Leading from Below
Bass Players’ Musical Hybridity in Jazz and World Music: The Cases of Charles Mingus and Renaud Garcia-Fons
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jwpm.23986Keywords:
jazz, double bass, improvisationAbstract
Double bass players are most often considered “sidemen” in popular music scholarship. However, double bass players who lead ensembles have made significant contributions as improvisers, artistic innovators, and social commentators in jazz and world music as a globalized popular music phenomenon. In this article, I explore two double bass players who have often innovated, drawing on musical styles outside of jazz to create new sounds on their instruments and ways to express their musical vision. One is the historically and musically influential jazz bassist Charles Mingus, and the second is the virtuosic contemporary bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons, who uses many jazz practices but is often discussed in relation to world music. The two case studies demonstrate the importance of cultural hybridity and the involvement of cultural encounters and learning in its processes, influencing how bass players’ musical practices and ensemble visions are developed.
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