# A Bass Photo Album



## Guest

I put this together for no reason on particular except leisure enjoyment:



























Neck extension. This enables the E-string to play lower without needing to resort to a 5-string bass.









Hungarian girl with bass. I don't know if it's an effect of the photo or not but it doesn't seem that the fingerboard is elevated away from the body the way a double bass should be. I don't know how it could be playable if this is the case. Moreover, the fingerboard is designed like a guitar.









Bass origami


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## Guest

This is the stuff, folks.









Crehore church bass, 1780s. A church bass is a small double bass--not a cello but slightly larger. It could be played by strapping it to the body and walking around with it. This type of bass was also popular with itinerant street musicians who played in the taverns and so was called a "beer bass."









Crehore church bass, 1800.









The bass humidifier. You wet it, squeeze it out and insert the tube portion into a sound hole in cold weather and it will keep the inside of the bass from getting too dry. Never use them in warm weather or you could get mold which will destroy your bass.









Beautiful chamber bass.


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## Guest

6-string double bass. If I hadn't seen a photo, I would never believe they existed. I don't know how you'd play it especially with a bow as there doesn't appear to be enough string separation but why would you want one just for pizzicato? Well, it's a strange world, as they say.









Old, cheap plywood basses never die; they're just converted into go-carts.









Ben Willard church bass, 1810.









1897 bass with neck extension.


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## Guest

I took this photo at St. Albertus Church in Detroit showing my instructor and some fellow students playing in recital.









Monumental waste of bass.









Double bass mod podged with Zentangle squares made by middle school students of St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School in Houston Texas--Janet Reynolds, art teacher.









United Mastodon Minstrels from a 19th century handbill. At upper center left, there appears to be a man bowing on a bass.


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## elgar's ghost

The Gibson EB1. Sorry for going all electric on you. :lol:


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## Guest

Spiderman gives me nightmares.









My photographic still life showing cat, calendar, African mask, bass and a messy dresser drawer. Somewhere Zurbaran is turning green with jealousy or maybe it's just putrefaction.



























Alfred Hitchcock as an extra in "Strangers on a Train."


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## Guest

Bassist Johann August Reinhold Bach and his sons. He was a descendant of J.S. Bach (who had 20 children, 10 of which survived to adulthood). As one can see, the music continued to run through the bloodline. J.A.R. Bach died in 1914.


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## Dr Johnson

Gibson bass banjo.

And below, the Gibson mando bass:


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## Guest

Bass morin khuur (Mongolian fiddle)




































Double bass repair and barbershop in Topeka, KS. Yes, really!


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## Guest

Memorial to Checkhov and his story of romance and the double bass. This was later made into a wonderful short film starring John Cleese and wife, Connie Booth, around the same time both were writing and appearing in "Fawlty Towers."


















Cuba.









My first ensemble--and my last.


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## Dr Johnson

Given that we have already had an electric bass here we ought to have the original:

1952 Fender Precision:


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## Guest

Washtub bass. It likely came from Africa where hunter's bows were rested on tortoise shells and plucked.









The tea chest bass, British skiffle's answer to the washtub.









"Woman Playing a Double Bass" Suzanne Valadon 1908.


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## Guest

Rockabilly


















The Resonator Bassoguitar.









Regal Bassoguitar.


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## Guest

A custom bass made for my instructor--the same guy who made my bass. He put a Polish eagle on the scroll.


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## Guest

Book housed at Oberlin Conservatory.


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## Guest

I have a 1977 Fender P bass. Bought it brand new at $500. Try and get one for that price now. I like this one better than the newer models because the newer ones feel lighter. This is a heavy bass but it gives you a DEEP, rich tone with infinite sustain so you'll knock it back with a compressor most of the time but it's there when you want it. Handles beautifully. Also excellent for slapping. Best slapping bass ever, IMO, even better than the Music Man basses which were based off the P bass anyway.









