Jazz Bass Blindfold Test: Guess the Bassist by Ear

Reuben Rogers plays three tracks. Bob DeBoo has to name the bassist on each one by ear, with nothing but a few hints. He went 1 for 3. Can you beat him?

Play along: pause before each reveal (07:07, 13:29, 21:24) and make your guess.

Along the way: how pros describe what they hear before they can put a name on it (tone, note length, strings, attack), why bass is the hardest instrument in the band to pick out, how one bassist's sound changed completely in 14 years, and the pickup that made a whole era of jazz bass sound alike. Every great bassist got that way by listening to other bassists. Here are three names worth knowing.

Coming up in a future episode: Bob gets his turn to stump Reuben.

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

(00:00) Can You Pick Them Out by Ear?
(00:51) The Rules (and a Terrible Pun)
(02:02) Bassist #1: First Listen
(03:27) Warm, Dark, and Detailed: Bob's First Read
(04:49) Hint: "Guilty by Association"
(06:06) Clue #2: Talk About Broad Notes
(07:07) Bassist #1 Revealed
(09:16) Bassist #2: First Listen
(11:37) Gut Strings or Pirazzis? Bob Reads the Tone
(12:27) Clue #2: Is It a Joe?
(13:29) Bassist #2 Revealed
(14:24) Haden's Sound, Holland's Dexterity
(16:48) Bassist #3: "An Elder Statesman"
(18:23) Not the Sound You Know Him For
(19:39) Clue #2: Fast-Forward 14 Years
(20:41) Ron Carter? Rufus Reid? Last Guess
(21:24) Bassist #3 Revealed
(23:07) The Pickup That Defined an Era
(24:10) The Takeaway: Deep Listening

SPOILERS BELOW: the answers and every track in the episode

Bassist #1: Palle Danielsson
• "Pure & Simple" — John Taylor, Palle Danielsson, Peter Erskine (ECM)
• Keith Jarrett, Belonging (ECM, 1974) — with Jan Garbarek and Jon Christensen

Bassist #2: Scott Colley
• "Don't Rise" — Koppel Colley Blade Collective, Perspective (2023)
• "Ugly Beauty" + a second cut — Scott Colley, This Place, with Chris Potter and Bill Stewart

Bassist #3: Buster Williams
• Herbie Hancock, The Prisoner (Blue Note, 1969)
• Kenny Barron Trio, Green Chimneys (Criss Cross, 1983) — with Ben Riley

Also mentioned: Bass to Infinity (the Buster Williams documentary) and Scott Colley's The Magic Line.

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