Best of each artist · One record per artist
Best bass
The bass is what you feel before you hear it. Here is the album where each artist’s bass takes centre stage.
- 1 Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um Charles Mingus was both composer and bassist, and you can hear it: the bass drives, teases and leads the band. Listen to “Better Git It in Your Soul” Timeless classic
- 2 Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard Scott LaFaro plays the bass as a third voice beside the piano. Eleven days after the recording he died in a car crash. Listen to “Gloria’s Step” Timeless classic
- 3 Weather Report Heavy Weather Jaco Pastorius made the electric bass sing. He wrote “Teen Town” himself. Listen to “Teen Town” Timeless classic
- 4 Miles Davis Kind of Blue “So What” opens with Paul Chambers’s double bass asking the question and the band answering. One of jazz’s best-known intros. Listen to “So What” Timeless classic
- 5 Jan Johansson Jazz på svenska Georg Riedel’s double bass is half the record: the warm, steady foundation that turns the folk tunes into jazz. Listen to “Visa från Utanmyra” Timeless classic
- 6 Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come Charlie Haden’s bass holds together a band with no piano and no fixed chords. On “Lonely Woman” it is both anchor and lament. Listen to “Lonely Woman” Timeless classic
22 artists in the list.