Big Phat Band
December 10, 2016 1:50 AM   Subscribe

 
No relation whatsoever, but thanks for that earworm again.
posted by MartinWisse at 3:23 AM on December 10, 2016


When it comes to big band jazz, nothing beats The Atomic Mr Basie.
posted by Paul Slade at 5:01 AM on December 10, 2016


The big difference between big band jazz from the 30s through the 50s and big band jazz today is the influence of the electric bass. You can hear it in the Big Phat Jazz Band and other ensembles. The electric bass dominates, however subtly. It forces every other section into its groove, putting a damper on the swing. Modern big bands with electric bass never develop that breezy, freewheeling excitement that made the older bands so exhilarating. There's
something fascistic about an electric bass. It holds you down and punches you in the gut.
posted by Modest House at 5:52 AM on December 10, 2016 [4 favorites]


The Jazz Police dismisseth us.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:25 AM on December 10, 2016


*eyes electric bass nervously*
posted by thelonius at 7:39 AM on December 10, 2016


The electric bass dominates, however subtly.

I agree you can hear that difference. My question is whether that is necessarily so. It seems like an issue of taste and mixing that derives from several decades of rock and roll influence. Surely it is possible to create a more subtle feel.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:33 AM on December 10, 2016 [2 favorites]


To me, the biggest difference between electric bass guitar and upright bass (even amplified) is due to the physical size, which makes them very different animals when it comes to playing characteristics.

The bass guitar is a sports car to the upright's pickup truck. It can weave and sprint and push the beat all it likes.

The upright is massive in comparison, and to get the string (and body) vibrating and producing sound takes just enough longer that it doesn't insistently propel the beat so much as sort of support it. Thus even with modern amplification and recording technology it only partially contains the "breezy freewheeling excitement" Modest House mentions. It's an instrument that has to be played very aggressively (ex. slapping) before it can start pushing the beat to any degree.

The "Sing, Sang, Sung" tune is using an upright, and it ends up being a bit less driving and a bit more swingin'. Moreover, in the first linked tune the electric guitar has at least as much to do with the "domination" of the groove as the bass.

However, I also agree with CheeseDigestsAll that "taste and mixing" and rock influence plays a role there.

(there's more going on as well, but this isn't a music theory class so I'll stop there)
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:30 AM on December 10, 2016


Surely it is possible to create a more subtle feel.

Yes, it can be done and has been, but there are always differences. The frequency response is different, and so is the envelope. The attack is always more pronounced on electric. Acoustic bass has this thing where the note kind of grows after you play it, and a fretless electric can sort of do that, but it's not quite the same. The notes can be heard very clearly on electric, and this means that you have to be a more careful than you'd need to be on upright about playing notes that will clash with the harmony. You need to play fewer rhythmic skips and embellishments when playing walking bass on electric; if you do them as much as an upright player does, it is very distracting.
posted by thelonius at 12:27 PM on December 10, 2016


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