Had to get one of these. It's a modern one though. the true 60s violin Hofner were cheap, flimsy pieces of shyte. It wasn't meant to be anything high end. But Paul made them famous so Hofner couldn't phase it out (which they most certainly would have done if it were up to them) so they beefed it up. All in all, it's a not a bad bass these days. Still built as much like the original as possible but a lot sturdier.









Schecter Stiletto Studio Model 5 fretless. My first bass with active pickups. Thing of pure beauty. So perfectly put together that it practically plays itself and the sound is unreal. Amazing buy for only $600 brand new.









Torn between getting a Schecter 6-string or a Yamaha TRB but I ultimately went with the Yamaha. Unbelievable piece of power and technology in your hands. It was used and whoever had it did some wonderfully subtle work on the frets so that when you strummed it, it sounded marvelous. You strum 6-string basses, you play them like guitars, full chords and everything. They are not really made to be played like other basses. If a 6-string doesn't sound good strummed, don't buy it. When you hear a real master of 6-string play it, you'll be amazed. These things are entire orchestras in and of themselves. My instructor plays bossa nova on his and it sounds fantastic. But if you're going to buy a 6-string, know how to play it right and find an instructor who knows how to handle one. Otherwise, you're wasting your money and a bass. Properly played, it's one of the most incredible instruments ever invented.


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## Guest

Cornerless bass, Spanish, 1740. The rib (side) is made of a single, continuous piece of poplar.









This is why you don't take your bass on a commercial flight. The TSA in Atlanta did this back in September and it was the second that week that they had done this to. The best thing to do is to rent a bass in advance in another city and pick it up when you get there. You do this to my bass and I will kill you to death.


















Nice restoration work.


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## Guest

Very cool but very insane neck extension.









Only in Japan.


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## Guest

From the cartoon "Three Little Bops" about the pigs who jam hot jazz for the hip crowds at the clubs when the wolf barges in blowing his trumpet and tries to join in but his chops are so sour that he drives the crowds away. Rather cute and hilarious at once.



























Wellman Braud









The John Robichaux Orchestra from 1896 in New Orleans. The bassist is Oak Gaspard. This photo demonstrates that double basses were already being used when jazz was still jass--ragtime with a bluesy beat.


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## Guest

Edward Madenski



























While bass-climbing is highly popular in rockabilly, unless you get the ribs and end pin reinforced for this purpose, I would recommend not trying this at home.









A human-sized violin with a violin shop inside it. All the violins are functional.


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## Guest

Washtub bass with a proper neck fitted to it. With the basic washtub bass, the neck is a shovel handle that isn't attached. You simply hold it to the corner of the tub and move it back and forth to change the tautness of the string which changes its pitch. Here, you actually finger the string which is more efficient and allows for cool percussive slap effects. Washtub bass string is either binder's twine or weed-whacker nylon string. It has to stretch easily. A real bass string will not work!!!


















A screen capture I made from the 2009 animated movie, _Coraline_.









Break time.


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## Guest

Belly plates. The slats of wood fixed to them are bass bars. A bass bar is almost always glued on although some are carved when the belly plate is being scooped out. If glued, the grain must run parallel to the grain of the belly plate. It is virtually always made of spruce. The bass bar runs under the two lower strings and parallel to them. It ends under the foot of the bridge on the low side. It distributes the sound all over the belly plate uniformly.

But to get the bass's full sound requires the belly plate and the back plate vibrating simultaneously. So under the other foot of the bridge on the high side is a spruce dowel that connects to both plates like a pillar. It is called the sound post. It takes the vibration from the top plate and channels it to the back plate. Unlike the bass bar, which is glued, the sound post is held in solely by spring tension and is perfectly fitted to each plate.










This is the same internal arrangement of every member of the violin family.


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## Guest

"the sound post is held in solely by spring tension"

I imagine this statement must have caused a good bit of confusion. of course I meant "string tension." I must have been high on dangerous drugs last night.


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## Guest

Lion-head scroll. The big, wooden knobs, by the way, are string winders. When you first install the strings, you turn the knob and it will take up all the slack quickly and then you use the tuning peg. When you release the knob, it will also unwind the string very quickly. Very handy but most basses do not have them.


