Slap That Bass!
g the double bass is an innovation made in New Orleans. Bass players started to slap and pluck their basses in order to give the music a jazz feeling.
Slap style bass can be traced down to be an accepted style of playing jazz in New Orleans in 1918.
Apart from jazz and swing the new rhythmic way of playing found its way to many different styles of music. By the middle of the century it had diffused for instance into country, bluegrass, Caribbean and Guatemalan marimba bands.
In the mid 1950's slap style had an important role in the development of rock'n'roll music. In many cases it was slap bass that gave the rock'n'roll music a primitive beat and a strong rhythm.
Nowadays slap bass is mostly used in various types of roots music.
"If you want to bubble, slap that bass
Slap away your trouble, slap that bass!"
- Ira Gershwin
Pioneers of slap bass tradition
">Before the mid 1920's recording technique couldn't pick up the low bass sounds. After inventing the electretic microphone the bass could also been heard in the recordings. Some pioneers in the art of slapping the double bass:
George "Pops" Foster - the legend of slap bass tradition
Wellman Braud (1891-1967)
- played with Duke Ellington
- important popularizer of the slap style
George "Pops" Foster (1892-1969)
- played with Luis Russell and Louis Armstrong
- kept the tradition of slap bass solos alive into the late '60s
John Lindsay (1894-1950)
- toured with Louis Armstrong in 1931-32
- played on the classic Chicago 1926 Jelly Roll Morton Red Hot Peppers records
- member in Harlem Hamfats
Steve Brown (c. 1890-1965)
- member in New Orleans Rhythm Kings in the early 1920's
- played in Jean Goldkette Orchestra
Al Morgan (1908-1974)
- recorded with Fats Waller in 1929
- played in Cab Calloway's Orchestra in the early 30's
Later Jazz Generations
in slap bass the following jazz player generations didn't use much slapping. Slap style became quite rare but is still being used in bands that play New Orleans jazz.
Milt Hinton (1910-2000)
- played in Cab Calloway's Orchestra
- worked with many artists
Jimmy Blanton(1918-1942)
- played with Duke Ellington
- revolutionized the bass playing
Charles Mingus (1922-1979)
- bass player and pianist
- composer, who allowed plenty of room to musicians own ideas
Oscar Pettiford (1922-1960)
- played with Duke Ellington
- first major jazz soloist in cello
Ray Brown (1926-2002)
- played with Dizzy Gillespie
- member in Oscar Peterson Trio
Blues players
">In blues music it is possible to find some amazing slap bass. There are interesting solos as well as good primitive sounds.
Ernst "Big" Crawford
- played with Muddy Waters
- interesting slap bass for instance in a song: I Can't Be Satisfied
Willie Dixon (1915-1992)
- bassist, singer, songwriter, producer
- member in Big Three Trio, with which he plays interesting slap bass solos
- interesting slap bass for instance in songs: Big 3 Stomp, Hard Notch Boogie Beat, 88 Boogie, Big 3 Boogie
Revolution of Rock'n'Roll
">In the mid 1950's slap style had an important role in the development of rock'n'roll music. In many cases it was slap bass that gave the rock'n'roll music a primitive beat and a strong rhythm.
Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley and Bill Black - The Blue Moon Boys
Marshall Lytle
- played in Bill Haley and the Comets
- Bill Haley and the Comets had a very distinctive slap bass sound.
Bill Black
- played with Elvis Presley
- Elvis Presley started his career without drums, in his early recordings it was slap bass that provides the strong primitive beat.
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