This book contains a biography as well as transcriptions and recordings of jamersons best lines and should be essential reading for anyone who loves motown or bass guitar. Standing in the shadows of motown discussion in general instruction bg started. You will quickly start to hear how this affects your tone and sound production. I watched it three times in the first month of owning the dvd. The funk brothers, standing in the shadows of motown. Lots of primary sources recounting the stories of jamersons life and his music. Writing the book lead allan to learning about the rest of the funk brothers and the to the documentary being made. Standing in the shadows of motown softcover audio online. Standing in the shadows of motown 2002 rotten tomatoes. Aug 09, 2014 welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions theres also some bonus motown transcriptions at the end of the book too including the bob babbitt line on band of gold and stevie wonders awesome keyboard bass line on isnt she lovely. The film ends with a great and touching moment in which each member of the bandliving and deadis introduced, and you cant help but think that people will definitely remember the funk brothers now. The documentary film is also interesting and the stories about the legendary bass player who i had never heard of james jamerson and others are fascinating. Standing in the shadows of motown is a loving tribute to the forgotten legends of motown.
Standing in the shadows of motown, an album by various artists on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. They were the band who recorded and performed on motowns recordings from 1959 to 1972. But as the documentary film standing in the shadows of motown demonstrates, there was more to the success of the detroitbased label than singing babes in gowns and founder berry gordys business. Subtitled the life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson this unique book is both a biography of james jamerson and also a collection of transcriptions of his work at motown, ranging from the simple to the downright impossible. The funk brothers standing in the shadows of motown, is the documentary film that tells the story of motowns legendary studio band, the funk brothers. Almost any student of electric bass will want to peruse this book. In todays style of documentary filmmaking, with grainy blackandwhite mixed. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more. Bakers keyboard lounge 20510 livernois avenue, detroit, michigan. Standing in the shadows of motown turner classic movies. Standing in the shadows of motown soundtrack deluxe.
The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson paperback may 1, 1989. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen. Interesting book about one of the best bass players ever who put his imprint on so many of the hits of motown records. Standing in the shadows of motown is the soundtrack to the samenamed documentary and book, which recount the remarkable journey of phenomenal unknown greats like drummer benny benjamin. Standing in the shadows of motown by various artists on. Written by grammywinning session musician allan slutsky, the book was part guitar tutorial complete with accompanying cds and part biography of funk brother james. From jazz bassist to popular music icon by joshua andrew zarbo, b. Bob babbitt, richard pistol allen, jack ashford, uriel jones, joe hunter, eddie willis, joe messina and johnny griffin. Standing in the shadows of motown this book contains highly detailed full or partial transcriptions of over 40 songs that legendary bassist james jamerson recorded during his career at motown. Paul justmans standing in the shadows of motown, based on allan slutskys 1989 book about gifted bass player james jamerson, aims to recover the funk brothers legacy, or rather, to get it. There are a lot of videos showing how to play some stuff, but thats not what im looking for. They called themselves the funk brothersand they were the greatest hit. Referring to musical notation of the song love is like an itching in my heart on page 167, should the chord names above the notation be printed as b b instead of a b. Now ask who the instrumentalists were on their records.
Allan slutsky producer of standing in the shadows of motown. If you play bass, this bookcd has to be in your collection. Everybody digs the neat little riffs, the deep grooves, the feel good feeling when the bass player is working his motown bass line. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon. James jamersons isolated bass on standing in the shadows. Recently i saw standing in the shadows of motown and decided i should learn to play some stuff like that on bass. In 1959, berry gordy gathered the best musicians from detroits thriving jazz and blues scene to cut songs for his new record company. Think of the supremes, gladys knight, smokey robinson, marvin gaye, martha reeves, stevie wonder and the temptations.
Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on my girl, bernadette, i was made to love her and every other hit from motown s detroit era. Or dont even bother, because the question is asked and answered in the affectionate new documentary standing in the shadows of motown. I want to understand whats going on so hopefully one day i can come up with my own motown style bass lines. Standing in the shadows of motown available for download and read online in other formats. In todays style of documentary filmmaking, with grainy blackandwhite mixed with beautiful color photography, the 1. Download pdf standing in the shadows of motown book full free.
Licks and the allstar list of contributors show you how by sharing jamersons story and getting into the. Or dont even bother, because the question is asked and answered in the affectionate new documentary standing in the shadows of. Standing in the shadows of motown documents the career of the funk brothers, the unknown band behind all of motowns detroitera classics. Marvin gaye, the temptations, the supremes, the four tops, gladys knight, and others. Bought this booklet because i love motown music and as a bass player myself i so admire james jamerson and his greatness as one of the worlds great bass guitar player and to some he is the worlds one and only. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. That bass line is so masterful, so exceptional, and so unrelentingly funky, that i believe only a virtuoso could have done it. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and. About the funk brothers standing in the shadows of motown, is the documentary film that tells the story of motown s legendary studio band, the funk brothers. Deluxe edition original soundtrack on allmusic 2004 while there was certainly little to complain. Standing in the shadows of motown is one of those documentaries that make you appreciate someone you never even knew existed. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson paperback may 1 1989. That approach, however, works more as an appreciation of a style or as a master class for more advanced bass players than it does as an introduction to that style.
