Category: Listening

This is an album recommendation from me, Toru Hoshino (@jazzbassisttoru), founder of the online bass school Line on Bass.

This record carries forward everything great about straight-ahead jazz, with plenty to enjoy from the bass alone — and on top of that, it has a thoroughly modern, stylish feel.

It’s an album by a true super-bassist, and one I’ve had people thank me for introducing them to more times than I can count.

“Esperanza” by Esperanza Spalding

“Esperanza” by Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding is a world-class bassist who also happens to have a truly first-rate singing voice.

She sings moody, lush, glittering melodies while playing upright bass at the same time.

Esperanza has released four albums so far, and each one has a completely different feel.

This particular record is especially recommended if you:

・Like the smooth jazz sound
・Like Antônio Carlos Jobim
・Like bossa nova
・Like club jazz

Even my own ears — tuned to old-school ’40s and ’50s bebop, hard bop, and cool jazz — took to this one easily. The melodies are strong and easy to listen to, making it a comfortable entry point even for people new to jazz or Black American music in general.

Great for Moments Like These

・Cleaning or doing housework
・Studying
・Hosting friends for a party
・Before bed
・Morning coffee
・An evening drink (ideally wine, not a canned highball)

My Impressions of “Esperanza”

My strongest impressions are “watery” and “transparent.”

I personally get a similar “watery” feeling from artists like Bill Evans, early Herbie Hancock, and Antônio Carlos Jobim — though the particular flavor of that transparency is different here.

The songs are melodic and easy to sing along to. The bass playing leans more toward funk grooves than straight four-on-the-floor swing, with a lot of tight, punchy bass lines.

Rather than putting “bassiness” front and center the way Paul Chambers does on “Bass on Top,” this album puts the vocals first — it leans heavily into an R&B feel.

I also own another one of Esperanza’s albums — her third, “Chamber Music Society.” That one leans heavily on arco (bow) playing and has a strong chamber-music, classical feel. Personally, I prefer “Esperanza.”

“Chamber Music Society” by Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding’s Background

Esperanza Spalding became the youngest instructor in the history of Berklee College of Music — one of the most prestigious jazz schools in the world — when she joined the faculty at just 20 years old. President Obama himself is said to be a fan, and she has performed in front of him on multiple occasions.

(Source: Wikipedia)

I’ve gone to see her perform live about four times — twice in Japan, twice in the US.

Her singing is wonderful, but the performance that’s stuck with me the most was at a jazz club in New York called Smalls, five or six years back. It wasn’t one of her own headlining shows — she was sitting in as the bassist for a saxophone quartet. A rare and special thing to catch. Her hands moved so fast I nearly fell off my chair.

Whether you’re into old-school jazz or contemporary Black music, this is an artist worth checking out. ^^

A Roundup of My Favorite Esperanza Videos

I went ahead and gathered up some of my favorite Esperanza Spalding videos.

Essential viewing if you’re a bassist — honestly, essential if you just love jazz, or really, if you love music at all.

Overjoyed

Filmed in February 2009. She’s rocking her trademark afro here.

A cover of the Stevie Wonder song. President Obama is watching right in front of her.

That beetle-shaped upright bass is a “Czech Ease” model made by David Gage.

On the Sunny Side of the Street

This time she’s on a standard 3/4-size upright. It’s a tune that comes up often at jam sessions in Japan too. President Obama makes another appearance here as well.

The bass solo really takes off about three minutes into the second half.

The solo is great, but the groove on the walking bass line is just as powerful.

Jazz à Vienne 2012

From a jazz festival in Vienne, France, in 2012.

In the second half, she switches to a 4-string electric jazz bass.

If I keep going down this rabbit hole I’ll never get this article finished, so I’ll stop here.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

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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 recommends an album made up of nothing but three basses.

This time around, I want to recommend an ensemble album played entirely on three basses.

Can you picture it? An instrument that normally just holds down the backbeat quietly in the background, here singing melodies, harmonizing with itself, doing whatever it wants. Just the concept alone is a genuinely striking thing to hear.

“Super Bass” — Ray Brown with John Clayton & Christian McBride

The title “Super Bass” feels almost too on the nose. This is a leader album from Ray Brown — a bassist so foundational to bebop and modern jazz bass playing through the 1940s and ’50s that people still say “if you’re going to play jazz bass, listen to him first.”

His powerful one-finger plucking technique, backing up an endless list of legendary musicians from Charlie Parker to Bud Powell, was defined by note attacks and evenness so precisely consistent that it elevated every great performance he was part of.

