Top Ten: The Best Upright Bass Videos

This week, we’re celebrating the upright bass with a look back at the top 10 most viewed upright bass videos on No Treble.

Miles Mosley: Voodoo Child

1. Miles Mosley: Voodoo Child

It is fitting Miles Mosley chose to cover Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”, since he’s doing a Hendrix-like re-invention of his instrument of choice: the upright bass.

Esperanza Spalding: “Mela” Live

2. Esperanza Spalding: “Mela” Live

This San Sebastian show, originally broadcast on Spanish TV, features Esperanza Spalding and her band performing “Mela”. The tune was originally recorded for the 2008 release, Esperanza.

Dave Pomeroy: The Day The Bass Players Took Over The World

3. Dave Pomeroy: The Day The Bass Players Took Over The World

Check out Dave Pomeroy with his Bass Day evening kick off performance of “The Day The Bass Players Took Over The World”. We especially loved the “tied up the guitar players with those big ol’ flatwound strings.” line.

Esperanza Spalding: Little Fly

4. Esperanza Spalding: Little Fly

Esperanza Spalding’s second spot in the top 10 list features a performance of “Little Fly”, from her hit album Chamber Music Society, released in 2010.

Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass and Bass

5. Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass and Bass

Donovan Stokes and his bass studio at Shenandoah University performing “Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass, Bass and Bass” by Christian Gentet from L’orchestre de Contrebasses (France). The name alone gets this video the No Treble stamp of approval, and the performance makes it even better.

Christian McBride: Pat Metheny Group Live Upright Bass Solo

6. Christian McBride: Pat Metheny Group Live Upright Bass Solo

Christian McBride shows his super-human side with a live bass solo during a performance of Pat Metheny’s “Question and Answer”.

Eddie Gomez: Live Double Bass Solo

7. Eddie Gomez: Live Double Bass Solo

Here’s a nice solo by bassist Eddie Gomez, performing with Chick Corea’s Three Quartets Band.

Renaud Garcia Fons: Berimbass on 5-string Double Bass

8. Renaud Garcia Fons: Berimbass on 5-string Double Bass

French upright bassist Renaud Garcia Fons performs a tune called “Berimbass”. This is from his CD, Arcoluz.

David Friesen: Bass Solo

9. David Friesen: Bass Solo

David Friesen bares his soul for this awesome solo bass piece that starts with beautiful melody then morphs into a meditative groove jam with the help of a looper. The performance is from the 1995 Poznan Jazz Fair.

Willie Dixon: Bassology

10. Willie Dixon: Bassology

Number 10 on the list, but number 1 for a few on the No Treble staff, this video showcases the amazing skills of bassist Willie Dixon, performing in 1966. This clip, filmed by the Canadian television network CBC, was re-discovered 30 years later and released on a DVD entitled Blues Masters.

Get daily bass updates.

Get the latest news, videos, lessons, and more in your inbox every morning.

Share your thoughts

  1. Chuck Holbrook

    Also please consider Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen – Samba Petit 1994
    Breathtaking

  2. very cool list, but as always with these things there’s always gonna be someone left out…. so maybe some of these cats should be featured on the site so that people hear/see upright mastery.

    Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Cachao(sp?), MINGUS, and as mentioned above:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI-1sq5dFD4

    NHOP

    ;) but these are definitely some cool cuts.

  3. Jeff Michael

    What, no NHOP/Joe Pass playing Donna Lee? No Stanley Clarke at that rainy jazz festival? No Frank DeNunzio with Reg Kehoe’s Marimba Queens? Sacrilege!

  4. Jim Jak

    you cannot forget Peter Kowald… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aluSEsE765E virtuosity of another kind…

  5. No Edgar Meyer? The list is thus flawed.

    • Every top 10 list is flawed :) This one is based on reader views of videos – at the time.

    • Agreed. I wasn’t aware of the basis of the test. As a new fan of Mr. Meyer, I’m shocked that I knew names like Perlman and Ma, but not his. The guy should be on tip of the tongue of every music lover, for he is a classical/bluegrass/crossover rawkstar.

  6. What about Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen?