Customer Reviews

Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson

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While at one time he was simply known as "The Motown Bassist" to thousands of aspiring bass players around the world, including more famous and world class bass players than you can imagine, James Jamerson is now a legend of immense proportions. If you don't know who Jamerson is by now then you simply must get this book.

If you do know who James Jamerson is, then this book is a no brainer. Quite possibly the most influential musician of the past 50 years. If it weren't for him, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and countless of others in the rock and r&b genres wouldn't sound the way they do.

The biography is compelling and I read it straight through over a several hour period when I first received this book. The lessons are difficult, and definately not for the beginner.

For a beginner who wants to learn classic R&B style bass playing I'd reccomend the Duck Dunn book (What Duck Done) followed by the James Brown book (Funkmasters). Donald "Duck" Dunn was the house player at Stax and has also played on countless classics from Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and many other Memphis Soul artists. More recently he's played with The Blues Brothers and even Neil Young. His lines are much more straightfoward than Jamersons and are easier to learn. When you get through that book you can go on to Funkmasters and learn some classic James Brown grooves.

Finally, when you've graduated from those books you can take a crack at the Jamerson book, though I think it should be on your shelf from day 1 to give you inspiration, and so you can listen to the tracks with the bass prominently mixed. Just to get it into your ears, so to speak. You might also hear a Motown tune you think you can pick up and will want to reference this book.

James Jamerson, legend, towering genius of Bass, has challenged countless bass players exposed to his playing. This book will challenge you, it will push you, and it will humble you. Be sure to look for the movie and CD's by the same name in the fall of 2002.

I owned this book once before some years ago, and, unfortunately, after my fellow bassist got "hip" to it being on my shelf, it disappeared. While I was happy to pass on the knowledge of James Jamerson's work to others, several days ago, I realized this is a "must have" for anyone serious about learning the art of developing fluid, yet inventive and distinctive bass lines. Hence, I have purchased another copy. Even a cursory analysis of the material presented in this book reveals that Jamerson was a master of the unexpected and the beautiful with regard to not only rhythm, but also harmony (check out his use of "passing" tones!). It also was enlightening to learn the depth of his musical background, including his work on the double bass - some of which occurs on his Motown work. Although my own tastes tend to lean toward "free jazz," James Jamerson's work, as presnted here, reminded me that the music - no matter what genre - always must be infused with the pulse of life to truly move people and transform the world.

To comprehend James Jamerson's work, listen to the beautiful bass lines of the hits. Whether you're a student of bass or a seasoned player, playing those lines is no easy task! "Bernadette", "Reach Out",.... Envigorating sounds! Jamerson's story is here. Hear re-creations of his work minus vocals by the best of the best of today's bass players. Most of the sheet music is included!
Sitting without tribute, quietly and anonymously in the audience at the Motown 25th anniversary TV special performance in California, Jamerson had been akin to the elder Indian in the old "Keep America Beautiful" TV ad who sheds a tear with grief at the spoiling of his pristine land. This book was a great first step at righting that wrong.
This book went on to inspire a similarly titled movie on the Funk Brothers. This book and the 2 CDs that accompany it are a one-of-a-kind find for the bassists and all who crave the Motown and soul sound of the sixties and seventies. Thanks to its author for assembling the treasures and for inspiring such good will in the music community!

Bass Player Magazine did a review on this book and I decided to go for it. It exceeded all my expectations but it also humbled me. What is nice is that even the beginning student can extrapolate some of the easier pieces of work then focus on chipping away bits and pieces of the more difficult scores. I was working through three books when this arrived but this became my favorite. I listen to the CD's as much as possible, during my commute, while working around the house, in an attempt to master the rhythmic and melodic feel of Jameson's playing style. As far as "fingering charts" if one does not have a grasp of fingering then they should go back to an introductory book. It is really self explanatory on a bass anyway. A great addition to any bass players library. Essential supplementary material would be the first Motown Box Set, Chuck Rainey's: the method book, and 50 well sharpened pencils!

This is a very interesting read about the history of the Funk Brothers, Motown, and James Jamerson.

But in addition to being an interesting history lesson, if you learn even one or two tunes from this CD, you'll come away with the knowledge of how to play a bass line with soul and "groove", the way James Jamerson did.

I learned to play one of the transcriptions -- the Spinners hit "It's a Shame", and it brought my playing to an entirely different level. I learned how to use hammer ons and pull-offs to put soul into my basslines, and the knowledge proved to be transferable to all other kinds of bass lines I had to play in my band.

