Fundamentals of Jazz Bass

Bassist and vocalist Nicki Parrott covers some of the fundamentals of playing the upright bass in Jazz.

Nicki Parrott - Bass
Eric Suquet - Director
Bill Thomas - Director of Photography
Aaron Chandler - Sound Engineer
Seton Hawkins - Producer

Recorded November 4, 2014

[hugorivault]

This woman is so glamour and classy. Enjoyed the lesson. Thanks for sharing.

[Tomsdrawings]

World class. The instant impact of the voice, the intonation of the playing, the insights given (a combination of scales, chromatic playing and chord notes decided by the ear). And yes, charisma.

[aarongrooves]

Good work Lincoln Center. Love this!!

I'd only add that in a minor ii-V-i, the ii chord will normally need that b5. Instead of D-F-A-C, it should be D-F-Ab-C. Nicki Parott is fantastic, and she knows this (she even played an Ab at one point). FWIW, I thought that should be clearly mentioned. Cheers!

[zakcolbert]

I love your passion, your chops, and tone. Most of all your gentle touch and talk about bass. Thank You Nicki

[filitalin]

Didn’t realize how much bass was in Blue’s Clues until I watched this and wondered why the riffs sound so familiar.

[FacsTwo]

I'm a drummer, what the hell am I doing here

[paulfrombrooklyn]

I saw Nicki Parrott with the Les Paul Trio when Les was 90 years old. She was fabulous. It was an amazing show. Just seeing Les Paul was amazing but Nicki was so good. Les made a joke that before Nicki joined they had a male bass player in the Les Paul Trio but when Nicki joined they became the Les Balls Trio. She enjoyed that joke. Nicki Parrott is a beautiful and extremely talented bass player.

[alexlesherpaimmobiler]

So clear and concise. I'm blown away.

[chokkan]

Thank you, Ms. Parrott, for being so gracious as to gift us with that wonderful lesson...

[jacintfs]

This video is aesthetically perfect. Also educationally.

[nelsonpenaranda]

Muchas gracias querida Nicki ❤ Además de gran artista eres generosa, gracias esta lección amplia mi perspectiva del.jazz

[chrislopez]

Love you Nicki! What a wonderful instrument you play! You sing beautifully, too!

[sammyrothrock]

She's a beautiful bassist with class and theory to behold... <3

[lerico]

I love the tone of your bass! It's magnificent!

[samueltractorton]

Kickass, she makes this look so easy, this is amazing.

[MosquitoBite]

Thank you for a great video!

I'm not a beginner bass player, I love a lot of different kinds of jazz but I'm not experienced or trained at playing it. Now, I found it hard to follow along with the chord changes and what time signature it was, during the bass lines you played. It's of course because of my untrained ear and lack of experience with it, but I wanted to point it out, then you can decide if I'm within your target group or not and see if you want to take it in to account in the future.

But my main message is thank you a lot for a great video!
Best regards, J

[ArtVallejo]

Great lesson. Dear Jazz Academy, please showcase more Nicki Parrot Even if she just holds that double bass and just talks, I'd be in my happy place!

[p.m.livesound]

It was amazing to hear all the story about playing the bassline in jazz. Thanks ;)

[SamChaneyProductions]

Minor ii V i progressions usually use a minor 7 b 5 for the ii chord, alterations on the V chord like b9 or #9, and a minor-major 7th or minor 6th chord for the i chord. It's pretty rare to hear a vanilla min7 dom7 min progression, at least in jazz.

[mariofiaschi]

Millions and millions of pointless and confusing videos. And then you, like a revelation. You're so good, so refined, so understandable. I wanted to play bass but really started to play (beatle bass, I have to confess) because of you explaining it so well.
Probably because you're an outstanding vocalist, too.
I could never say thank you enough,
You're the "muse" in "music".