Of all the musicians in jazz, it seems that the bassists get the least “props.” Most people just don’t listen to what they play. And the things non-bassists say about bass players are so superficial, either they haven't listened to them at all, or what they say is based on just a minute or two of listening to a single recording.
So great to hear this information articulated. It never dawned on me about slap bass. I had the good fortune of working with Milt Hinton who did this alot, but he is a little younger than Walter Page. I guess we can all take a page from Page.
"Starting at 1:50 he plays a written solo on baritone sax, alternating phrases with the band. That’s the only time Page recorded on the saxophone, yet another of his talents."
If I recall correctly, recording technique of the time was fairly basic, (ie a band playing live, in a small confined space, with no way to edit) so why would they take a chance of adding the difficulty of swapping an instrument mid-track when it could be dropped or banged against something and the recording would capture that audio rendering the recording unusable?
Wouldn't have been less potentially problematic to have a dedicated baritone sax player?
This was great, thanks! I think the truth is somewhere between Crouch and your examples. Page is often four--to-the-bar, but he picks his spots. When he's driving the full Basie band he's holding it down, but when it's down to the rhythm section he might mix it up. Even then he's more likely to chop up the rhythm for a turnaround or a final 8. (Check out "I ain't got nobody" from the Famous Door, August 18, 1938 -- from Savory Collection vol. no. 2 and the Mosaic set. After Rushing, Basie takes a chorus. There are some ensemble figures through the bridge, but they drop out for the final 8 [at around 1:20] and both Freddie Green and Walter Page shift into an aggressive counter rhythm -- almost certainly planned, I think.)
I take it that Crouch's point is that when walking Page thought in terms of 2-bar phrases when conveying the harmonic structure, and that like Lester he would convey the general direction of the harmony instead of outlining every chord. The rhythm section is trying not to fence in the soloists.
Most of Basie's bassists after Page stuck to walking bass, presumably because that's what Basie wanted or what they THOUGHT he wanted. But with Freddie Green holding down the rhythm, John Clayton would occasionally cut loose... but even then, it's almost always at the turnaround. (See in particular the live date ON THE ROAD, and how Clayton offers an independent commentary behind vocalist Dennis Roland. Clayton is more conservative in the studio, e.g. the 1978 Big Band + Milt Jackson volumes, but even there he does break up the rhythms.)
Nov 15, 2022·edited Nov 15, 2022Liked by Lewis Porter
Thanks for this Lewis. I did not know his name. Many bassist from that time period were what I called thumpers ( short staccato notes ) which many bass players carried over into the 50's, but not him. Very refreshing.
This is tremendous musical analysis. I've been listening to jazz for 45 years and this really opened my eyes (and ears!) to what made Walter Page so special. I subscrbed on the strength of this entry.
So great to hear this information articulated. It never dawned on me about slap bass. I had the good fortune of working with Milt Hinton who did this alot, but he is a little younger than Walter Page. I guess we can all take a page from Page.
"Starting at 1:50 he plays a written solo on baritone sax, alternating phrases with the band. That’s the only time Page recorded on the saxophone, yet another of his talents."
If I recall correctly, recording technique of the time was fairly basic, (ie a band playing live, in a small confined space, with no way to edit) so why would they take a chance of adding the difficulty of swapping an instrument mid-track when it could be dropped or banged against something and the recording would capture that audio rendering the recording unusable?
Wouldn't have been less potentially problematic to have a dedicated baritone sax player?
This was great, thanks! I think the truth is somewhere between Crouch and your examples. Page is often four--to-the-bar, but he picks his spots. When he's driving the full Basie band he's holding it down, but when it's down to the rhythm section he might mix it up. Even then he's more likely to chop up the rhythm for a turnaround or a final 8. (Check out "I ain't got nobody" from the Famous Door, August 18, 1938 -- from Savory Collection vol. no. 2 and the Mosaic set. After Rushing, Basie takes a chorus. There are some ensemble figures through the bridge, but they drop out for the final 8 [at around 1:20] and both Freddie Green and Walter Page shift into an aggressive counter rhythm -- almost certainly planned, I think.)
I take it that Crouch's point is that when walking Page thought in terms of 2-bar phrases when conveying the harmonic structure, and that like Lester he would convey the general direction of the harmony instead of outlining every chord. The rhythm section is trying not to fence in the soloists.
Most of Basie's bassists after Page stuck to walking bass, presumably because that's what Basie wanted or what they THOUGHT he wanted. But with Freddie Green holding down the rhythm, John Clayton would occasionally cut loose... but even then, it's almost always at the turnaround. (See in particular the live date ON THE ROAD, and how Clayton offers an independent commentary behind vocalist Dennis Roland. Clayton is more conservative in the studio, e.g. the 1978 Big Band + Milt Jackson volumes, but even there he does break up the rhythms.)
Thanks for this Lewis. I did not know his name. Many bassist from that time period were what I called thumpers ( short staccato notes ) which many bass players carried over into the 50's, but not him. Very refreshing.
Beautiful focus on Walter Page! As to bass players double timing in the 30's, there weren't many for sure, but Blanton did (Plucked Again with Ellington, 1939: at 1:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mAqXNf1R6w and just for fun check this live Blanton solo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FN7m8iMBlQ
This is tremendous musical analysis. I've been listening to jazz for 45 years and this really opened my eyes (and ears!) to what made Walter Page so special. I subscrbed on the strength of this entry.