The TOP 10 Electric JAZZ Bassists of All Time

The legacy of the bass guitar in jazz is pretty extensive, with notable players hailing from all corners of the globe and all eras of jazz history. But who are the most important? Jaco? Victor Bailey? Jeff Berlin? A few stand out even among the greats, and in today’s video we’re going to look at ten of the very best.

Who would you pick?

Let me know in the comments section if I’ve missed any of your favourites!

As always, see you in the shed…

Scott :)

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[ethanlocke]

I definitely would have had Stanley Clarke. In the 70s it was him along with jaco that really pushed the electric bass up to a solo instrument in jazz. His stuff with return to forever is so good

[Bluezulu]

Marcus Miller is on every list especially his work with Miles Davis, but still a great list 👏🏿

[BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

How Anthony Jackson, The Electric Bass GOAT does not make this list, I'll never know 🤔

[SKarthikeyan]

Dave Holland, Anthony Jackson, Stanley Clarke, Alphonso Johnson. Kai Eckardt, Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, Nathan East, Victor Wooten

[djcoolcliff]

Stanley Clarke, Wayman Tinsdale, Julian Vaughan, Gerald Veasley, Victor Whooten!

[silentstep]

Nice list, definitely some choices that are beyond debatable! However if we’re talking ALL TIME I found Anthony Jackson and Stanley Clarke conspicuously absent. Also Victor Wooten, though I know the argument can be made for him not being tied to jazz as much....but I still think his contributions and INNOVATIONS earn him a spot. I was disappointed 😔

[rainerrixen]

Great selection. IMHO Thundercat has definitely learned his jazz vocabulary, just listen to the stuff with Kamasi. And he is bringing Bass up front as an artist, pushing the envelope.

[strat]

Not fully jazz, but bossa - jazz, I love brasilian Luizao Maia's playing and inventiveness. RIP Luizao.

[Bassic]

Also Nathan East, Abe Laboriel, Melvin Lee Davis, Jimmy Johnson, Adam Nitti, Rich Brown, Jimmy Earl, Robert Vizvari, and many more that I can't think of or don't know about at the moment.

[patrick]

Obviously Marcus Miller, and Stanley Clark should be in this list. One bassist that no one seems to talk about is Jimmy "Flim" Johnson. An amazing bassist that changed with the amazing things he did on an Alembic Fretless bass.

[pedropablosilvabarroilhet]

Yeahhhh UZEB!!! Alain Caron mind blowing bass player, and with Michel Brecker as guest for that Montreal jazz festival and their first UZEB studio album Fast Emotion.
Great vid and list Scott 👌all monster bass players I personally admire

[mikegraham]

Love that Alain Caron is in there. He''s a well rounded player. Would love to see more of him.

[jeroenherlaar]

Brian Bromberg.... Too little mention of the guy as a serious monster player.

[jerryburdick]

I'm so thankful you included Jeff Andrews. That solo is, of course, a benchmark. But his ensemble playing? Whew.... I miss him.

[edlotube]

Richard Bona, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller,

[markmahoney]

Great video Scott! I’d have put Richard Bona in there for sure. Every time I listen to him my jaw continuously hits the floor. Then when you consider the beautiful melodies he plays and sings… with that amazing voice of his; he’s without equal.

[honestbrute]

Kinda mind blowing that Anthony Jackson and Stanley Clarke aren’t here, but it is his opinion….

[MrAKbass]

Personally, Jeff Andrew's is my favorite of these 10 amazing musicians.
My hero though is Stanley Clarke, on electric he fit's more in the "fusion" realm but he has some stellar solo's on electric that show his jazz language.

[LH-zvzq]

Sending a shout out to Jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke. Super instrumental in bringing the bass to the forefront. And, a tremendous composer.

[emorris]

Thanks for putting Steve Swallow on this list. As I was starting on bass in high school (simultaneously playing classical cello) I loved jaco, Stanley Clarke etc but no matter how much of their stuff I learned none of it ever spoke to me in the way Steve Swallow did. He shows how the electric bass can really bring this kind of tranquility and clarity of sound that the upright cannot. Great choice of solo to show that aspect of his playing. As far as I’m aware no one does what he does on the bass.