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## Guest

Mingus was actually a quarter Chinese.


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## Guest

"Damn it! I said don't come in until I play the four-count intro!"


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## Guest

Walter "Big Un" Page with Count Basie, Philly Jo Jones on drums and Stan Hasselgard of Sweden. Big Un, who was also a skilled sax man, was one of the greatest jazzmen that ever lived.


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## Guest

One of the finest bass amps for double bass. I got one at a discount for about $800. Small but powerful with a 200-watt speaker. Weighs a ton.


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## Guest

For playing in tight spaces or street corners, I recommend the Roland Bass Cube amp. Great sound for a small and lightweight amp and it even runs on batteries so you don't have to be near an outlet.


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## Guest

The Keith Emerson Trio, recorded at his parents' house. I don't know who the bassist is.


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## Guest

Got this for a Christmas present. Made in Norwich, England.


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## Guest

Jean Baptiste Forqueray, 1740


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## Guest

John Lamb


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## Dawood

Great thread. Makes we want to take up bass guitar again...


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## Guest




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## Guest

Yes.


















"Portrait of a Musician" by Thomas Hart Benton, teacher of actor Dennis Hopper (also a painter) and Jackson Pollack.


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## Guest

Pretty big bass.









Postcards from 1900.


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## Guest

Herman Reinshagen's bass went on sale for $96,000 not too long ago and then it dropped out of sight for a while so I figured someone bought it but I knew not whom--until now:









Yi-Jung "Angie" Su, Associate Principal double bass of the National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. She is posing with the bass above. How come their principles and directors look like that all we get a 80-year-old bald white guys with arthritic knees?


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## Guest




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## Guest

Jakob Steiner bass.









The Moor's head and peg box is a replacement carved Jakob Rauch.


















The oldest surviving member from the bass side of the violin family, an Amati cello called "The King." One date is given as 1538 while other sources say that no one is sure how old it is but probably around the mid to late 16th century.


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## Guest

Carcass, 1761









Paddle bow bass









Emerson Model 411 Mickey Mouse Radio, painted, 1934.









Mexican bass.









Sir Antonio Alessandro and Limber L'amour.


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## Guest

Edouard Nanny and Henri-Gustave Casadesus.









Bass built by Bartolomeo Cristofori









Gary Karr and Athena. I've encountered a number of bass students who attended Karr's bass camps and workshops where he brings Athena in and lets them play her.


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## Guest

Jane Little, the longest standing orchestra musician in the world at 87. She's also a very good bass guitarist.









I saw this on "Animal Planet." This new species of huge spider that only eats bassists--they like musicians with a bit more substance. She spins her web and hangs a bass just out of reach. When other musicians walk by and see it, they think, "Oh, my god! A BASS! It takes YEARS to master one of those! I'm not going near it!" And they shy away. But, of course, a bassist walks by and thinks, "Hey, look at that exquisite workmanship on the scroll! And those f-holes are unique!" And they have to go over to it and start tugging on it with their big mitts. The spider feels the vibration and BAM! Lunch. Now you bassists have been warned. Not that it will a bit of good.


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## Guest

I had this old German plywood bass from 1987 that had the neck snapped off the body after I only had it like a month or so. Since that time, the poor old girl sat discarded and forgotten in a gig bag. People told me back then to throw it away but i couldn't bring myself to do it. I hauled those pieces around to every duty station and then finally took them home when I left the service and stowed them in my mother's basement. Last summer, my mother told me to take that old broken up bass home. I had forgotten about her. So I took the pieces to my house. Then I had to take my custom bass to my luthier for some work back in October. And I grabbed this old bass before I left the house (he lives across the state so it's a long drive). I figured if anybody could put her back together, it would be him. Last week, I went down to get both basses. Here is my old plywood with the neck reattached and reinforced.









Sideview. She's a 3/4 size. So is my Eastman. My custom is a 7/8 orchestral bass. So I have three double basses now!









