Bassist james jamerson, standing in the shadows of motown. See more ideas about james jamerson, the funk brothers and motown. Maybe the most influential bassist ever, james jamerson was the uncredited session player on nearly all 1960s releases from motown records. James jamerson the musician whose bass lines were the bedrock of motowns greatest hits stands among his fellow players in the recording studio where those masterpieces were created. Jun 03, 2019 the life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen. Now jamerson s work has become widely appreciated thanks to allan slutskys groundbreaking book. It also includes the sheet musictab and performance notes for motor city grooves make me wanna practice, an original motownstyl. The title track from jr walkers celebrated 1969 album, jamersons line manages to be both red hot and laid back. Apr 19, 2020 paul mccartney credits jamerson as a huge influence on hit bass playing and in 1989 many of the worlds greatest bass got together to credit jamersons work in the iconic book standing in the shadows of motown. This is my tribute and update of the book to the mod. Licks and the allstar list of contributors show you how by sharing jamerson s story and getting into the nitty gritty of his music and instrumentation.
Oct 12, 2016 how to get the james jamerson bass sound october 12, 2016 by best bass gear max kays nephew jeremy kay makes an appearance in a reverb video seen below describing how to get that beloved motown bass tone played by bass great james jamerson. Jamerson followed in the footsteps of his father, the legendary motown studio musician, as a bassist. Jan, 2015 if jamerson had never set aside the upright in the early 1960s when the bass guitar was in its infancy, perhaps the electric bass might not progressed beyond the scope of the tuba. The film was inspired by the 1989 book standing in the shadows of motown. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in. There is no tab in this so it is great for reading practice and comes with a cd of truly great bass players playing jamerson bass lines. It also includes the sheet musictab and performance notes for motor city grooves make me wanna practice, an original motownstyle piece written to showcase the complex. Recorded in 1965 for motowns bustling tamla label, here jamerson makes the bass swing as much as the sax. Regarding how to get the motown sound kinda mimics a standup bass, very little ring to it, i put labella james jamerson strings flat wound. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson paperback may 1, 1989. Here you can download free motown james jamerson shared files found in our database. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to. Motowns studio house band had numerous players that would perform on recording sessions and a group of about a dozen came to call themselves the funk brothers, due to producers continually giving the band stylistic direction to make it funky.
Jamerson played bass on all the classic motown hits of the 60s and 70s and had a very distinctive tone and playing style. Welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions. James jamerson, bass of the motown sound udiscover. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf audio. In 1959, when berry gordy founded motown records in detroit, michigan, jamerson became a founding member of motown studio band known as the funk brothers. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson, a bass guitar instruction book by allan slutsky, which features jamersons bass lines. Synopsis bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groovethe invisible entity whose bass playing inspired thousands of imitators, and made it impossible for anyone to sit still whenever a motown record was playing. This book inspired a film of the same name that shines a light on the instrumentalists who were not credited for their work on hundreds of hit songs. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. Theres also some bonus motown transcriptions at the end of the book too including the bob babbitt line on band of gold and stevie wonders. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and.
Legendary motown bassist james jamerson singlehandedly revolutionized bass playing. He knew how to define harmony and how to drive it forward. James jamerson, one of the funk brothers who were the very essence of the motown sound, passed away on 2 august 1983, at the age of only 47. Mar 25, 2016 family members, friends and motown fans are mourning the death of bassist james jamerson jr.
He was the in house bass player for the funk brothers. James lee jamerson january 29, 1936 august 2, 1983 was an american bass player. James jamerson changed all that and he did over a relatively short period while working for motown records. When james jamerson died in 1983, he was a completely unknown figure. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands and made it impossible for anyone to sit still while listening to a motown record. Theres also some bonus motown transcriptions at the end of the book too including the bob babbitt line on band of gold and stevie wonders awesome keyboard bass line on isnt she lovely. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson. Standing in the shadows of motown deserves its place in the library of every bass player.
Guitar bookbassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the motown records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971, and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. He was an outstanding bass player regarded as the first virtuoso of the electric bass. Jamerson was described by motown records founder berry gordy as a genius on the bassan incredible improviser in the. His bass playing proved to be a defining element of the motown sound. Is there a good book of jamersons basslines with tab and notation. Bought this booklet because i love motown music and as a bass player myself i so admire james jamerson and his greatness as one of the worlds great bass guitar player and to some he is the worlds one and only.
