Courtesy of Steve Swallow Com

By Thomas Semioli

A plectrum player with a mastery of the upper register, Steve Swallow, along with Bob Cranshaw and Monk Montgomery, was a major proponent of the electric bass in jazz long before Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke emerged in the 1970s.

An acclaimed, multiple Downbeat Award winning composer, recording artist, educator (his Berklee students created the first Real Book), and renown collaborator, Swallow’s hallowed canon includes landmark recordings and performances with Carla Bley, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, Paul Motian,  Joe Lovano, Jim Hall, John Scofield, and Stan Getz to cite a very, very select few.

Swallow started off as a pianist and trumpet player. He gravitated to the upright, landing a gig in the Paul Bley trio in 1960. A jazz fusion pioneer as a member of Gary Burton’s quartet with Larry Coryell in the 1960s, Swallow made the transition to electric and never looked back. Steve has recorded and toured extensively with his partner Carla Bley in numerous configurations spanning small groups to big bands.

Steve uses a copper pick and his main weapon of choice is an extended range bass with a high C string which he employs for chordal passages and improv.

Steve Swallow Sound & Vision:

With Tony Senatore & Friends  “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” https://youtu.be/frcY823kNiA

With John Scofield “Trio Blues”  https://youtu.be/4frsImhVxHs

With Carla Bley “Sing Me Softly The Blues” https://youtu.be/kE3GqMX2bQY

With Pat Methany “All The Things You Are” https://youtu.be/VGRndhjNOoc

With Paul Bley and Jimmy Giuffre “Life of a Trio” https://youtu.be/u8bPVA20V7E

The Steve Swallow Quintet at the Heineken Jazz Festival 2013 https://youtu.be/EsdcWXZ45QY

No bass player defies categorization more so than the late, truly great, utterly unpredictable Hugh Colin Hopper, who was among the most prolific and adventurous recording artists to emerge from the England’s hallowed Canterbury progressive rock and experimental jazz scene of the late 1960s and early 70s.

Hugh seemingly never ran out of fresh ideas or novel ways to express himself on the instrument. Music fans of this era are most aware of Hugh by way of his groundbreaking work with Soft Machine wherein Hopper’s exploratory use of fuzz and various effects along with his extensive rhythmic and harmonic vocabulary was the glue that held multi-instrumentalist Robert Wyatt, keyboardist Mike Ratledge, saxophonist Elton Dean and other assorted Machine band mates together for an amazing run of releases during his 1968 – 1973 membership.

Dig Hugh and Soft Machine live in 1969 https://youtu.be/soQN0sMU0Ck

Of his massive solo and collaborative canon, be advised to hear his fusion avant-garde oriented forays 1984 (1973), Hopper Tunity Box (1977), A Remark Hugh Made (1994) and Numero D’Vol (2007).

Hugh also made several notable appearances as a valued sideman on such seminal releases including Syd Barrett’s Madcap Laughs (1969), Kevin Ayers’ Joy of a Toy (1969), Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom (1974) and Carla Bley’s European Tour 1977 (1978).

By Thomas Semioli

I find that the best bass players are as supportive when we’re off duty as when we’re in the studio and/or on the bandstand. Witness the life of Charlie Haden. A master soloist, accompanist, and composer who drew his inspiration from country to classical to world music (which he helped create), Charlie Haden’s historic tenure with Ornette Coleman, and genre defying collaborations with artists ranging from Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Art Pepper, Beck, Abbey Lincoln, Alice Coltrane, John Scofield, Yoko Ono, Michael Brecker, and Paul Motian to cite a very few, continue to expand the language of jazz and improvised music.

The Liberation Music Orchestra, under the direction Charlie Haden and Carla Bley provided a musical platform to challenge militarism, apartheid, conflicts against military dictatorships funded by hegemonic governments, oppression of indigenous peoples, racism, sexism, violations of civil rights, environmental irresponsibility, and economic injustice, among many other issues that do not have a strong voice in a mainstream American culture obsessed with celebrity.

A musical giant who spoke truth to power through his artistry regardless of the consequences- Mr. Haden said of his Liberation Music Orchestra “I always dreamed of a world without cruelty and greed, of a humanity with the same creative brilliance of our solar system, of an America worthy of the dreams of Martin Luther King, and the majesty of the Statue of Liberty. This music is dedicated to those who still dream of a society with compassion, deep creative intelligence, and a respect for the preciousness of life for our children, and for our future.”

Dig Charlie Haden and Keith Jarrett https://youtu.be/m9B24FrCOaQ