Playing w/ a Big Band with everything but bass .

[Patrick Tiglao]

Has anyone here ever played in a big band with no bass player? IMO it seems to be a rough deal for the drummer all around. It would interesting to get some of your experiences/thoughts . I certainly am not sold on the idea of no bassist,but on the other hand a big band is a ton of fun.

[GoAndPractice]

Sousaphone can make it work. Great players in New Orleans. Walking bass and the whole nine yards.

[jean krupa]

Tuba OR Sousaphone?
That IS the bass....a very powerful bass voice at that.

But, I understood the question to be "a big band sans bass." No current big bands employ tuba or
sousaphone in place of Double or Electric bass.

Is the keyboard player playing left hand bass?

If the answer is 1) no left hand bass, 2) no sousaphone/tuba

Then musically, it does not make musical sense to expect anything from a big band playing swing/contemporary
music....Big Band charts/arrangements as I know them ALL have bass parts.

If you try to cover by feathering the BD, it will still be sorely lacking the bottom.

My advice is to find a very good and seasoned bass player. I assume this is not a money making venture and
cats do not depend on this for needed income. So, since it is a labor of love (yucks and some bucks) then
the band needs to find a bassist. I did not read what the issue was. Is the leader opposed to having a bass player?
What gives?

[Patrick Tiglao]

Yeah , no bassist. He split to focus on his school work. I can't justify going up there to rehearse with no bottom end. The bandleader ,( is only a big band hobbyist, with no jazz experience,just a strong love for the music.) does not understand my need for that bottom end. He simply thinks it wwon't be an issue. I have been doing this long enough to know that a big band needs bass.

Now if it was a swing trio ala Benny Goodman ,it would not be a big deal.

[cannelle74]

Very difficult to play drums without bass !
I tried sometimes (the bass player couldn't be present to a rehearsal) and I felt just like playing alone …
I need this low end, no matter if it comes from a bass or something else, but I need it.

[Rhythmatist]

I covered some gigs for a friend that didn't seem concerned about not having a bass...it was a trio, violin, guitar and drums. I felt naked every gig. I don't mind a rehearsal like that but playing gigs that way just doesn't cut it for me. We played mainly classic rock, blues and Irish traditional. Now, St. Paddy's week was not a problem since the noise level was insane to begin with and the crowds were simply too drunk to know. But I was always lobbying the leader to bring in some much needed bottom. Once he got his project off the ground and found a permanent drummer he actually did hire on a bass player and keyboardist. I also saw his project take off once that happened.