pursuit of creating Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. This is when Victor really blew up. They played an equal mixture of bluegrass, blu-bop, and fusion to create their interesting music. Victor really shined on their song, "sinister Minister", where he demonstrated his phenomenal slap bass skills. During this time, Victor also received his own signature bass model from Fodera, called the Yin-Yang Bass (see picture). Victor currently incorporates his bass skills and teachings into a summer camp, which is designed to teach kids about their musical abilities and develop their bass skills. Check out some of his music below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEyEu-hS0fA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVQEe8OI3zk

That Psycho Flea

Michael Peter Balzary, or more famously known as Flea, is an Australian born, American Raised bassist. Balzary was nicknaed Flea because of his inability to sit still in class, and it stuck with him ever since. Flea had a pretty tough life as a child: He and his family moved to New York for his dad's musical career. His parents divorced, and his father moved back to Australia. His mother remarried to a Jazz musician, who became an aggressive alcoholic, and eventually got involved in shoot-outs with the police. Yeah, he was pretty crazy. Flea said: "I was raised in a very violent, alcoholic household". He went on to say: "I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life." He began using recreational Marijuana to cope with his feelings. Flea began his musical career as a trumpet player being deeply in love with Jazz music, and was then introduced to punk rock through his high school friends Hillel Slovak and Anthony Kiedis. Flea learned how to play the bass through Slovak, and then joined his band called Anthym. Flea then quit, and joined a band called Fear; he rejoined the first band, which was ultimately the creation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He learned many different bass styles like slap bass and fingering techniques, which gave him the wide range of abilities he has now. In each of the band's 16 albums, Flea is able to incorporate his different techniques to create bass lines that feel full and meaty. His behavior on and off stage created an image that matches his playing style-- being funky, wild, crazy, and sporadic. There is no specific bass of choice for Flea--  He believes having a specific bass is unimportant: "what mattered was how you hit them [basses] and your emotional intent, and I still think that's the bottom line."  As a result of his musical style Flea  is listed as the second best bassist of all time in Rolling Stone. Flea is currently alive and well, still with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and also doing small gigs with random artists for fun. He is also an avid philanthropist, and has done tons of performances for charitable causes. Check out some of his awesome skills in the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FrI5lNvCnQ

P.S- The video above is not him acting crazy. Watch this video if you want to see how crazy he is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wKw0RUMsMk&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_wKw0RUMsMk&has_verified=1

The Man, The Legend, Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius is considered to be one of the best, most progressive bass player of his time, and possibly of all time. He started his music career following his father as a drummer. He broke his wrist at a young age, and consequently was unable to play drums at all. His wrist was damaged enough to receive a surgery, which fixed his wrist but limited his physical abilities. During this time, he was involved in a local band; the bass player of the band quit, leaving them with an incomplete crew. Jaco decided to step up and be the bass player for the band, buying a 15 dollar electric bass from a shop. He continued on this path, with his first breakthrough in music working with Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders. Later on, Jaco began working with the band Weather Report, a jazz fusion band, where he really blew up and got a name for himself. Pastorius is also known for having bi-polar disorder-- the periods of time where he was innovative were typically times where he was in his other psyche. Jaco was brought into the band solely by his legendary technical skills and abilities. He played a 1960 Fender Jazz Bass, A.K.A the Bass of Doom because of its deep, pounding tone and fret-less neck design. Jaco's bass is currently being legally held by Robert Trujillo and owned by Jaco's Family. They received it from a collector in a legal battle, who received it from a pawn shop, who allegedly bought it from a man who stole it from Jaco at the time of his death. Jaco mainly played jazz and jazz fusion, evident in the Weather Report and his own musical endeavors. Pastorius is known for being funky, using 16^th notes and ghost notes to create his bass lines. He also popularized the electric bass, and more specifically, the fret-less bass. Jaco thought that frets were “speedbumps” and slowed him down. Jaco unfortunately died of a brain hemorrhage and brain death, at the hands of Luc Havan, a club bouncer. Havan was sentenced to 22 months and 5 years probation for manslaughter, but was then released on parole after 4 months on account of good behavior and recognition of no previous offenses. Jaco left a legacy behind-- one of funky, groovy bass lines, and innovative musical structures. He and will always be remembered as one of the greatest. 

welcome to my page!

Welcome! My name is Matt. I am a 16 year old born and raised in Los Angeles, the most culturally diverse city on the west coast and the "mecca" of all things pop. Since I was 8 years old, my love of music has inspired me to to play different instruments and explore the different styles of music. Over the past year, I have fallen in love with the bass guitar: its tonal flexibility, steep learning curve, and musical implications make it so much fun to play, and amazing to hear. Through my blog, I hope to show others how powerful different bass players are in their arts, and how musically adept they are. Each post will feature a different artist, the bass of their choice, their setup, the music they play, along with tidbits of information on them, and a deep analysis of their playing style. I hope that I can shed some light on the different genres of music that are available, and consequently, broaden the average person's musical taste. I have noticed over the years that mainstream music are almost all carbon copies of each other, just in different keys and different beats per minute. Because there are many different bass players, each with their own individual technique, I will go in depth and explore their specific talents. Stay tuned for more coming soon.