Bass Foundations: Principles of Jazz Bass Line Construction - by Chuck Israels

All jazz bassists recognize the pivotal role that the Bill Evans Trio played in creating a new model for the bass' function in jazz. In this book, Chuck Israels (one of Bill's long-time bassists) has created a masterpiece of explaining what that revolution consists of. Among other crucial concepts, he shows how the bass can both lay down the pulse and have a dialogue with the other musicians at the same time.

Backing up this analysis are 63 pages of Chuck's improvised bass lines from his time with Bill Evans. With Bill's chord changes included, this affords you the opportunity to play-along with the recordings, just like you were a member of his trio. Serious fun!

• Part I — Chuck's insightful wisdom on the importance of rhythmic interaction with the soloist, the value of keeping the melody of the song in mind as you play, insights on playing in 2, rules for note choices in creating walking bass lines, and much more.
  
  
• Part II — Note-for-note transcriptions of Chuck's bass playing on 18 songs he recorded with Bill Evans from "Moonbeams," "How My Heart Sings," "Trio '65" and other classic recordings. (Generally just improvised choruses are included since the heads are particular to Bill's recordings. Chuck's improvised choruses are more useful as general role models.)
  
  
• Part III — Transcriptions of Chuck's bass playing with his own groups. Again, chord changes are written out so you can play along with these great jazz compositions.

YouTube URLs are provided for each song, making it easy to listen, watch the bass lines go by, and then play along with the recordings.

ENDORSEMENTS

I definitely would use Bass Foundations in my curriculum. Chuck understands and conveys the importance of structure and how that concept makes a band sound its best. I think this is an important book for any young bassist to check out to lead them on the right path.”
— Harvie S

Want to see inside the Bill Evans trio? Chuck Israels (one of his four tenured bassists) gives us that inside look. Through his bass principles and transcribed recorded lines, we get a valuable and comprehensive study of the art of creative bass playing.”
— Bob Magnusson

I'm really enjoying studying Chuck's insightful lessons in his new book Bass Foundations. Great examples here for walking bass and interesting ideas on playing through chord changes. This book will certainly bring in fresh ideas to anyone's music vocabulary, helping to expand our quest to become better musicians.”
— Jimmy Haslip

This book is fantastic! I've always admired Chuck Israels' playing, and seeing his work written out and explained here with such depth and clarity is simply stunning. Thank you again for the inspiration!”
— Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Chuck's bass book is a work of love. It sings with heartfelt appreciation of music and how it enriches lives.Those plowing through his entire presentation will be armed to the teeth for delivering what's required.”
— Gene Perla

Invaluable insights into the world of one of the most beautiful bass accompanists of Bill Evans and the jazz of the 1960s. Well done to Sher Music for capturing and documenting this wisdom, so it is not lost for future generations.”
— Orlando Le Fleming

It was an absolute delight to receive Chuck Israel's remarkable book. The detailed transcriptions of his bass parts from recordings with the legendary Bill Evans are invaluable, but Part 1, Principles of Jazz Bass Line Construction, was particularly engaging. In this section, Chuck illuminates key concepts in crafting bass lines, emphasizing that chord changes are not rigid or literal but rather suggest a harmonic journey that can be walked (!) in various ways. Thank you, Chuck, for revealing the inner beauty of our timeless art.”
— Hein van de Geyn

Bass Foundations is a great addition to any bassist's library. Actually, it is full of useful information for all musicians. Chuck's introduction says it all. And by the time you have finished reading a few pages, you realize that the book offers insight into music making, not just jazz bass playing.”
— David Finck

Chuck Israels is a composer/arranger/bassist who has worked with Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, J.J. Johnson, John Coltrane, and many others. He is best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966 and for his pioneering accomplishments in Jazz Repertory as Director of the National Jazz Ensemble from 1973 to 1981.
https://chuckisraelsjazz.com/