This album brings Ray Brown together with his student John Clayton, and with Christian McBride — a bassist who, without much exaggeration, stands at the very top of the jazz scene today.

The Limitless Possibility I Hear in This Instrument

The double bass is an unglamorous, unassuming instrument — heavy to haul around, and one that can take years just to nail consistent intonation on. And yet, right from the opening track, “SuperBass Theme,” it explodes into three-part harmony and unison lines.

Tracks 2 (“Blue Monk”) and 3 (“Bye Bye Blackbird”) take familiar standards and rearrange them with total freedom, constantly making you think, “wait, it’s going there?”

And by the time you get to track 4, “Lullaby of Birdland,” the arco playing evokes a chamber-music quality that gleefully defies whatever expectations you walked in with.

This is an instrument that, here, takes on the role of the beat, the melody, the harmony, the strings, and the rhythmic percussion all at once. The sheer conviction of hearing a bass do all of that — and the cohesion that comes from twelve strings across different ranges playing in concert — is a sound that almost nobody has had the chance to actually hear before.

An Album Every Bassist Needs to Hear

When students ask me, “Is there some incredible bass album I should check out?” — this is one of the two I always point them to, the other being “Portrait of Jaco Pastorius.”

If your only frame of reference is rock or pop, you probably picture a “standard band lineup” — a guitarist, a keyboardist, a drummer, and so on.

“An album with nothing but three basses? What is that supposed to be?” is a completely fair reaction. But at its core, music is simply one way of giving shape to freedom through sound.

I’d love for as many bassists as possible to hear this album, feel that jolt straight to the brain, and let it get their right brain spinning.

I hope this gives you something great to add to your listening list — and once an album like this gets your ear excited about what the bass can do, channeling that into your own playing is exactly where having a second set of ears helps.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 three jazz standards perfect for spring listening.

It’s been getting warmer lately. At the live jazz gigs I play regularly, I often get requests from the audience, and this time of year, “something that feels like spring” comes up a lot.

So here are three songs I often play for exactly that request. They’re all beautiful tunes — I hope you’ll give them a listen.

1. Joy Spring

This is probably the tune that says “spring” the most to me. It’s got “Spring” right in the title, and it’s one I played often at jam sessions around this time of year.

That catchy melody always feels like it’s looking forward to the warm season ahead.

That said, catchy as it is, the tune modulates pretty aggressively, which makes both the bassline and the improvising genuinely challenging. But it’s such a great tune — definitely give it a listen.

2. It Might as Well Be Spring

Of all the “Spring” tunes, this is personally my favorite — and I’m especially fond of this particular recording.

The interplay between the organ and tenor sax here is gorgeous. It’s the kind of track I’d love to just sit in the sun and relax to.

3. You Must Believe in Spring

This one feels to me like spring with a little bit of winter’s chill still hanging on.

It’s not a tune I’ve personally played often at sessions, but it has “Spring” right there in the title, so I wanted to include it.

The bass solo right after the theme, from the very start, is wonderfully melodic and just sounds great.

I hope these give you something new to listen to this season — and listening closely to recordings like these is exactly the kind of ear-training that pays off when you’re trying to internalize a style.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 a true story from 2016 about a guy who showed up to a jam session after exactly one day of playing jazz.

The setting: a neighborhood bar near my place. I was sitting alone with a drink, reading a manga, when a young guy sat down at the counter nearby.

One Night

Young guy: “What are you reading?”

Me: “Oh, this? It’s called ‘Kids on the Slope.’ Ever heard of it?”

Young guy: “Nope, never heard of it.”

Me: “It’s about jazz. You know jazz?”

Young guy: “Oh yeah! I know that! Super cool stuff, jazz!”

Me (thinking): Wow, he’s really into this. Wish he were a girl.

Me: “Oh, I just finished it actually — want to borrow it?”

Young guy: “Really? Can I? Awesome! Actually, I do music too — I’m a guitarist/singer, just moved here from Okinawa. Starting at a music school here in Tokyo this spring.”

Me: “No kidding? That’s some serious commitment.”

We hit it off and kept talking. Since we lived nearby, I lent him the whole series — all 10-ish volumes — and we said goodnight.

The Next Afternoon

The next afternoon: “Toru! I finished the whole series! It was amazing! I’m bringing it back right now!”

Whoa — already?! He came by.