Dan, my luthier, replaced the old bridge with one of his own handmade bridges. Danny makes the best bridges around. He also redid the setup which includes relocating the soundpost and aligning the bridge with the soundpost. So the bass now handles and sounds better than it ever did before.









I put new strings on her yesterday--D'Addario Helicore Hybrid Light Tension--and she just sings! I'm actually quite impressed! And she handles very nice. The fingerboard is actually quite thin and so it feels a bit like an electric guitar neck and I can cover a lot of space without needing to move my hand. I took the bow to her and she's not too bad. Of course, you have to break in the new strings to accept the bow. But, for a plywood, it's not too shabby. It was worth spending the money to fix her up. The old girl just wants to sing now. she finally got her voice back after all these years--nearly 30--silent, discarded, forgotten. All these people telling me I should throw her away. I KNEW she could be put back together if I could find someone to do it. And it's a nice bass! I'm very pleased.









The label says she was made by Andrew Schroetter of Bayern and that she was made in May of 1987. She was broken only about a month later (and deliberately, I might add, although I never knew who or why). So, really, her wood is still breaking in so she ought to sound better and better especially as the strings break in and she sounds pretty good already. So I finally fulfilled my obligation to her. Took a while--too long--but at least it happened.


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## Guest

I like big bouts and I cannot lie
You other brothers can't deny
When I see four strings and an itty bitty waist
And a round thing on a bass
I get sprung,
Want to play her loose
'Cause I notice that bout is the finest spruce
Deep in the gig bag she's wearing
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
Oh baby, I wanna get wit'cha
And post your picture
On the FB page for big basses
And put it right in their faces

Any ol' bass is good
When she's using up all that wood
Others just want to diss her
Cuz horsehair and rosin didn't miss her

I'm tired of magazines
Sayin' bass guitars are the thing
Take the average jazz man and ask him that
She gotta pack much more back
So, fellas (YEAH!) Fellas (YEAH!)
Has your double bass got the bout? (HELL YEAH!)
Tell 'em to boom it (BOOM IT!) boom it (BOOM IT!)
Boom that healthy bout
Bass is got back
Bass is got back

I like 'em round, and big
And when I'm playin' a gig
I wanna hear that boom-boom,
Fillin' up the whole damn room

I want to get you home
And put new strings on your bones
I like steel strings I can keep
'Cause gut strings are made from sheep
I want 'em real thick and steely
So find that juicy double
Or we're gonna have us some trouble
Beggin' for a piece of that double bass
So get off o' my case

So I'm lookin' for a bass for a starter
Whether for cash or barter
You can have them skinny guitars
I want my basses built like Nell Carter

_Yeah, baby, when it comes to basses
Gibson ain't got nothin'
To do with my selection, dig it?
Scale length of 34 inches?
Ha ha, only if she's made for a midget._

So you fit your bass in a Honda, playin' workout tapes by Fonda
But Fonda ain't got a bass in the back of her Honda
And I ain't fond o' nuthin' that
Ain't a van or a hatchback.
I can fit two in a Prius
Or a vee-dub or a Yaris
So fold that seat down funky
Open wide for chunky
You can go metric or electric
But please don't lose that bout
Gives you that power makes the rest of 'em cower
Even metal heads got to shout
Bass is got back
Bass is got back

Some brothers want to be uptight
Won't play nuthin' that stands upright
So they toss it and leave it
And I pull up quick to retrieve it
So fiddlers think you're fat
Well I ain't down with that
'Cause your waist is small and your scroll is kickin'
And I'm thinkin' bout giggin'
To the chapman sticks in the magazines
You ain't it, Miss Thing
Czech-Ease make me yell, "Check please!"
Looks like it got a disease
Some knuckleheads try to dis
But my ragged a ss they can kiss
Cuz that big bout makes me dizzy
And I'm keepin' my luthier busy
No tarnish (NO!) just varnish (YEAH!) 
Soakin' into that bout (HELL YEAH!)
Build me a bass that can rhumba
And don't hold back on the lumba
Bass is got back
Bass is got back


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## Guest

"Jesus, kid, put some clothes on!"









