4 Bassists You Should Know About
I am not going to say that one musician is “better” than another, but here is a list, in no specific order, of 4 bassists you should at least know about.
*Les Claypool (Primus, pictured above) Born 1963, he is the master of funk and slap bass using tapping and sweeps and things most people can’t do on a bass. I remember reading an interview with Les and he said he auditioned for Metallica and they turned him down because he was “too good”.
*Cliff Burton (Metallica) Born 1962, Died 1986; he was a part of Metallica’s first three albums before he died when the tour bus ran off the road and flipped in Sweden. He was known for his amazing bass solos involving wahs and effects. His last album, Master of Puppets, set the standard for metal at the time.
*Jaco Pastorius - Born 1951, Died 1987; John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Ever” in Bass Guitar Magazine. He got his start in jazz but was the master of many different styles. Go listen to his self-titled debut cd. Seriously.
*Geezer Bulter (Black Sabbath) Born 1949; he is a huge part of the “first heavy metal band”. He wrote most of the Sabbath lyrics. He and Tony Iommi were two of the first to tune down to C# and play slower to make the music that much heavier.
