Milt Hinton said that the bassist is the "Atlas" of the jazz band because he carries the rest

of the
band on his shoulders. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band honors the Atlases of jazz with archive
performances by the legendary bassists Milt Hinton and Bob Haggart. Also in the spotlight: Jim
Cullum Jazz Band bassist Don Mopsick.

In jazz, the bass instrument functions as the union between rhythm and harmonyproviding a
strong beat and the root notes of the chords. In the early history of jazz, the instruments used in this
foundation role were the string bass, tuba and bass saxophone.

Beginning in the post-WWI era, peppy, spirited jazz bands rose in popularity, playing for the crowds
in large, noisy urban dance halls. In these settings, bandleaders preferred the louder tuba and bass
saxophone over the softer, more subtle string bass. Typically, the jazz bassist of that era was
expected to be proficient in at least the tuba and string bass.


Don Mopsick photo courtesy William Carter
Even when the big fiddle was used, projection was a problem in those pre-amplified days. The
original New Orleans bass fiddle players perfected a "slap" technique that enabled the bass to be
heard above the band. Milt Hinton (1910-2000) said that when he was coming up in Chicago, "the
bass player had better play his solos in the slap style, or else he would never get another solo."

The New Orleans master considered to be the father of jazz bass was Bill Johnson (1872-1972). A
pioneering jazz bandleader in his own right, Johnson worked with King Oliver and Johnny Dodds in
Chicago during the 1920s.

Other, younger New Orleans men who followed Johnson were Al Morgan (1908-1974), who played
with Jelly Roll Morton and Cab Calloway; Steve Brown, who played with Jean Goldkette and Paul
Whiteman; and Wellman Braud, who played with Duke Ellington. The most famous of the New
Orleans bass men was George "Pops" Foster, who worked in bands led by Louis Armstrong and
many others.


Bob Haggart on bass Photo courtesy drummerworld.com
Bob Haggart (1914-1998) was the bassist of the Bob Crosby Bobcats, a popular band of the 1930s
that adhered to the principles of the New Orleans sound in jazz. Bob said, "[The] big chomping
sound Pops Foster got out of a bass was a driving force and inspiration to me for many years. There
was a primitive quality to this sound which appealed to me and it played a large part in my
background and influenced my concept of bass playing...."

The New Orleans bass players functioned as "spark plugs" in the rhythm sections of the band they
played in, adding that special driving rhythm that characterized hot jazz. But, with the advent of
electric microphones and recording, basses could be heard more clearly, and the strident New
Orleans slapping style gave way to the subtler, more even-sounding "pizzicato" method of Count
Basie bassist Walter Page. Further reinforced and developed by Jimmy Blanton and Ray Brown, this
is the style that has dominated jazz bass playing up to the present time.