One of the most historic fender bass guitars of all time belonged to james jamerson. For those like myself who dont have the james jamerson biography, heres a pdf in both tab and music notation of his chromatic exercise. I walked into berry gordy jrs basement recording studio on detroits west grand boulevard, the electric bass was still an infant. In one momentous and soulful trifecta, the instrument found its voice, a fledgling record company discovered its. Reportedly, jamerson did make one minor modification. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf audio. Em 1999, jamerson foi premiado com um busto no guitar center hollywood rock walk. From jazz bassist to popular music icon by joshua andrew zarbo, b. Other than the loving tribute standing in the shadows of motown. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. In honor of the films tenth anniversary, a touring show named standing in the shadows of motown live. Now jamersons work has become widely appreciated thanks to allan slutskys groundbreaking book. Maybe the most influential bassist ever, james jamerson was the uncredited.
His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this. He knew how to define harmony and how to drive it forward. I play upright and electric bass and live in brooklyn, ny. Anything with james jamerson on bass, theres no way you could do any wrong with that, because those are the records that i wore the grooves out of first as a young man, like a lot of people of my generation. Regarding how to get the motown sound kinda mimics a standup bass, very little ring to it, i put labella james jamerson strings flat wound. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon. Jamerson quickly became an integral part of the studio musicians known as the funk brothers. Thanks to rik at chatbusters, a great english magazine dedicated to classic motown, for his feature article on james jamerson based on my site to honor jamersons bass playing achievements. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some non motown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of bass playing and brought what had been regarded by some as a minor instrument to the forefront through the use of the electric fender bass, powered by his musical genius and amazing dexterity. Theres also some bonus motown transcriptions at the end of the book too including the bob babbitt line on band of gold and stevie wonders awesome keyboard bass line on isnt she lovely. Licks gives the reader a snapshot into the ups and downs of one of the greatest unsung musicians. As a legendary top session musician he has played with marvin gaye, the temptations, marlena shaw, originals, creative source etc.
Oct 12, 2016 max kays nephew jeremy kay makes an appearance in a reverb video seen below describing how to get that beloved motown bass tone played by bass great james jamerson. He was the uncredited bass guitarist on most of motown records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s motown did not list credits on their releases until 1971, and he has become regarded as one of the most influential bass guitar players in modern music history. One mans battle to get motown great james jamerson into the s. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired. Motown bass line james jamerson whats going on with score, tab and play along duration. James jamerson january 29, 1938 august 2, 1983 was an american musician.
James jamersons best bass lines, posted by spectorsound. Here is jamersons line on the 1966 four tops hit, standing in the shadows of love. Standing in the shadows of motown available for download and read online in other formats. And im also working on a project called motown style grooves that will teach a bunch of 4 and 8 bar grooves in the style of jamerson and maybe babbitt and felder, and more importantly teach you how you can take those 4 bar grooves and take them to the nth degree. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. The transcribed bass lines for 14 hit motown songs as played by james. Download pdf standing in the shadows of motown book full free. If he used standard bass tuning eadg, i doubt he relied on open position for very long, as busy as his bass line was on that song. Guitar bookbassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. The samples are in pdf format and require adobe acrobat reader to be installed. People born on january 29 fall under the zodiac sign of aquarius, the water bearer. This is a book for those who love the music made to be heard and those who make the music to be heard.
Legendary motown bassist james jamerson singlehandedly revolutionized bass playing. Mar 25, 2016 family members, friends and motown fans are mourning the death of bassist james jamerson jr. James has influenced whether they know it or not every electric bassist to ever pick up the instrument. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the motown records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971, and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. A large part of jamersons genius was his note choice. This bass was long rumoured in detroit musicians circles to be one of james jamersons two basses. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to. James jamerson is one of the most influential and revered bass players in history. In the mid1970s he formed the group chanson with his long time musical cohort david williams 4. March 23, 2016, detroit, michigan, usa was an american soul bassist. James jamerson on bernade tte february 29, 2016 dave speranza i came across an isolated bass recording of james jamerson on youtube recently, and decided that there couldnt be a better transcription project than that. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the motown records hits in. Feb 16, 20 in honor of the films tenth anniversary, a touring show named standing in the shadows of motown live.
Chanson was an american studiobased disco group from the late 1970s, led by james jamerson jr. James lee jamerson january 29, 1936 august 2, 1983 was an american bass player. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some nonmotown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of bass playing and brought what had been regarded by some as a minor instrument to the forefront through the use of the electric fender bass, powered by his musical genius and amazing dexterity. Born in january of 1936 in south carolina, jamerson later moved with his mother to detroit, michigan. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. He eventually found work with berry gordys famous motown record label and the rest was. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Aug 09, 2014 welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions. It was jamerson who revolutionised the use of the bass guitar in popular music. Standing in the shadows of motown uk us james jamerson was basically the first electric bass virtuoso, and these transcriptions of his lines provide a great reading workout.