“Man, I got so into it, I actually cried. And the songs in the manga are real songs, so I looked them up and listened — ‘Moanin”, ‘Lullaby of Birdland.’ So cool!”

“Oh nice, got into jazz, huh? Love that.”

“What else is out there?”

“Alright, let me give you the rundown.”

Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Keith Jarrett. And since you play guitar — Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Jim Hall, George Benson. And personally, I’d throw in the incredible bassist Esperanza Spalding too.

I scribbled it all down on a sheet of paper and handed it to him.

Then — oh, right!

“Hey, you know what a ‘jam session’ is?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where a bunch of musicians who’ve never met just bring their instruments and improvise together on the spot. It’s a classic jazz tradition.”

“No way! That’s so cool!”

“There’s actually one tomorrow — I’m playing bass for the house rhythm section. Want to come?”

“I’m in!”

What an enthusiastic kid. I don’t think I’d ever met anyone who said “I’m in!” to a jam session with zero hesitation like that.

The Day After That

The day after that — February 18th, a jam session at a venue in the western Tokyo suburbs. We met at the station at 6:30 and headed over together.

“You ever played jazz before?”

“Nope. But I did practice something called the ‘blues pentatonic’ today!”

“Huh. Huh!”

One day of jazz experience.

One day. There’s something almost poetic about that.

How many days have I logged at this point? Probably past 2,000 by now.

But then again — Christian McBride, Avishai Cohen, Paul Chambers — they all had a “day one” too.

We got to the venue, and I introduced him to everyone.

“This is a guy who just moved here from Okinawa, chasing a music career. One day of jazz experience.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

“So, what should we play?”

“Let’s do an F blues. Just solo — don’t worry about anything else. Stick to these notes and you’ll be fine.”

Just F, A♭, and C — that’s all he was told to hang onto.

And he played it exactly like someone with one day of jazz experience. But he had a huge smile on his face the whole time, clearly having a blast.

I remember my own first session — pure nerves and cold sweat the entire time.

Is this kid crazy? Or is he going to turn into something incredible?

It had been a while since I’d thought that about someone.

It was a cold, windy February night. We grabbed ramen on the way home.

“Oh, let me get my share—”

“Don’t worry about it. You came out tonight — this one’s on me.”

“I feel bad taking it…”

“Just promise me one thing — when you book your first real gig, let me know. Put together a band you’re genuinely proud of, and write some great songs.”

“Got it! Thank you so much!”

Somewhere along the way, I’d turned into the kind of person who says things like that. Guess I’d better live up to it myself.

March’s almost here.

Watching someone improvise on three notes with zero experience but total joy is a reminder that the fundamentals — chords, time, structure — are exactly what a teacher helps you turn that joy into real skill.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 cool jazz recordings where the bass takes the melody.

Here are some recordings where the bass itself carries the melody on a jazz standard, rather than just backing up another instrument.

Donna Lee (Jaco Pastorius)

A lot of people already know this one. Personally, this is one of the most jaw-dropping recordings I’ve ever heard. Right from track 1, it’s just percussion and fretless bass covering Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” — no other instruments at all. Even at that blistering tempo, every single note comes through clean and well-defined, with slides, multiphonics, and harmonics unique to the fretless bass on full display throughout.

You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To (Paul Chambers)

A genuinely stunning recording — over three minutes straight of pure improvising right from the theme. The sheer tension of wondering “how much longer can this bass solo possibly keep going?” is thrilling. “Donna Lee” above is one of the most jaw-dropping electric bass performances I know — this one is, without question, one of the most jaw-dropping upright bass performances I know.

Samba De Orfeu (Ron Carter)

I tend to feel like a bass-carried melody fits brighter, major-key material less naturally — that bright major tunes like “Samba De Orfeu” are a tougher fit for a bass melody. But hearing Ron Carter casually nail a bright, breezy melody down in the bass’s low register, making it look effortless, is exactly what you’d expect from one of the greats.

Bye Bye Blackbird (Ray Brown with John Clayton & Christian McBride)

An ensemble of three of the world’s greatest bass players, and nothing else. Listen closely to this all-bass ensemble and you’ll hear not just incredible individual playing, but genuinely deep musical conversation between all three players.

These are all performances that really expand what the bass is capable of — hopefully you find something here to enjoy.

Hearing how these legends shape a melody is one thing — actually getting your own bass-led melody to sing with that same clarity and intention is exactly where a teacher’s feedback helps the most.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 three classic recordings featuring a genuinely cool “walking bass solo” — best heard at high volume.

If you’re not familiar with the term, a “walking bass solo” needs a quick explanation first. In jazz, when a horn or piano player takes a solo, the bassist typically backs them up with a “walking bass line” — a quarter-note-driven accompaniment pattern.

But when it becomes the bassist’s own turn to solo, most players switch things up, bringing in eighth notes, triplets, and often some genuinely virtuosic technique. A “walking bass solo” is the distinctive alternative approach where the bassist keeps that same quarter-note-driven pattern going even during their own solo, rather than breaking from it.

The first time I heard one, I actually thought, “wait, did they just miss their cue to really solo?” But these are legendary players we’re talking about — that’s obviously not what’s happening. It’s a different kind of cool from a flashy, technical solo, but it’s seriously cool in its own right. Here are three classic recordings featuring a great walking bass solo.

3 Tunes With a Great Walking Bass Solo

1. “Candy”

Album: Candy (1958) — Bassist: Doug Watkins — Walking bass solo at 4:48

Personally, I think this is the most famous walking bass solo out there. It comes up often at jam sessions too, so it’s well worth a listen.

2. “Airegin”

Album: The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1960) — Bassist: Percy Heath — Walking bass solo at 2:58

A blisteringly fast walking bass solo — and what’s especially cool is how rock-steady and even it stays even at that speed.

3. “Oleo”

Album: Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1959) — Bassist: Sam Jones — Walking bass solo at 2:28

Once the walking bass solo kicks in, the rest of the band drops out almost entirely, which really lets the bass’s tone and nuance come through. Crank the volume and feel the tension for yourself.

Hopefully this is a fun way to get introduced to some genuinely cool music.

Getting your own walking bass solos to feel this composed and intentional takes real practice — that’s exactly the kind of playing a teacher can help you build toward.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 great bass-and-piano duo albums he’s enjoyed, along with a few favorite tracks from each.

Here are five bass-and-piano duo albums I’ve enjoyed listening to, along with some thoughts on a few favorite tracks from each. (Note: these impressions date back to around 2017 — purely my own personal take.)

5 Great Bass-and-Piano Duo Albums

Ballads & Blues

Recorded 1978 — Tommy Flanagan (piano), George Mraz (bass)

This album introduced me to “They Say It’s Spring,” and I fell for it instantly — such a beautiful melody. It shifts partway through into a medium 4-beat feel, and the legendary George Mraz’s rock-steady time and pitch on that 4-beat groove is something to marvel at.

Come Sunday

Recorded 2010 — Hank Jones (piano), Charlie Haden (bass)

The title track, “Come Sunday,” is one I’ve performed live a number of times myself. It’s a quiet, understated tune, but there’s a bluesy quality running underneath it that fits the somewhat fleeting, poignant impression I have of Charlie Haden’s playing.

Intuition

Recorded 1975 — Bill Evans (piano), Eddie Gomez (bass)

From the beauty of “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo” (the theme from the film “Lili”) to Eddie Gomez’s passionate solo right from the top of the notoriously tricky standard “Falling Grace,” this album covers a lot of different moods. I love everything Bill Evans recorded, but this one’s a particular favorite of mine.

Conversations With Christian

Released 2011 — Christian McBride (bass)

Not every track on this one is a piano duo, but it’s a favorite of mine among his duo recordings. Track 1, “Afrika,” featuring Angelique Kidjo, is a duo of just bass and vocals. Christian McBride’s time feel is honestly something else.

DUO 2

Released 2011 — Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Kenny Drew (piano)

Track 8, “A Child Is Born,” is a favorite of mine — the legendary NHØP takes the melody on bass. Hearing him play a graceful, gentle 3/4 ballad like this, after all those dazzling, lightning-fast solos he’s known for, makes me wonder what his expression must have looked like in the studio.

The Bass-and-Piano Duo: No Drums in Sight

With just bass and piano sounding, both instruments have to mesh well together while still creating moments that stand out. Stick to just roots and a steady 4-beat feel, and it gets monotonous fast — but move around too much, and it stops being a real ensemble. And yet, in the hands of musicians at this level, every single moment becomes a highlight.

Even with just two instruments, jazz can be genuinely exciting. And the fact that two different pairings of the same instrumentation can sound completely different in character is one of the things that makes this music so interesting.

Picking up the kind of interplay these duos build takes more than just listening — having a teacher point out specifically what’s happening between the bass and the rest of the band is where it really starts to click.

Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →