This article is written by Toru Hoshino, a jazz bassist and instructor based in Japan who teaches online lessons to students worldwide. In this article, he shares five essential bassists every jazz and walking bass player should listen to.
There are countless great bassists out there, and picking favorites is genuinely an impossible task. But a student of mine recently asked me:
“If I’m going to get into jazz, walking bass, and upright bass, can you just give me five bassists to start with?”
I thought about it for a second, and here’s who I told them.
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Ray Brown
Known as “King Ray,” Ray Brown is one of the all-time masters of the upright bass.
His style — driving solos and grooves almost entirely with his index finger — produced a tone and pitch accuracy that were absolutely top tier.
“Listen to Ray Brown closely.” “Think about a solid, centered tone on every single note of that 4-feel.” I heard those two pieces of advice constantly when I was learning. He left behind an enormous number of recordings, and honestly, every single one of them sounds incredible.
Paul Chambers
Paul Chambers’ name shows up on an enormous number of recordings considered essential jazz classics.
His bass solo style — endless eighth notes mostly in the low-to-middle register — is instantly recognizable, and I personally transcribed a huge amount of his playing.
The first time I heard “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” off his album Bass on Top, it genuinely blew me away.
Scott LaFaro
One of the legendary bassists whose presence in the Bill Evans Trio was simply overwhelming.
I love his bass solo on “Waltz for Debby” from the album of the same name — the way it keeps flowing right across the bar lines without ever settling into a predictable pattern.
I tried to transcribe it once and gave up halfway through. I’d still like to take another crack at it someday.
Christian McBride
I saw him live once at the Village Vanguard in the US, and the way every single note of his 4-feel seemed to dig into the ground gave me a kind of groove I’d genuinely never felt before.
He’s still active today and is, without question, one of the strongest bassists alive.
The opening arco passage on “Tell Me a Bedtime Story,” from his album Fingerpainting, completely melted me.
Esperanza Spalding
I’ve seen her live about four times. Both her singing and her bass playing are absolutely top tier. Apparently former President Obama was a regular at her shows too.
Her second album, simply titled Esperanza, is one I really love.
So, those are five artists I’d recommend if you’re getting into walking bass. Go listen to some genuinely great playing and let it fire you up.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
Listening to these greats is a fantastic way to build your ear and your sense of what’s possible — but turning that inspiration into real progress in your own playing is a different process entirely, and that’s where outside feedback really helps.
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.