His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behindthe. How to get the james jamerson motown bass sound scotts bass lessons duration. Now jamersons work has become widely appreciated thanks to allan slutskys groundbreaking book. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behindthescenes motown. This ipad book contains a detailed biography for legendary motown bassist james jamerson, as well as a selected discography and an analysis of the equipment he used. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some nonmotown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of read full biography. This book contains highly detailed full or partial transcriptions of over 40 songs that legendary bassist james jamerson recorded during his career at motown. Standing in the shadows of motown the life and music of. Aug 09, 2014 welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions.
James jamerson was arguably the first electric bassist who really explored the potential of the fender bass. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon. The way they play the quest for the melodic electric bass. Pdf james jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. Here are bass lines for 14 beloved hits from marvin gaye, the. I know you dont believe in the whole idea of best musician because you have this wacky idea that the concept of quality in music is subjective. Standing in the shadows of motown play along 1a whats going. Born in south carolina on january 29, 1936 james jamerson grew up enveloped by the sounds or gospel, jazz and the blues. James jamerson, the king of motown bass home facebook.
How to get the james jamerson bass sound october 12, 2016 by best bass gear max kays nephew jeremy kay makes an appearance in a reverb video seen below describing how to get that beloved motown bass tone played by bass great james jamerson. Standing in the shadows of motown uk us james jamerson was basically the first electric bass virtuoso, and these transcriptions of his lines provide a great reading workout. A production on march 1516 at hilton head island high schools vpac. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more. Standing in the shadows of motown how to play bass. Motown encyclopedia the bass book funk guitar and bass. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame.
As a member of the funk brothers he played on just about every motown track up until the early 1970s. Here are bass lines for 14 beloved hits from marvin gaye, the supremes, the temptations, stevie wonder and many others. For anyone who loves motown and the bass playing of james jamerson there is a wonderful book called standing in the shadows. James jamerson motor city grooves make me wanna practice. James jamerson is without a doubt one of the most influential bass players of all time, perhaps the undisputed number one.
In the early 1970s, jamerson never asked for the bass back, so the guitar was never returned. However we do know that the bible of the electric bass is the james jamerson transcription book entitled standing in the shadows of motown. Paul mccartney credits jamerson as a huge influence on hit bass playing and in 1989 many of the worlds greatest bass got together to credit jamersons work in the iconic book standing in the shadows of motown. The motown session bassist james jamerson is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important bassists in modern music history. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some nonmotown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of bass playing and brought what had been regarded by some as a minor instrument to the forefront through the use of the electric fender bass, powered by his musical genius and amazing dexterity. Amazingly the majority of them were improvised from chord symbols. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. This bookcd pack by blues expert dave rubin provides bassists with a stepbystep breakdown of the styles and techniques of motown, with an emphasis on the legendary james jamerson the bassman in demand. The bass player was basically there to keep time and outline the melody, and usually nothing more. James jamerson the man and legend bass strings, gear. My reading of music is not as good as it used to be i know i know i should learn it all again but i would really like the tabs too. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired. In fact, much of his childhood was spent around motowns studio.
According to a hastily prepared press release, he claimed to have been friends with james jamerson during the motown era of the 1960s. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson and found out its only notation. James jamersona look at his gear and playing techniques. This is one of the bibles for bass players as james jamerson is one of the true bass greats. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some non motown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of bass playing and brought what had been regarded by some as a minor instrument to the forefront through the use of the electric fender bass, powered by his musical genius and amazing dexterity. This book contains a biography as well as transcriptions and recordings of jamerson s best lines and should be. Apparently, he needed a bass for an upcoming weekend gig and jamerson offered his spare bass to use. James jamerson bass lines, tab and getting that tone. He died in 1983 but his bass playing will live on for centuries. The heartbeat of the classic motown sound, bassist james jamerson is photographed here in the basement recording studio nicknamed the snakepit of the companys 1960s headquarters.
Bass players james jamerson james jamersons basslines were the foundation of the motown sound full of complex 16th note passages, dissonant passing tones and intense syncopations. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson uk us michael league interview with bass lessons melbourne quote is at about 17. This is the exact notation from the standing in the shadows on motown book which also includes when jamerson played open strings or 5th fret on the next string. Standing in the shadows of motown bassline publishing. Bass players james jamerson james jamerson s basslines were the foundation of the motown sound full of complex 16th note passages, dissonant passing tones and intense syncopations. Almost any student of electric bass will want to peruse this book. Reconstructing the history of motown session musicians. A large part of jamerson s genius was his note choice. A legendary bassguitar player who redefined bassguitar playing with a unique sound and style of playing. A detailed biography is also included and all tracks have backing tracks on the accompanying cds. A cause of death has not been announced, though he had been ill for some time. This book contains a biography as well as transcriptions and recordings of jamersons best lines and should be.
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