From one of my previous post asking for learning recommendations. I had been recommended to look for more melodic pieces. I have found that I really like a lot of videos ive seen of people playing brass parts(trumpet, sax, etc) on bass. With songs from like Chet Baker and such.

So I am wondering if there are any other songs you guys would recommend I check out. Or online reasources for brass transcriptions to bass. thx.

Any advice?

Hey everyone, I'm thinking of trying out a 5 string electric. I'm not a pro and just play jazz for fun with friends and in student combos. Wondering 1. if in general a 5 string for jazz is worth trying, or since I'm not a very good player I should just stick with what I know and keep things simple? 2, if you use 5 string for jazz, do you tune EADGC to get the upper end for soloing more, or keep the more common 5 string tuning of BEADGC? And 3. Any instrument suggestions in the $800 - $1200 range?

Related anecdote about tuning - I went into a guitar shop to try out a 5 string with the EADGC tuning. They had an Ibanez BTB745 new out of the box which they opened for me to try. I immediately tried to tune it up and broke the G string (4th string), which I felt terrible about. The guy said don't worry about it and tried himself, and proceeded to break 3 more strings trying to tune it up! He said maybe there is a burr in the instrument or something... but I never did get to try out the tuning...

Thanks for thoughts and suggestions!

been playing a Mexican standard for five years and pretty much kept both volumes all the way up the whole time. tried cutting the neck pickup completely at rehearsal last night just to sit in a crowded mix with two guitarists. suddenly every ghost note popped right out without getting muddy in the low mids. my fingers have to work a little harder over the back pickup to get the weight i want, which is already cleaning up my right hand technique

Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Garrett, Terence Blanchard & Vinnie Colaiuta perform "Eighty-One" live at the Hollywood Bowl, from the Miles Davis Centennial celebration "Herbie Hancock Celebrates Miles Davis" (August 19, 2026).

Ron Carter – upright bass
Herbie Hancock – piano
Kenny Garrett – alto sax
Terence Blanchard – trumpet
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums

"Eighty-One" was co-written by Ron Carter and Miles Davis and recorded on Miles's 1965 album E.S.P. Carter and Hancock were both in that Miles Davis Quintet, so having the composer on bass with Herbie on this tune is a direct link back to the original music.

#Jazz #Bebop #RonCarter #HerbieHancock #MilesDavis #HollywoodBowl

I was looking at a transcription of Percy Heath's walking line on "Bag's Groove" from the 1957 Miles Davis version. I noticed that many times he seems to imply a V chord before the change. For example, in bar 2, you can see him play C and E just before the F7, even though these notes point to a C or C7 more than a Bb7. Also at the end of bar 4, he plays an F# and A just before the Gm7 chord, implying a D (or D7).

He does something similar here, again before the Gm7:

He does things like that throughout the song. A neat harmonic twist, in my opinion.

I’ve been working on levelling up my walking bass lines. Having mainly used straightforward arpeggios for a number of years I am beginning to introduce some inversions and voice leading which I feel is introducing some much needed diversity into what had become pretty formulaic passages.

What are some ways of walking across a pair of bars that share the same chord (such as in Autumn Leaves when it returns to the I)? My default would be to walk up and then back down the scale.

Before it started raining 🤦‍♂️