For Once In My Life

Just finished transcribing James Jamerson's bass line on the Stevie Wonder classic "For Once In My Life".

Herbie Hancock - Gentle Thoughts

Here's a transcription of Herbie Hancock's tune "Gentle Thoughts", from the album Secrets. I provided the melody, chord progression, bass line and important fills & harmonies.

The Blues Brothers - Jailhouse Rock

Here's a transcription of the Blues Brothers' version of "Jailhouse Rock", from their classic movie. This is a great band made up of some killer R&B, blues and rock players. I did a full transcription of this one - four horns and a rhythm section part, including bass, drums, guitar and piano.

I just finished a batch of tunes for another new client - three motown tunes. "Tears Of A Clown" by Smoky Robinson, "I'll Be There" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" by the Jackson 5, and "My Cherie Amour" by Stevie Wonder. I provided chord changes, the bass line and bass tablature for each. This is some of my favorite music, so I really enjoyed these!

Chicago: What's This World Coming To?

A bass transcription for a new client. This is from Chicago's 1973 album Chicago VI. I transcribed the bass line and chord changes on this one, and provided another staff of tablature to represent the ideal fingerings for the tune.

Sting - "Rehumanize Yourself"

Sting's groove on "Rehumanize Yourself", from Ghost In The Machine by The Police. Sting is a hugely underrated bassist - he's tight, melodic and always has a great tone.

2 pages (tablature included).

James Jamerson - "Right On"

Here's my transcription of James Jamerson's line on "Right On", from Marvin Gaye's classic 1971 record What's Going On. This is an interesting bit of playing from Mr. Jamerson - his lines are usually free & loose, with lots of variation; in this case his playing is super straight-forward, almost machine-like in its consistency.

Some folks claim that this was actually played by Bob Babbitt, who was present on a few of this album's tracks. The album jacket, however, says it's Jamerson.

2 pages.

Why is a good bass sound so hard to find?

I've noticed lately that on so many recordings the electric bass is incredibly boomy, muddy, or just generally hard to listen to. Case in point: "Furr", the new album from local Portland band Blitzen Trapper. The other instruments on the album are beautifully recorded, particularly the acoustic guitar on title track and the piano on "Not Your Lover". There's a tangible sense of space in the vocals and drums as well, so obviously the producers know what they're doing; so why such a bad bass sound? I've noticed this all over the place, but particularly in "indie" recordings.

With all of that said, it's still a great album. There are some truly fantastic songs, like the aforementioned "Furr", and other quasi-country efforts. The one thing I'd like to hear from these guys is a bit more cohesiveness - things tend to change pretty drastically from song to song. This is still a young band, and I think we're still hearing the development of their sound. I'll certainly be on board to hear new things as they come.