[Selected by the pros!] 10 great bassists from the jazz fusion world

Last updated:2023/3/22

Kyoto RAG Music Academy Bass Instructor / Professional BassistHasegawa Akira
Born in Nagoya in 1971. Based in Kyoto. Started playing guitar in junior high, then switched to bass upon entering high school, influenced by the eclectic mix of old and new music in the mid-1980s. Moved to Kyoto when entering university. Joined Doshisha University’s The Third Herd Orchestra in 1992 and received the TBS Radio Award at the Yamano Big Band Contest the same year. Self-taught in fundamentals, he began his professional career as a musician in the mid-1990s. His playing spans a wide range of genres—rock, jazz, funk, crossover, modern gospel, Brazilian pop, and African rock. As a member of the original jazz band Vermilion Field, he released the third album Feira on Victor in 2015. As a member of SAKAKI MANGO & LIMBA TRAIN SOUND SYSTEM, which develops its own sound rooted in African music, he performed at Bush Fire, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest festival held in Eswatini (then Swaziland) in 2012. He is active across various scenes: serving as a regular support member for Everlasting Joy, one of the Kansai region’s leading gospel choirs, supporting many other gospel choirs, leading his own band Play Ground, and supporting vocalists and sessions. As a composer, he wrote Taiyo no Ki (Tree of the Sun), the official anthem of the Sumida Street Jazz Festival. In addition, Amateur Night in Kyoto, which he organizes in Kyoto, has surpassed 30 installments, and he has long been committed to mentoring younger musicians. He has performed with many renowned artists, including Narada Michael Walden, Masahiro Kuwana, and Fusahiro Kondo, and continues to support the Kansai music scene from the low end.

We asked professional bassist Akira Hasegawa, who teaches bass at Kyoto RAG Music Academy, to pick out electric bass players in the jazz-fusion realm who have established truly original “styles” and can serve as role models.

From a pro player’s perspective, he introduces a selection of session musicians you should definitely check out.

If any of the players catch your interest, be sure to look them up!

We hope this becomes a chance for you to discover new music.

A great bassist in the jazz fusion world

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius-live in montreal jazz fest 1982

The reason this person is regarded as being in a class of their own among countless bassists isn’t just the heroic life cut short at a young age, but because they were a true innovator of electric bass performance.

Here is a stage featuring their own leader band, with them also excelling as a composer and arranger.

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Will Lee

SAY WHEN / Sadao Watanabe

In an ensemble, the roles expected of the bass are tight rhythm, a thick tone, the ability to manage the development of phrases to lift the music as it progresses, and above all, individuality.

In that respect, this person has it all.

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Anthony Jackson

Chaka Khan – I Was Made to Love Him

According to him, his style—shaped by the influence of J.

Jamerson and J.

Casady—supports the lower register in a distinctive way and at times entwines with the upper structure.

This is a session from Chaka Khan’s prime, but the piano trios of M.

Petrucciani and M.

Camilo are also outstanding.

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Abraham Laboriel

Abraham Laboriel Sr., “Listen to Your Brother” – live at Berklee

The style is backed by incredible technique, yet at the same time it conveys a kind of indigenous, almost primal “song” that surpasses even that.

As a “bass” bearing the fundamental structure of the music, it continually delivers an exhilarating pulse.

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Marcus Miller

David Sanborn – Hideaway (Live At Montreux 1981)

With his refined sensibility, he established a definitive “style” that serves as a model—not only for techniques like slapping, but for his overall approach to music.

While there are standout performances from every period, here’s one of his relatively early, hard-driving performances.

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Stanley Clarke

School Days (Stanley Clarke and George Duke)

He once said in an interview something like, “I practiced double bass like crazy, but, you know, I can just play electric bass,” and it kind of annoyed me (lol).

Unexpectedly, he’s also participated in recordings with Aretha Franklin.

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