Frantisek "Franz" Simandl, the father of modern bass playing, schooled in Prague, taught in Vienna.









Chief of the Secret Bass Police. "Vee haf vays ov making you valk!"


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## Guest

Who's this?


















A musician flees war-torn Stalingrad (some sources say Leningrad) taking with him the only thing he can't live without. I know that feeling and would do the same.


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## Guest

Basso gatto









1647 bass housed at the Vleehuis Museum in Antwerp


















ANTVERPIAE IN SANCTAE MARIAE VIRGINIS UNO ALTEROQUE AEVO JEHOVAE LAUDES CANTAVI "Antwerp, by the Holy Virgin Mary to eternity I have sung the Praise of Jehovae"


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## Heliogabo

Victor Redseal said:


> Mexican bass.


Yes, here we call it tololoche, and it is used in mariachi bands and folclor music. Very nice thread btw.


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## tortkis

Victor Redseal said:


> 6-string double bass. If I hadn't seen a photo, I would never believe they existed. I don't know how you'd play it especially with a bow as there doesn't appear to be enough string separation but why would you want one just for pizzicato? Well, it's a strange world, as they say.


This is 7-string double bass. I have not seen this (or even 6-string bass) before.









Improvisation by Paul Rogers on the 7-string double bass.


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## Guest

Victor Redseal said:


> Walter "Big Un" Page with Count Basie, Philly Jo Jones on drums and Stan Hasselgard of Sweden. Big Un, who was also a skilled sax man, was one of the greatest jazzmen that ever lived.


I just realized that while that is Joe Jones on drums, it is NOT Philly Joe. That was a different guy. Sorry for any confusion.


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## Guest

tortkis said:


> This is 7-string double bass. I have not seen this (or even 6-string bass) before.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Improvisation by Paul Rogers on the 7-string double bass.


It would seem to be impossible to play each string separately for an entire solo. But then with that many strings, why would you want to? With 7 strings, I would assume at least part of purpose is to create a more polyphonic style that you can't get with a regular bass. You can play two strings at once on a 4-stringer but you certainly can't achieve the polyphony you get here. But he sacrifices the separation to get that. It's a trade off. This would require the writing of new symphonies to use it in orchestras. I can't see playing traditional Bach on one of these and it doesn't appear to be made for that purpose.


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## Guest

This is actually a guitar.


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## Guest

Prague


















English, 1870


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## Guest




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## Guest

James Penfield Gillespie and wife, Lottie, parents of Dizzy.


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## JACE

Richard Davis.










Notice the lion's head scroll.


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## JACE

George Mraz.



















For my money, NO ONE makes a more beautiful sound on the doublebass than this man.


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## JACE

Cecil McBee.


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## JACE

Dave Holland.


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## JACE

Charlie Haden.


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## JACE

Buster Williams.


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## JACE

Ron Carter.


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## JACE

Jimmy Garrison.


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## JACE

Paul Chambers.


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## JACE

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.


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## Guest

NHOP is one of my very favorites.


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## Guest

Bottesini


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## Guest

Gustav Laska









Victor-Frédéric Verrimst









Jewish musicians of the Ukraine


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## Guest

[I'm writing a book on the impact of jazz in America but it's not an essay or a history. Well, it is, but not in a conventional way. It's stories, stream-of-consciousness, art and...poetry. Just trying to capture jazz for the reader in a different, more visceral way rather than a dry, intellectual approach. So here is some doggerel I wrote about the double bass and what it means to jazz.]

*CUTTIN' HEADS​*
In the age o' saints and sinners back in 1949
For all o' you beginners long before your time
On 52nd and Broadway sat Birdland, little boppin' place
The old-timers still remember the battle o' the bass
Where ol' Bopsy fell upon his sword and RC became the king
And if you ask around, oh lawd, they'll tell you a thing…or two, yes they will

'Twas in the spring when I hit the Apple, arrivin' there pretty late
I said, "Hey, man, tell me whose the chap'll help me set the story straight?"
They said, "'Bout who?" I said, "'Bout Bopsy and RC, man, and how they was the pair."
They pointed, "Oh, well now, go talk to Big Cec. He'll tell ya. He was there."
And in the back he sat, his feet up, hat down over his eyes
"Jes buy him some good hootch," said one, "or all you'll get is lies."

