Who's Your Favorite Bass Players; Why?

James Jamison of Motown fame is king. He's played on most Motown classics and is considered the "bass player's bass player". Even Geddy Lee and other rockers pay great tribute to him and his work, which, were compositional masterpieces in themselves. Also, Nathan East and Abraham Laboriel. These guys played on many of the who's who in pop music but are not talked about much because they play in the shadow of many great musicians. For an example listen to Abe's work on "New Frontier" on Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" album. Clean, dynamic, expressive and groovin'. For jazz? Ron Carter. Ask the artists at Blue Note why.

-Dean

In terms of commanding the stage, I would go with Jaco. He's one of those guys you couldn't take your eyes off of.

Lee Skylar is amazingly solid.

Rufas Reid stands out.

Walter Booker is overlooked.

Amin Ali's avant-funk is great.

In no particular order:
Doug Wimbish
Jah Wobble
Bill Laswell
Billy"Bass"Nelson
Donald"Duck" Dunn
Robbie Shakespeare

It's a groove thing.

ps A message to all bassists:
If your bass has more than 5 strings and you're given to noodling
be a MAN and get a guitar!

(1)Jaco.... While never really a Beatles fan, I'd pick McCartney in the non-Jazz category. Surprised he wasn't mentioned more!

Another vote for Dave Holland. An outstanding musician although I have to admit, I'm mildly disappointed with his latest stuff which appears more refined but less interesting.