Some jazz bass help?

Question

What are some good websites, books, etc for jazz bass? Preferably bass guitar but acoustic would be good too. I need a lot of stuff about improvisation because I don't really know how to do that...

thanks!

Answer 1

As far as improvisation in general, Mark Sabatella's primer was really helpful for me. http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/prime...

If you're looking for books, http://guitartrade.blogspot.com/ has a lot of .pdfs of books. There are a couple of jazz specific bass books, for both upright and electric.

Just found this one: http://nukebass.blogspot.com/

It's more about bass in general, but there are some jazz specific links as well.

Answer 2

The classic text for bassist is the Rufus Reid "The Evolving Bassist" which has been translated into several languages other than English. Here's a review: http://www.amazon.com/Evolving-Bassist-R...

Mr. Reid is a fine bassist who was part of Dexter Gordon's quartet from 1978-1981 and taught at William Paterson as the head of the jazz studies department. He is an upright player, but I've known both electric and "doghouse" players who benefited greatly from studying this volume.

As for general jazz theory (which should help your improvising) I recommend Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book"; I have learned much from this text. Read up at the publisher's web site http://www.shermusic.com/new/1883217040....

Best wishes for your development in all endeavors jazz.