As some have pointed out, there are some difficult transcriptions, such as Darling Dear, where you have to read a lot of 16th note rhythms. Also, some of the transcriptions aren't complete -- you only get part of the song.

I might add that the CD is a compilation of Jamerson lines played by professional bass players such as Marcus Miller, Gerald Veasley and others. At the beginning of each song, the professional bassist gives a little verbal excerpt as to how Jamerson or the song they are playing inspired them. It's quite interesting to listen to.

Overall, it's a great book/CD package/ and one I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn to play the bass with feel and "groove", or who simply wants an interesting history lesson about life at Motown and in the Funk Brothers.

I bought this book for a graduate project that I was working on and it changed me. I had heard of Jamerson, but like so many I didn't know who he really was. While growing up listening to oldies stations that overplayed certain Motown acts, I got pretty fed up with the Supremes, Tops etc. This book renewed my interest. I still can't stand the Supremes, but at least now I realize that it is because of their voices. There is a track on the "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" CD that is a Supremes tune minus the Supremes and it is brilliant. I recently heard it on the radio in the original form and couldn't bear it. The band was so brilliant and it is a shame that their genius is buried under the vocal tracks. This book helps expose this genius by getting right down to the foundation of it all. Jamerson WAS and IS the Motown sound.

As great as this book is, the CD and the documentary of the same name are even better. These guys still have it, after all of these years.

I've learned an incredible amount from this book. Mostly it is about constructing a bass line and syncopation. This cat played some *hard* music. No tab, which is actually a good thing since it helps my sight reading chops. The bass playing on the CDs are outstanding. This book has become the focus of my instruction for the last few months with my teacher. It will likely remain the focus of my instruction for the coming six months.

I don't really listen to Motown music. But this stuff really made me appreciate the musicianship going on behind the singers.

I feel that I am a mediocre bass player, but this product helped me play bass with more feel.

It is an excellent source of info about motown in general and includes many stories about James Jamerson (the baddest bass player to play a fender bass).

There are a ton of bassists (including james jamerson jr.) offering their insights into James' bass playing and their rendition of many of his best bass lines on cd. The bass lines are played note for note so you can really learn many of the old motown songs just the way jamerson played it (if you can keep up)...

The bass lines are on one channel and the music is on the other, making it easy to turn off a channel and either play with the music or listen to the bass line only.

I always used to wonder who was playing those cool bass lines for Motown way back in the day, there were never any credits for musicians on the albums back then. I found out it was James Jamerson in 1997 (about 20 years later).

This is an excellent product and I was really pleased with the way it was set up. It has changed the way I play. I highly recommend this to the aspiring bass player and Motown enthusiast.

There's loads of reviews here that tell you in great detail what's in the book, or that the transcriptions don't have tab, that there's a biography of Jamerson's life included in the book, etc, etc.

So I won't look at any of that.

If you're a bass player - whatever music you love to play, whatever level you're at - this is the ONE book that you MUST own. Own it, study it, learn from it. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

If you can take a fraction of the heart James Jamerson poured into his music and his earth shaking groove and apply it to your own music - you'll always be in demand and making music will always be a privilege.

This book's got lessons in just about everything contained within its pages - in music as well as life. Read it. Learn it. Live it.

Having been a fan of The classic Motown sound since it was originally introduced, I have always had a soft spot for Motown music and had listened to the songs endlessly for years and years. I have always marveled at the basslines, melodies and fully orchestrated songs.

This book to me , give me some valuable history and has lauched me into a learning curve on the PIANO that I can't believe. Being a self taught piano player, I always had a weak left hand (bassline). This book and James Jamerson, has inspired me to work on the basslines for the songs that I know so well, and actually progress to the next level on my "walking basslines" and add a whole new level of playing to my piano style.

Hearing the basslines by themselves on the included cd's has made it very easy for me to begin to pick these up, albeit in a simplied form. You can even play along with the cd on your instrument of choice, which is a great learning tool no matter what instrument you play.

I have learned quite a bit about basslines and playing bass even though I am not a bass player. I know that the basslines are the heart (and soul) of these classic songs. They give them an unbelievable richness and fullness.

My hat is off to James Jamerson, who made my life very rich with his accompanying sounds on my favorite songs.

Take this for what it is worth, enjoy the book, it's a great read.

Thanks to my piano tuner John ,who told me about this great book!

Boca Joe