This is number 14 of a series of grooves in the style of legendary motown bass guitar player james jamerson. James jamerson was a genius, and hes a constant source of inspiration for this bass player. In a year that has been devastating in the losses the music world has experienced, we are sad to report another. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson. Licks and the allstar list of contributors show you how by sharing jamersons story and getting into the nitty gritty of his music and instrumentation.
James jamerson sheet music and music books at sheet music. As a session player jamersons career spanned 40 years, and though hes most associated with motown, he also did a lot of soul tracks and a few other genres. Standing in the shadows of motown softcover audio online. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Video real bass lessons rbl technique tuesday 31 jamerson sound articulation. Here is jamersons line on the 1966 four tops hit, standing in the shadows of love.
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. Finally, a bit of recognition for the bass player everyone needs to know. I play upright and electric bass and live in brooklyn, ny. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands and made it impossible for anyone to sit still while listening to a motown record. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown free download as pdf file. The samples are in pdf format and require adobe acrobat reader to be installed.
Motown style groove 14 for bass guitar james jamerson. The sitsom book should be available through amazon or check with your local book store and they can probably order it. The most renowned label house for great black music. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown download. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown scribd. Get all the lyrics to songs by james jamerson and join the genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics. The title track from jr walkers celebrated 1969 album, jamersons line manages to be both red hot and laid back. Licks standing in the shadows of motown, jamerson was said to have very sporadically dabbled in other equipment, including a hagstrom eightstring, a fender fivestring and even some pedalsall of which he would soon abandon for the beloved, battleworn funk machine. Welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions. A production on march 1516 at hilton head island high schools vpac. To get some great and saddening insight into his life and work, to see how many bass players are in awe of him, and to try to keep up with some of his best bass lines including my personal favorite, the bass line to whats going on, check out this book. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. In one momentous and soulful trifecta, the instrument found its voice, a fledgling record company discovered its. James jamerson, bass of the motown sound udiscover.
Part of motown records famed funk brothers, jamerson was a crucial element of the hit making machine at motown in the 1960s. Dedicated to the funk brothers and studio musicians everywhere. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson book and cd pdf file ebook free download here. The motown session bassist james jamerson is widely regarded as one of the most influential. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app.
Paul and the broken bones denise lasalle motown soul blues oldies jazz. Two of three sons followed the musical path in their different areas of music. If you planned to sweeten the tracks, you had to either do a different mix when you recorded the original tracks or make an 8 track to 8 track transfer and put the perc and tdanscriptions together etc. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the motown records hits in the. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. Now jamersons work has become widely appreciated thanks to allan slutskys groundbreaking book. I think that people were more focused on the music than the gear. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf audio.
Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. Maa news motown bassist james jamerson was the foundation of the motown sound. James jamerson january 29, 1938 august 2, 1983 was an american musician. James jamerson, one of the funk brothers who were the very essence of the motown sound, passed away on 2 august 1983, at the age of only 47. The life and times of legenary motown bassist james jamerson. James jmaerson was the bass player on the majority of these but bob babbitt and wilton felder are also. This one is a 5 bar groove which presents its own challenges. Legendary motown bassist james jamerson singlehandedly revolutionized bass playing. 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. 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. Find james jamersons songs, tracks, and other music. Throughout the entire classic motown catalog and some nonmotown sides, jamerson shaped a new inventive style of read full biography.
Recorded in 1965 for motowns bustling tamla label, here jamerson makes the bass swing as much as the sax. A tribute to james jamerson and his lost funk machine. Piano sheet music motown style aint no mountain high enough by nickolas ashford and valerie simpson performed by diana ross aint nothing like the real thing by nickolas ashford and valerie simpson performed by marvin gaye all in love is fair by stevie wonder all in love is fair by stevie wonder how sweet it is to be loved by you. Usage attributionnoncommercialno derivative works 2.
James jamersons bass exercise will help you to understand james jamersons unique chromatic style of bass playing. I walked into berry gordy jrs basement recording studio on detroits west grand boulevard, the electric bass was still an infant. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon. 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. Hear the subdivisions in your head before you play them. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson free. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible. Jamerson dialed in a touch of drive and slight compression. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson book and cd. Bass is all alone on the left channel, and all the other instruments are essentially a monomix on the right channel. Guitar bookbassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. Much like most of the lore surrounding the instrument, there. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. James jamerson motown soul funk uptown ruler this episode is dedicated to one of the baddest bassists to ever walk the earth, mr.
James jamerson was described by motown founder berry gordy as a genius on the bass it is eye opening and ear popping. 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. 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. There is a much superior 2cd sampling of jamerson and motown work on dr. 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. I doubt that motown producers had much awareness of the b15 tone. 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. His lines were simple yet effective, but always stood out. Motown edition 50minute workout mix bpm our soul survivor series pays tribute to the motown era with a set of cardiofriendly remixes. 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. Gnarls barkley barrett strong the black crowes android netrunner anr. Pdf standing in the shadows of motown download full. Motowns studio recordings were mostly made using custom di boxes, such as the acme motown di reissue click the image to learn more and shop at a discount. Amazingly the majority of them were improvised from chord symbols.
In the famed chronicling of hitsvilles golden years, dr. They probably just about knew what a fender bass was. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson in pdf form, then youve come to. James jamerson, the king of motown bass home facebook. Motown example 15 one measure lick example 16 one measure lick the x note head represents a muted note. If you need to download a copy its free, click on the image to the right. 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.
James jamerson is one of the most influential and revered bass players in history. 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. Video lessons motown james jamerson here is a list of video lessons featuring motown songs on the how to play bass website. My transcription of james jamersons bass line on whats going on hi, im dave. The transcribed bass lines for 14 hit motown songs as played by james jamerson. Pdf james jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. 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. Steady is a constant source of music for your workouts, offers free 1hour workout mixes, updated weekly. By all accounts, jamerson was an upright player and had a certain degree of contempt for the electric bass. Legendary motown bassist james jamerson dead august 2.
Founded in the winter of 1959 by berry gordy in detroit, the motown a retraction of motor town label marked the world of music by becoming a focal point for immense talent and a factory for smash hit tracks. Here are bass lines for 14 beloved hits from marvin gaye, the supremes, the temptations, stevie wonder and many others. Bass line of the 1966 temptations song get ready as played by jamerson. Leo fenders 1951 brainchild had yet to find an identity a situation that ended with the first note jamerson played on a motown record. James lee jamerson january 29, 1936 august 2, 1983 was an american bass player. In addition, the soundtrack to the movie standing in the shadow of motown disc 2 featuring the funk brothers is excellent, highlighting james work along with. Listen to fever in the funk house, bernadette bass line and more from james jamerson.
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