But they did! And my first interview with Billy Sheehan included names like Bach, Debussy, Oscar Peterson and Paco de Lucía.

When I interviewed classical double bass virtuoso Gary Karr last year, I was not expecting to hear names like John Patitucci, Victor Wooten, Michael Manring and Jaco Pastorius come out of his mouth. It’s not uncommon to find good musicians admiring players outside their traditional comfort zones, recognizing true talent when they hear it. In case you don’t know Hal, he’s the bass player for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Selzer also cites Jamerson as a major influence. So it should come as no surprise that in this week’s interview, Hal B. But Jamerson is also mentioned as a major influence by Billy Idol bassist Stephen McGrath, jazz upright player Larry Grenadier, rockers Garry Tallent, John Lodge and Peter Cetera, punk veteran Mike Watt, and music icons Paul McCartney and Jack Bruce. It may seem natural, even obvious, for Jamerson to have been mentioned by players like Chuck Rainey, Nathan East, Jerry Jemmott, “Ready” Freddie Washington and other bassists known for their R&B grooves. It seems like a pretty safe bet that the audience reading this will agree that the biggest reason those Motown hits sounded – and felt – so good was due, in no small part, to those incomparable James Jamerson bass lines. Having interviewed some 500+ bass players, I’ve heard Jamerson’s name over and over when asking about bass influences. Ask any bass player about his or her bass influences and you’ll often hear many of the same names: Jaco, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Geddy Lee…Īnother name that comes up as much as the others is that of Motown “Funk Brother” James Jamerson.

James jamerson bass transcriptions