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| Mr. Chambers takes a rest |
Friends, it's been too long since we've talked about Paul Chambers. It is not a contentious statement to say that he is one of the top two or three bassists of all time.
That being said, when you are talking about that elite calibre of musician, it is difficult to rank them based on skill but purely on personnel preference. Off the top of my head I'd have to say Charles Mingus is the only player that was his equal in terms of proficiency (or was it just that he was a better composer?). Well... in terms of skilled players you know how much I love Scott LeFaro with the Bill Evan's Trio, but can a few months recording, even though they were stellar recordings, put him into that elite category? And what about Ray Brown? Ron Carter? Percy Heath? Charlie Haden? maybe even Steve Swallow? Ah now you see why I stay away from ranking musicians.
Have a listen to the Paul Chambers Sextet's 'Whims of Chambers' (from the album Whims of Chambers, Blue Note, 1956).
Fabulous!
Agreed. Although I don't think he's on par with Mingus, as a solid, workaday stand-up man, I would throw Jimmy Garrison into the mix, just for his work with Coltrane.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how on Chambers' best performances the other half of the rhythm section seems to be one of the Joneses--Philly Joe or Elvin.