6 Reference Bassists in Groove | Part 1

Hello my friends.

Many times we come across a song, and within this song the bass groove sounds amazing, with striking grooves that make some part of your body move, you are definitely someone who does that.

And right away, we try to find out who the bassist is, and then we go straight to You Tube to look for more information or songs or shows that this bassist has played, this is something very good and delicious, to carry out all this research and discover this bassist’s history, or even his references that make him have a perfect groove.

Following this path, today we are going to suggest some names that are references in Groove, unfortunately we can’t put them all here, but over time we will definitely indicate other names. If you have a name to indicate, please put it in the comments at the end of the article.

James Jamerson

Impossible to start a list if mentioning such an important name for Groove, Jamerson was simply one of Motown’s base musicians, responsible for incredible lines that are still successful around the world. His lines have a unique identity, and for sure as soon as you hear it, we can identify that it is James Jamerson, owner of a fat and well-filled sound, the rhythmic part has a life of its own and is always in motion, with that the music wins an unparalleled dynamic.

Check out some excerpts from James Jamerson:

Bernard Edwards

Wowww….If you’ve heard CHIC’s lines, that means you’ve heard Bernard Edwards’ lines, he’s participated in other great projects like Diana Ross’s Diana album, Edwards’ lines are well crafted and it gets even better when he applies the Chucking technique, which consists of using your thumb as a pick, being very simple in explanation.

CHIC’s lines are incredible, rich in a lot of variations and with firm and striking lines, check out some of Bernard Edwards’ incredible lines:

Bosty Coolins

The younger ones may not know, but Coolins was already part of King James Brown’s band, and his Grooves are extremely pulsating and without a defined path, in the Sex Machine track we can see that the Groove has many variations, which makes it a little complicated create a simple pattern. Bosty Coolins in his solo albums, has a sound with more effects and using pedals, but they are great lines.

Check out some of his lines with James Brown:

Mark King

His Groove and Slap lines with the band Level 42 marked a generation, King built great lines with his Jaydee bass, lines that are played to this day.
The slap is a technique very present in the Level 42 albums, Mark King makes it look easy, but don’t be fooled, they are lines with a lot of variations and firm beats.

Check out some lines:

Francis Rocco Prestia

One of the great names of Groove, he was very successful with the band Tower of Power, his lines were something unique, deep user of the ghost notes and muffling the strings with the palm of his left hand while walking along the neck, his lines seem to have life and are constants. Funky exudes from his lines.

Check out some of his lines:

Joe Dart

The great responsible for the Groove of the band Vulfpeck, known for having a neck that didn’t break…lol. Dart is almost the past present, its other lines sound from the 80s and Bernard Edwards, see 70 James Jamerson influences among them.
But without a doubt he is incredible and his lines are already references.

Check out some of his lines: