The Best Funk Music Bass Players
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Looking for the best funk bass players? Look no further! In this blog post, we’ll list the top 10 funk bassists of all time.
Bootsy Collins
Funk music would not be the same without the contributions of Bootsy Collins. His bass playing style is unique and has influenced many other bassists. He is also a talented singer and songwriter. In this article, we will take a look at the life and work of Bootsy Collins.
His Music
Collins’ bass playing style is very distinctive. He often makes use of a wah-wah pedal and incorporates slide bass into his playing. His use of the instrument is often likened to that of a lead guitar, and he is regarded as one of the best funk bassists of all time. In addition to his work with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins has also played with Bootsy’s New Rubber Band, The J.B.’s, James Brown, and many other artists.
His Influence
Bootsy Collins is a legendary funk bass player who has had a profound impact on the music industry. His unique style of playing has influenced countless other bassists, and his work with Parliament-Funkadelic is some of the most influential funk music ever made. Bootsy’s playing is characterized by its groove, which is often compared to that of a machine due to its rhythmic precision. He is also known for his use of ‘slap bass’ technique, which gives his playing a very distinctive sound. Bootsy has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he continues to be one of the most respected bassists in the world.
Les Claypool
Les Claypool is a musician best known for his work with the band Primus. Les Claypool’s style of funk bass playing has influenced many other bassists. Les Claypool has also been involved in several side projects, including Oysterhead and Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains.
His Music
Les Claypool is a well-known and respected funk music bass player. He is best known for his work with the band Primus, but has also played with a number of other bands and artists over the years. He is considered to be one of the best bass players in the world, and his distinctive style has influenced many other bass players.
His Influence
Les was born in 1963, in Richmond, California. He is of French-Canadian, English, Irish, Scottish, and Welch descent. His father’s family were Belgian immigrants who had left Antwerp Province in Belgium after World War I. His great-great grandparents had also immigrated to Canada at that time.
Les began playing the guitar at age 15. However, he found that what he really wanted to do was play the bass guitar. Les commented in a 2005 interview about why he switched from guitar to bass: “When I was about 15 or 16 years old I started playing guitar because everybody wanted to play lead guitar… But then I discovered Rush and Geddy Lee and Steve Harris from Iron Maiden and I just said ‘forget it.’ ”
Les’sPlaying Style
He has cited Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone and Bootsy Collins of James Brown’s band as major influences on his style of funk playing. Collins is also credited with inventing the “thumb pop,” a move later adopted by Les. In an interview with Guitar Player magazine, Les said his style was also influenced by British rock bassists such as Chris Squire of Yes and Geddy Lee.
Victor Wooten
Victor Wooten is considered one of the best funk music bass players of all time. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the band Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Wooten has been cited as an influence by many of the world’s top bass players.
His Music
Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bass player, composer, author, producer, and educator. He has won five Grammy Awards and is the first person to have been voted No. 1 Bass Player in Bass Player magazine five times. His workshops and seminars on music and education attract people worldwide. Wooten’s playing style is based on funk, jazz harmony, groove, rhythm, concert music counterpoint using his “EBow technique”, tapping percussion on the bass guitar fretboard with both hands simultaneously to outline chord progressions while expertly improvising a counter melody line on top.
Wooten began his musical life at age four when his brothers Regi and Roy began teaching him classical and gospel music on piano; by age seven he had switched to playing the electric bass. At age eleven he toured with his brothers’ band The Young Funk Brothers; before long he began sitting in with them onstage whenever they performed in the Washington D.C., area. When Wooten was sixteen years old, he left home to join the The Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps as part of their brass section. Later he performed as part of Brubeck’s band alongside his brother Regi. Wooten has recorded or performed with Bootsy Collins, Prince, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (including on their 1990 self-titled debut album which won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance), Chick Corea & Origin (including 2004’s The Ultimate Adventure which landed Corea & Origin a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album), Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda (aka Swamini Turiyasangitananda) Jeff Beck (on 1989’s Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop which earned a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance), Wu-Tang Clan (“Gravel Pit”), Nels Cline Singers (featuring Nels Cline of Wilco) Korn (“Freak On A Leash”), Gov’t Mule and Stanley Jordan among others.[citation needed]
His Influence
Victor Wooten is one of the most influential funk music bass players of all time. He is best known for his work with the band Soultrain, but has also played with a number of other well-known artists including Miles Davis, George Clinton, and Bootsy Collins. His unique style of playing has influenced many other bassists who have come after him.