So I told the bartender to set me up with two glasses of Bushmill's Black
And stepping around the dancing couples I made my way out to the back
I set a glass before him then I slapped him on the arm
He jerked up and pulled back his hat, his eyes filled with alarm
He glared at me as I took my seat with a scowl as wide as a mile
But the sight of Black Bush on the rocks replaced it with a smile-big ol' grin, it was.

I held my glass up, "Cheers," I said. And it went down smooth, I tell ya.
"Cheers," he said then he tossed it down, exhaled and said, "Oh, hell yeah!"
"Big Cec," I said, "I'm here to ask ya 'bout the battle o' the bass."
And I knew right then I struck a nerve by the strange look on his face
"Gonna take more whiskey to get that story," he said, his voice had an awful sound
So I signaled the barmaid, held up two fingers and bought another round.

The drinks arrived, we again imbibed then Big Cec looked me in the eye
"Was the night to remember," he said real soft and he looked about to cry
"They was cuttin' some heads that night," Big Cec said. "A contest for the ages.
Like two gladiators facin' off. Jes' release 'em from they cages."
Then he stopped talking and looked morose and I got not another line
So I said, "Big Cec, I need to know what happened back here in '49-and I'll even buy ya another round, yes I will.

He stared at his glass through a red-eyed squint and said it happened right over there
He nodded towards the stage so gay and bright like it didn't have a care
"Ol' Bopsy Smith was beatin' his bass. He was a big man, like an ox.
And when he laid his hammers down, buddy, the notes jumped right outta that box!
The band was cookin' and they was a-lookin' jes all as happy as could be
For they knew to a man they was a lucky band to have a bassman such as he-and he weren't bad on baritone sax neither!"

"Bopsy's bass was a big, tall monster made o' slabs o' mighty spruce
And when he slapped the strings, the rafters rings, you'd o' thought all hell broke loose
It was stained dark brown and it made a sound like a growling dragon-beast
Had deep sustain like a moanin' pain that you thought would never cease
And Bopsy played that bass like a rodeo rider hangin' on for all he's worth
While that buckin' bronco bass o' his quaked the mighty earth-and the air shook too, yes it did!

All big and dark brown that ol' bass was and Bopsy called it Ella
"Like a big, fine black woman with a gorgeous voice and I'm her one and only fella!"
And when he stroked her strings, how she did sing and croon her love for Bops
I tell you to the letter there was no one better, ol' Bopsy was the tops
He didn't just play the bass, he conquered it and bent it to his will
I sat here many a night jes listenin' cuz to hear it was a thrill

The band was called the Troubadours of West 52nd or just Troubadours for short
They played for drinks, they played for tips, sometimes they played for sport
And sometimes they played just to prove to all they was the best damn band around
Playin' and a-slayin' at all the clubs where jazz was played mid-town
Birdland, Carousel, Three Deuces, they surely played em all
They played em good, they played em bad and they played em great and small

And that's how the name o' Bopsy Smith hit the jazz world like a truck
The King o' Bass, the Sultan o' Slap, the Emperor o' Pluck
And there I sat night after night watchin' his fingers move
He could walk the bass like you walk a dog and make the music groove
He play that bass like a muthafugga and I couldn't help but watch
He was loaded with talent, loaded with music and loaded up on scotch-and bourbon too if ya buy him some.