Motown another physical practice exercise to help develop your motown sound in your right hand, is to play everything with your first finger only. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behindthe. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson, a bass guitar instruction book by allan slutsky, which features a biography of james jamerson along with his bass lines. Standing in the shadows of motown is a 2002 american documentary film directed by paul justman that recounts the story of the funk brothers, the uncredited a. A great exploration of the performers who dont get the measure of credit that they should the background players. This book also talked at length of the funk brothers, the musicians who made these hits happen. One by one, they trot out a roster of marquee stars. Standing in the shadows of motown appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1. Arriving at motown in 1959, james bass playing evolved over the next decade from a traditional rootfifth cocktail style of bass playing into an astonishing new style built upon a flurry of sixteenthnote runs and syncopations, pushing the envelope dissonances, and fearless and constant exploration. The funk brothers standing in the shadows of motown 2004. This book contains highly detailed full or partial transcriptions of over 40 songs that legendary bassist james jamerson recorded during his career at motown.
The songs here were recorded at a live concert by the surviving funk brothers including bandleader john hunter, guitarist joe messina, and drummer uriel. The history of soul music and the funk brothers, which is also a history of popular culture, is the subject of standing in the shadows of motown and artisan has done a brilliant job bringing this title to dvd. Standing in the shadows of motown live home facebook. Licks book on the life and music of james jamerson was one of the most influential bass books i ever read. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos. With material from a variety of sources, standing proved to be a tough film to. The funk brothers standing in the shadows of motown. I want to understand whats going on so hopefully one day i. Standing in the shadows of motown deserves its place in the library of every bass player. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson, 1989, 191 pages, james jamerson, 0881888826, 9780881888829, dr. Feb 03, 2014 berry gordy gathered the best musicians from the citys thriving jazz and blues scene for his new record company. Pdf standing in the shadows of motown download full. The film was inspired by the 1989 book standing in the shadows of motown. Standing in the shadows of motown softcover audio online hl.
Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands and made it impossible for anyone to sit still while listening to a motown record. Like many of the other motown musicians, he was a true musical genius and probably the first electric bass legend. Motown sold more singles than any other company, independent or major. Bassist james jamerson, standing in the shadows of motown. We referred to this as the bass players bible when it was released, and sold this book which came with cassette tapes at the time by. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behind the. James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. Standing in the shadows of motown, a documentary about motowns unsung studio ensemble, states that, this unheralded group of musicians played on more number. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson, a bass guitar instruction. We referred to this as the bass players bible when it was released, and sold this book which came with cassette tapes at the time by the boxloads. Standing in the shadows of motown soundtrack deluxe edition, an album by various artists on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired.
Standing in the shadows of motown dvd movie central. A detailed biography is also included and all tracks have backing tracks on the accompanying cds. A 10year labor of love for producer sandy passman, the. Standing in the shadows of motown is based on a book of the same name, published in 1987 by the hal leonard corporation and recipient of the 1989 ralph j. You hold decades of pop musical history in your mind. Bought this booklet because i love motown music and as a bass player myself i so admire james jamerson and his greatness as one of the worlds great bass guitar player and to some he is the worlds one and only this booklet is a must for bass guitar enthusiasts. Shop and buy standing in the shadows of motown from hal leonard at sheet music plus. The phenomenal story of motown has been told many timesso many times in fact that the notion of an untold part of its legacy seems farfetched. Subtitled the life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson. Various standing in the shadows of motown the life and. Jamerson played a 57, and 62 pbass with flatwounds, plugged directly into the console also an upright. Just like with your voice and speech patterns, you will take on the characteristics of the sounds you hear the most. The funk brothers gathered in detroit last november 2000 for filming.
They have played on more hits than the beatles, the beach boys, and elvis combined. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the. Oct 01, 2000 sure, the standing in the shadows of motown book is great because it gets into some more obscure songs and because it features famous bass players playing the songs. Standing in the shadows of motown original soundtrack. The motown session bassist james jamerson is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important bassists in modern music history. May 17, 2002 standing in the shadows of motown documents the career of the funk brothers, the unknown band behind all of motown s detroitera classics. Standing in the shadows of motown the life and music of. Great stories from many premier players and their take on james. The funk brothers recorded and performed on motowns recordings from 1959 to 1972. A large part of jamersons genius was his note choice. He knew how to define harmony and how to drive it forward. Analysis of pitch sets, rhythmic cells and more reveals the essential character of these lines. During paul justmans film documentary standing in the shadows of motown, based on al slutskys book of the same name about the session musicians who played on motown recordings in detroit from the late 50s to the early 70s, one of the interviewees is heard to comment that once those musicians, who dubbed themselves the funk brothers.
Standing in the shadows of motown bassline publishing. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamerson book and cd. About the funk brothers standing in the shadows of motown, is the documentary film that tells the story of motowns legendary studio band, the funk brothers. The funk brothers were a relatively unknown group of musicians who have played on as many no. The life and music of legendary bassist james jamersonbassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. Standing in the shadows of motown by paul justman paul. Give this a read if you love music history, motown, bass, or james jamerson. Standing in the shadows of motown is a 2002 american documentary film directed by paul justman that recounts the story of the funk brothers, the uncredited and largely unheralded studio musicians who were the house band that berry gordy handpicked in 1959. In the manonthestreet interviews early on in paul justmans documentary standing in the shadows of motown, a few recordstore mavens are asked who they associate with the motown sound. The fact that that song and bass line were done in. Are there any typographical errors in the book standing in the shadows of motown of james jamerson bass grooves.
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