Skip to main content

Bottoms Up

Bottoms Up: Another Look at Paul Chambers – “Tale of The Fingers”

Bottoms Up: Another Look at Paul Chambers – “Tale of The Fingers”

This is your friendly neighborhood bass columnist bringing you the second half of a look at Mr. Paul Chambers (or for short, “Mr. P.C.”) I hope you got a chance to play through “Mopp Shoe Blues” from last time, and try a bit of Chambers’ solo. As I said last time, this is one of Chambers’ tunes he played pizzicato...

Get daily bass updates.

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

Bottoms Up: Breaking Down Paul Chambers’ “Mopp Shoe Blues”

Bottoms Up: Breaking Down Paul Chambers’ “Mopp Shoe Blues”

Today I’d like to talk about another historical great who I’m sure is familiar to many, Mr. Paul Chambers (1935-1969). I think I have a treat for some folks who already know about him: a transcription of a tune called “Mopp Shoe Blues” off the record First Bassman. “P.C.”, as he is commonly known in many circles, was born in...

A Look at Oscar Pettiford’s “Tricotism”

I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone for their encouraging words on my first column; John Goldsby shared that he and John Patitucci have recorded “Bohemia After Dark”, and I’d encourage folks to take a listen to their respective versions of the tune. Now, back to the show. In our second installment on Oscar Pettiford, we are going...

Bottoms Up: Melodies in Bass

Bottoms Up: Melodies in Bass

Hi, nice to meet all of you. I’m here to discuss melodies in the bass: bass lines as part of tunes and great melodies written by bass players, and maybe a few surprises thrown in. In this column I’ll be discussing one of the all time great bass players in history who also penned more than a few tunes that...