James Jamerson

Submitted by m0nz on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 10:18pm
m0nz's picture
My local newspaper did a nice article on James Jamerson this morning, wondering why he isn’t in the South Kakalaki Hall of Fame.  I didn’t even know he was from here, thought he was from Detroit.  Outside Mr. James Brown, he is probably the funkiest man from this l’il state.  (some may argue that Hootie and them Blowfish were the opposite of funky.) 

Here is the article: http://www.thestate.com/entertain-index/story/707516.html 
Share this post with
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
dingey's picture

cool!

Submitted by dingey on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 11:23am.
I figured he was a mitten native, as well!  For some reason, i was thinking you were in NORTH carolina, not south, and I was gonna mention that Thelonious Monk AND Tarheel Slim both hail from Rocky Mount, NC.  But I guess that’s kinda moot, eh?  Blahblahblah. Somebody needs some coffee.
Napoleon Solo's picture

Thank you Monz for posting

Submitted by Napoleon Solo on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 12:36pm.
Thank you Monz for posting that article.  As much as I pledge my loyalty to Duck Dunn, I have to say that Mr. Jamerson played some astonishing licks.  Listen to the bass lines of both “Bernadette”, and “I Was Made To Love Her”.  Its amazing that he did all of that with one finger.  Wow.

Also if yall havent do check out the film Standing In The Shadows of Motown.
Kapn's picture

gone too young

Submitted by Kapn on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 12:53am.
Wow… I had no idea Jamerson was only 44 when he died. That’s a travesty.
Two singles that shaped my love of music, and love of Motown, are the Temps’ “My Girl” and the Tops’ “Standing in the Shadows of Love”, both featuring Jamerson. The first has the greatest - regardless of simplicity - bass opening of all time (man, that production is such a perfect musical construction)… the second has, to my ears, the grooviest bass line of any Motown single track ever cut… hence, Jamerson’s funkiest.
The What’s Going On deluxe edition has an instrumental-only track for the title cut that isolates Jamerson’s bass at the track’s start… you may never notice how nimble and quick that playing is when listening to the completed track, as relaxed as the song’s tempo is, but in that isolation, the bass is revealed as the secret groove weapon hiding behind so many Motown classics deemed by some circles to be, unfortunately, just not funky enough.
Many years ago, a book for bass students was published, which included transcriptions of Jamerson bass lines, alongside some substantial info on Jamerson’s professional life, as well as 2 (?) audio discs of famous bassists - Macca included - replicating Jamerson’s bass lines and style. (I never picked it up… it shows!)
Macca’s interest in Jamerson’s bass sound, as captured on record, had impact reaching far beyond the interest his band’s covers of Motown classics inspired among Beatlefans. He wanted to know why the depth of the bass sound on Motown singles wasn’t being captured on Beatles singles. It was what’s in the groove that counted - EMI’s vinyl lathe-cutters had very strict guidelines which were to be followed that led to a thinner sound on their pressings than those cut for Motown. When “Paperback Writer” was cut, Macca demanded that the master be EQ’ed to his liking, and the single stamp cut deep to give his bass sound that Motown depth - by all accounts, getting it done was like an undercover operation. The difference in bass sound between that “Paperback Writer” single (mix currently unavailable on CD, blows the stereo mix away) and those preceding it is significant - having succeeded in winning this battle, the Beatles continued to push EMI’s tightly-sealed sonic envelopes to the bitter end (see Geoff Emerick’s informative, if ultra-bitter, Here There and Everywhere music bio).

© 2010 Leppotone. Drupal theme by Kiwi Themes.