When Bopsy played it was pure poetry
Melodic lines as languid as can be
The audience sat transfixed as marble busts
As the golden tones captivated me

They sang in ruby-throated whispers soft
As pearly raindrops on summer leaves
I saw the autumn hills of my Missouri
Home and felt the black loam as it heaves

Then Bopsy transferred me to the delta
Where my grandpa plowed furrows in the dirt
Where cotton burst out like so much popcorn
Without his sweat you'd have no socks or shirt

Ya see, he took me back to that dreamtime
As only Bopsy could, he was the man
A time before klan ropes hung from the trees
And you could walk your sweetheart hand-in-hand

He made ya feel like a natural man
As he lifted you above the clamor
Of the life that was consigned to us
Devoid of mercy, prestige or glamour

And you soared on those fine bass notes
And you soared above the clouds and the sky
Until he lowered you gently to earth
To know such beauty makes you want to cry

Bopsy looked upon the crowd, sweat glistened on his brow
We clapped like mad, such a time we had, as Bopsy took his bow
"Ladies and gentleman," he said, "I introduce to you, my star pupil named RC"
RC stood up but I sat down, they was all the same to me
A student's a student, that's what I thought as RC took the stage
Just a young kid really, not much to see, but kinda big for his age

Bopsy offered up his bass, RC nodded to the band
They started playing "Satin Doll" as he took that bass in hand
I've heard this one played a million ways. "This better be good," said I
Then the intro ended, the first theme began and I thought that I would cry
RC played the bass like a storyteller about to tell a tale
I fell into a swoon when he wowed the room with an ascending whole note scale

He built the tension then unwound it at an even steady pace
He was livin' what he was playin' by the look upon his face
There must have been some tragedy somewhere in his past
For a solemn tear rolled down his cheek, so tiny yet so vast
He caressed that bass and she sang his pain, a bereaved lover sure
Whoever she was he missed her dearly with a longin' that has no cure

We sat at our tables mesmerized by the magic of it all
As RC transmuted Bopsy's Ella into his Satin Doll
I cast a glance at Bopsy's face and was bewildered by what was there
A look o' anger or jealousy was present in his stare
Taken aback was I, said Cec, for Bopsy was no fool
Neither me nor anyone I know had ever seen him lose his cool

When RC finished, Bops strode up and he snatched that bass right back
He signaled the band to Begin the Beguine, he was takin' out the slack
He thumped that bass so hard, man, he shook the goddamn floor!
You could see in his eye that he was on a mission as the crowd yelled out for more
He broke into a manic solo with a furious triplet assault
That woulda broke the fingers of another bassist who thought he was worth his salt

Then Bops shoved the bass back into RC's hands "A-Train!" RC yelled
Then the band unloaded Ellington-oh, man, those muthafuggaz gelled!
Then the train whipped outta the station with ol' RC as engineer
His fingers slappin' in a frenzied rhythmic locomotion in high gear
He dashed off a high speed solo of risin' and fallin' thirds
All a-clackin' and roarin' those iron notes pourin' like nothin' you ever heard

Then he thrust the bass back to Bopsy before any of us could even clap
Bopsy yelled, "Scrapple!" and with that he commenced a lowdown, mean-azz scrap
He started it off in two-feel and then he started walkin' it super-fast
He ascended up higher like that bass was on fire then descended with a mighty blast
"Bow!" he yelled for his solo and commenced to sawin' away hot
He played Bird's sax part like it was written for bass and hit every note on the dot

Then he thrust the bass back to RC and said, "Top that, you string-slappin' ****!"
RC grabbed a bow from a quiver and launched us one and all to the moon
First he was harsh and raspy and then he was cool and mild
Then tore off some Bach and Beethoven with a jazzy feel that drove everyone wild
Then RC launched into an etude with both verticality and beat
And finished it off with Rachmaninoff that brought the whole house to their feet

Bopsy raised his bow up sword-like and with a mad yell rushed onto the stage
He looked determined to run RC through, he was filled with a terrible rage
RC's eyes got big as milk saucers as he backed away raising his bow
Bopsy jabbed at the air like D'artagnon while RC parried the blow
They surged back and forth like two fencers with bloodlust in their eyes
Fighting over the love of a woman and ol' Ella was the prize

The whole audience stood in shock, we thought maybe this must be a joke
But the duel went on with the clacking of the sticks as each man laid down the strokes
RC still held the bass in one hand as though her honor he must defend
From untoward advances and ill-thought romances of someone he considered a friend
And Bopsy swiped and RC ducked and with grace pirouetted away
Bopsy lunged once again and RC took a swipe as though this was his dragon to slay

The band jes' stood and stared like zombies 'til Bopsy yelled out, "Dicty Glide!"
And then they launched like mad into the number and took the audience along for the ride
In time to the music the two men dueled as though working out a choreographed dance
At times a comedy, at times a tragedy, at times a Shakespearean romance
Bopsy backed RC into a corner and he looked like he needed a rest
Bopsy charged, tripped over a mic stand, fell, and the bowstick pierced his breast

All of us gasped and RC cried out, "Bopsy!" as his blood slowly covered the stage floor
RC set down the bass and rushed to his teacher and knelt with his knees in the gore
"Bopsy, man, Bopsy!" RC cried as the tears streaked their way down his cheek
We sat Bopsy upright and called his name softly to see if perhaps he might speak
He opened his eyes and smiled a bit as the blood leaked past his lips
Then he reached up his hand and caressed RC's head with his calloused old fingertips

"Dontchu cry, son," he whispered so soft and cool as only ol' Bopsy could
"I'm leavin' this world the only way I wanted, the only way I feel that I should.
You carry on, boy, because now you're the king, my hat's off to you so take care.
And you take Ella widya, boy, I want you to have her. You won her fair and square.
For my funeral, dress me up in my best pinstripe suit-that's better than a burial shroud
And go far and wide and spread my teachin's, you made me jealous but you made me proud!"

Then Bopsy's eyes got that faraway stare and his last breath escaped from his chest
"Bopsy, don't leave me!" young RC cried and buried his face in his breast
"There's nothing you can do for him, son," I told him, "But now, man, you gotta go!
Cuz the cops'll be here any minute and you don't wanna be movin' too slow."
He said couldn't live with what had happened because the rest of his life it would haunt
"It ain't your fault," I told him, "You didn't do nuthin', kid, and that ain't what Bopsy would want."

"Now go on, get outta here!" I yelled as I pushed RC towards the door
"And take this bass with you, he wants you to have it," and I picked it up off the floor
The side was streaked across the grain where it had laid in Bopsy's blood
On the floor of the stage that now looked to be awash in a crimson flood
With an anguished gasp he grabbed the bass and he dashed on out the back
And ever since then, he's left a trail that's been far too hard to track."

"Big Cec," I said, "I have to know-what happened to that bass?"
"Dunno, man," said Cec, "RC's still runnin' and drags her around place to place.
They seen him in Jersey, some seen him in Dee-troit, he haunt the circuit like a travelin' ghost
They even say he livin' in Europe and one guy swears he's on the West Coast
I don't know where he playin' or where he be stayin' but there's one thing that I do not doubt
He's tried and tried to clean that blood off that bass, they say he never could get it all out."

"Happened right there on that very stage eight years ago to this day
But I still see the blood, I still hear the cries and I can still hear ol' Bopsy play
Cec brushed back a tear and took a drink and said, "Jazz lost a bright star that night.
I shouldn't be cryin' but preservin' his legacy, try'na do what is right
But I miss him bad, best friend that I had and his death cuts me deep to the bone
World's not quite the same, they don't remember the name o' the finest man that I ever known."

Cec flopped his head into his hands and covered his face his fingers
I laid my hand upon his shoulder and left it there to linger
He sobbed a while to my words of comfort I wish I could have done more
"I'm so tired," he moaned and the sobbing subsided as he then commenced to snore
So I left him there slumped in a chair jes cackin' away on his seat
To dream about Missouri's dry autumn hills and the Delta's damp dusty heat


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## Guest

Happy Ishtar from Dr. Rabbitfoot.


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## JosefinaHW

^^Victor, you might consider continuing or starting this thread over again in the Article section of the Forum.


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## millionrainbows

*bullfiddle........*


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