Our list of some of the best Jazz Bass books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
- Martin Taylor Walking Bass For Jazz Guitar: Learn to Masterfully Combine Jazz Chords with Walking Basslines (2018)
- Berklee Jazz Bass: Acoustic & Electric (2016)
- Hal Leonard Jazz Bass Method: A Comprehensive Guide with Detailed Instruction for Acoustic and Electric Bass (Hal Leonard Bass Method) (2018)
- Walking Bass for Jazz and Blues: The Complete Walking Bass Method (2016)
- The Jazz Bass Book: Technique and Tradition (Bass Player Musician’s Library) ()
- Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines, Book 1: Walking Bass Lines- The Blues in 12 Keys Upright Bass and Electric Bass Method (2011)
- 100 Jazz Lessons: Bass Lesson Goldmine Series (2015)
- Ray Brown’s Bass Method: Essential Scales, Patterns, and Excercises (1999)
- Ron Carter: Building Jazz Bass Lines: A compendium of techniques for great jazz bass lines including play-along CD featuring Ron Carter (Bass Builders) (1998)
- Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book II Walking Bass Lines: Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys Upright Bass method (2010)
- Jazz Bass (1997)
- W31B – Standard of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method: Bass (1998)
- Essential Elements For Jazz Bass Bk with online media (Instrumental Jazz) (2000)
- Patterns for Jazz — A Theory Text for Jazz Composition and Improvisation: Bass Clef Instruments (1986)
Martin Taylor Walking Bass For Jazz Guitar: Learn to Masterfully Combine Jazz Chords with Walking Basslines (2018)
Combine Walking Basslines and Jazz Guitar Chords, with Martin Taylor MBEWalking Bass for Jazz Guitar distils over 40 years of virtuosity and skill into one beautiful jazz guitar book.
Berklee Jazz Bass: Acoustic & Electric (2016)
(Berklee Guide). Learn the art of jazz bass. Whether you are new to playing jazz or wish to hone your skills, and whether you play acoustic or electric bass, this book will help you expand your basic technique to create interesting and grooving bass lines and melodically interesting solos. Included are 166 audio tracks of demonstrations and play-alongs, featuring a complete jazz combo playing bass lines and solos over standard jazz progressions.
Hal Leonard Jazz Bass Method: A Comprehensive Guide with Detailed Instruction for Acoustic and Electric Bass (Hal Leonard Bass Method) (2018)
(Bass Instruction). The Hal Leonard Jazz Bass Method is your complete guide to learning jazz bass. Author Matthew Rybicki guides you through the essential knowledge you need to create your own walking bass lines and improvised solos in the classic jazz style.
Walking Bass for Jazz and Blues: The Complete Walking Bass Method (2016)
A Walking Bass Method for BeginnersDiscover a Complete Method to Learn Jazz and Blues Walking Bass Have you tried playing walking bass lines but keep finding them not quite right?Do you find yourself thinking so much about note choice that you can’t get in the groove of the music?Do you dream of playing bass lines like legendary bassists like Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers or Jaco?Walking Bass for Jazz and Blues is a complete method to help beginners master each element of Blues…
The Jazz Bass Book: Technique and Tradition (Bass Player Musician’s Library) ()
More than a player’s manual, this book portrays jazz bass as a vital element of 20th century American music. Citing examples from key recordings in the jazz canon, the book defines the essence of the musical contributions made by more than 70 important jazz bassists, including Ray Brown, Eddie Gomez, Charles Mingus, Milt Hinton and many others.
Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines, Book 1: Walking Bass Lines- The Blues in 12 Keys Upright Bass and Electric Bass Method (2011)
Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book I -The Blues in 12 Keys *New 2hr MP3 Playalong free download featuring all chord progressions in 12 keys from Part II of the Book available from website.* is a complete guide demonstrating the devices used to construct walking bass lines in the jazz tradition. Part 1 demonstrates the techniques used by professional jazz bassists to provide forward motion into bass lines, while providing a strong harmonic and rhythmic foundation.
100 Jazz Lessons: Bass Lesson Goldmine Series (2015)
(Bass Instruction). Expand your bass knowledge with the Bass Lesson Goldmine series! Featuring 100 individual modules covering a giant array of topics, each lesson in this Jazz volume includes detailed instruction with playing examples presented in standard notation and tablature.
Ray Brown’s Bass Method: Essential Scales, Patterns, and Excercises (1999)
(Bass Instruction). Legendary jazz bassist Ray Brown reveals his lessons and teaching philosophy in this in-depth book. Includes: solo exercises and arpeggios; music fundamentals; right- and left-hand positions; scales; chords; exercises in tenths; rhythm patterns with “drops”; diminished chords; runs and variations; blues patterns; extension scales; and much more.
Ron Carter: Building Jazz Bass Lines: A compendium of techniques for great jazz bass lines including play-along CD featuring Ron Carter (Bass Builders) (1998)
(Bass Builders). In this book/online audio access pack, bass legend Ron Carter illustrates step by step the basic concepts of creating bass lines; constructing lines using non-harmonic tones and diverse rhythms; playing in fast tempos; and developing tone and pitch.
Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book II Walking Bass Lines: Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys Upright Bass method (2010)
Now with Mp3 playalong backing tracks of rhythm changes in 12 keys outlining the chord substitutions used in the book. Rhythm Changes like the ” Blues ” is an essential part of the Jazz musicians vocabulary. Book II in the Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines series Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys provides various insights into how the Rhythm Changes song form may be approached by the Jazz Bassist.
Jazz Bass (1997)
(Bass Builders). This book/audio pack features over 50 examples covering walking bass, the two feel, 3/4 time, Latin, and ballads. It covers soloing, performance protocol, and includes seven complete tunes. Demo tracks are accessed online via download or streaming and include playback options to make learning easier than ever.
W31B – Standard of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method: Bass (1998)
Minimum instrumentation for method effectiveness 2-XE, 1-XB, 2-TP, 1-TB, 1-P, 1-B, 1-D The SOE Jazz Ensemble Method is designed for use by mid, JR, HS, community jazz ensembles, and in the private studio. the book is divided into three sections, each representing a different jazz style: rock, swing, and Latin. Each section contains rhythm studies and improvisation studies which may be played with other members of the ensemble or with accompanying CD (affixed to the back cover).
Essential Elements For Jazz Bass Bk with online media (Instrumental Jazz) (2000)
Designed to teach jazz basics to students with 1-2 years playing experience (but no prior experience playing jazz), Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble is great for individual or classroom use.
Patterns for Jazz — A Theory Text for Jazz Composition and Improvisation: Bass Clef Instruments (1986)
Patterns for Jazz stands as a monument among jazz educational materials. Condensed charts and pertinent explanations are conveniently inserted throughout the book to give greater clarity to the application of more than 400 patterns built on chords and scales—from simple (major) to complex (lydian augmented scales).
Best Jazz Bass Books That You Need
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some jazz bass books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
240 Chromatic Exercises + 1165 Jazz Lines Phrases for Bass Clef Instrument Players
Author(s): Olegario Diaz
ID: 3202260, Publisher: eBookIt.com, Year: 2017, Size: 16 Mb, Format: pdf
Ray Brown--Legendary Jazz Bassist
Author(s): Ray Brown
ID: 3623342, Publisher: Hal Leonard, Year: 2015, Size: 26 Mb, Format: epub
Discovery Jazz Collection - Bass Bass
Author(s): Hal Leonard
ID: 2485987, Publisher: Hal Leonard, Year: 2013, Size: 1 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not final. Some books are absolutely hot items according to Chicago Tribune, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.