You probably have, even if you dont know his actual name. Learning how to practice james jamersons bass exercise will help you to. Jun 15, 2008 this bass was long rumoured in detroit musicians circles to be one of james jamerson s two basses. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson, a classic bookcd set by allan dr. Arriving at motown in 1959, james bass playing evolved over the next decade from a traditional rootfifth cocktail style of bass. A tribute to james jamerson and his lost funk machine. The tour will focus on the music of jamerson, with his son james jamerson, jr. Jun 17, 20 one of the most historic fender bass guitars of all time belonged to james jamerson. A true session giant, jamerson has played on over 30 number one records, laid down stone cold grooves for the biggest artists motown, soul and funk could throw at him, and has influenced scores of bass players from all genres of music. How to get the james jamerson motown bass sound scotts bass lessons duration. James jamerson was a famous american musician, who was born on january 29, 1936.
Thats an impressive feat, but i wasnt sure if it had a place in this article. Standing in the shadows of motown, jamerson recorded the bass part to whats going on while lying on his back on the floor. A thesis submitted to the graduate council of texas state university in partial fulfillment. Info about james jamersons 62 pbass needed the gear page. Ive only provided the first run through the form, but you can see here how jamerson uses the open strings to tackle shifting from one position to the next and his use of rakes to deal with string crossings continue reading. Pdf standing in the shadows of motown download full. Jan 23, 2017 my transcription of james jamerson s bass line on whats going on hi, im dave. Did james jamerson play open position on i was made. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamersonbassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. Ive only provided the first run through the form, but you can see here how jamerson uses the open strings to tackle shifting from one position to the next and his use of. He began his career in the late 1960s as a session musician. Pdf james jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. Da jamerson fur motown aufgrund seiner musikalischen fahigkeiten nahezu. Member of the funk brothers, the legendary hit machine of motown records.
My transcription of james jamersons bass line on whats going on hi, im dave. Whats going on isolated bass track james jamerson youtube. Family members, friends and motown fans are mourning the death of bassist james jamerson jr. Jul 01, 2015 how to get the james jamerson motown bass sound scotts bass lessons duration. Something very important to note in the video is that motown did not use amplifiers for studio recordings. The high f notes alone, and the transition between octaves in the introtag line, seem to indicate he wove in a. View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for james jamerson. Martha reeves knowhere to run, marvin gayes whats going on and stevie wonders i was made to love her are all beauties. Jun 07, 20 here is jamersons line on the 1966 four tops hit, standing in the shadows of love. Welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions. He carved the word funk into the neck heel and colored it with blue pen ink.
Like the majority of motowns funk brothers, jamerson came up as a jazz musician and, consequently, set up the funk machine to respond like an upright. Jan 29, 2018 reportedly, jamerson did make one minor modification. Jamerson s playing was nothing short of revolutionary. The motown session bassist james jamerson is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important bassists in modern music history.
Bass players james jamerson james jamersons basslines were the foundation of the motown sound full of complex 16th note passages, dissonant passing tones and intense syncopations. This led to session work in local studios and, in 1959, he found a steady gig at berry gordys hitsville u. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in. James jamerson phone, address, background info whitepages. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some nonmotown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of read full biography. Leo fenders 1951 brainchild had yet to find an identity a situation that ended with the first note jamerson played on a motown record. The group took their name from the french word for song. James jamerson in georgia ga 11 records found whitepages. Motowns tormented genius, james jamerson is unanimously acclaimed as the first virtuoso of the electric bass. Celebrity profile check out the latest james jamerson jr.
James jamersons best bass lines post1948439 my favourite musician of all time. James jamerson defined the motown sound of the sixties. Motown 25 concerned itself with stars and not the regular musicians, a. Amazingly the majority of them were improvised from chord symbols. Here are bass lines for 14 beloved hits from marvin gaye, the supremes, the temptations, stevie wonder and many others. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen. Max kays nephew jeremy kay makes an appearance in a reverb video seen below describing how to get that beloved motown bass tone played by bass great james jamerson. So, when his son, james jr, picked up the bass, people took notice. A large part of jamerson s genius was his note choice. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Although motown fanactics didnt know him by name, we certainly knew his sound. Youve heard james jamerson play bass on some of the biggest hits of all time, here are just a few.
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