There is no best, they do the job they wanted to do, whether it is grooving in the pocket, slapping and tapping at a million miles an hour or thumping to a 4/4 beat at 80bpm, we all do it at the best of our abilities.

There is no best, they do the job they wanted to do, whether it is grooving in the pocket, slapping and tapping at a million miles an hour or thumping to a 4/4 beat at 80bpm, we all do it at the best of our abilities.

to me the best bass lines are the ones that puts food on my table & lines my pockets/pays some bills.............& i believe we call those the pocket!

The best? I don't know. But the ones that influenced me the most:
 
Mark King and Stanley Clarke (these guys got me started. Living legends, period!)
 
Brian Bromberg (very pleasant and down to earth person, wonderful teacher, great composer, musically developed, incredibly virtuoso on electric and upright bass.)
 
Jimmy Johnson (One hell of a nice guy, appearantly modest but technically extremely skilled, refined, subtle and always very present in the mix. This guy plays truly breathtaking bass lines!)

Jaco

right, despite how ridiculous of a thread this is, here's my input.
william parker,henry grimes,dave holland,jimmy GARRISON,paul chambers,MINGUSMINGUSMINGUSMINGUSMINGUS
kent kessler,trevor dunn,gary peacock,eddie gomez,SCOTT LAFARO,larry grenadier,drew gress,james genus,charlie HADEN
  and the list goes far longer than i care to continue.
'the best bass player of all time'... what a pointless concept.
personally, most of the bass players named in this thread don't do much for me. Jaco and Stanley and MK are all great, but i would never even place them close to my favorites.  say free music ruined my taste, but i'm bored with jaco clones.  
this subject's already gotten me too upset, time to move on....

I actually went to see Allan Holdsworth the other week, with Jimmy J. It was a small club so I was up close; about 3 feet from Jimmy. I was a little concerned beforehand because I'm not the biggest fan of Allan's music (it's a little too out for my tastes), and I must admit my fears were confirmed; genius though he undoubtedly is it left me cold. What did surprise me was Jimmy Johnson; I love his playing and tone on everything I've ever seen/heard, but live I actually thought his tone was far too hifi for me. Great player though.
 
Darkstar, you're right, best bassist of all time is indeed a ridiculous concept, but it's nice to hear some people's influences/preferences; sometimes that's how you discover new players that you haven't heard before. Speaking of which, I forgot to mention Matt Garrison and Janek Gwizdala in my list.
 
(Message edited by bigbadbill on December 12, 2007)

bigbadbill, I saw Allan Holdsworth the other week too and Jimmy was playing fantastically. However the sound out-front was a bit muddy on the bass end so the clarity of individual notes on  his bass did not come out too well through the PA.  He said he had di'd his bass.  
I have to say I have not heard any of his playing. So can't really comment other than what I've heard on that day.
 
Any pointers to albums I can check him out on?
Jazzyvee

Jazzy..
Depends what kind of music you like.
I have Holdsworth's 'Secrets' and 'Sand'. Both are typical holdsworth and JJ's playing is fantastic. However, I prefer his playing with James taylor, alot less self-indulgent (not the right expression but hopefully you'll understand). Any of the last 3 JT albums will highlight Jimmy's less busy, more tuneful side.. October Road, new Moonshine or hourglass. I'm pretty sure his Live CD will be recent enough to include Jimmy too.  
You could also try to track down his own band, Flim and the BBs but I think anything you find would have to come from the states.
 
graeme

I have to say that Im a big Holdsworth fan and have been listening to him since the 80's, but Im ashamed to say that I have never checked out any James Taylor material.
 
Im going to check him out now to hear how Jimmy fits into his thing!

The Holdsworth/Wetton combo on the first U.K. album was killer.  I really, really liked them together!
 
John

The best?  I don't know.
The ones who have inspired me and taught me a lot?  Many of the above + Berry Oakley.
Rich

I seem to recall a whole lotta people writing to Bass Player mag a few years ago to tell them it was Entwistle. I like his response when asked about receiving the honor.  I don't think I'll get it again.
 
My own perspective has always been that it's art, not sport. There's no official scorer in art.
 
JP

My own perspective has always been that it's art, not sport. There's no official scorer in art.
 
JP, I love it!

That's why Van Gogh never took steroids!
 
Bill, tgo