You can read Jack the Bear off the page, play every note, and still miss what Jimmie Blanton is doing: the space he leaves and what’s going on in his eighth notes. And there’s a spot where the fingering you pick can put you out of tune.
Quick answer
Listen for the pause he leaves between the E-flat and the A-flat, and use the open string to move around the fingerboard so you’re already in position and have a really good chance of playing it in tune. When you’re not moving as much, you play the phrases better, and it’s just physically easier.
Jack the Bear is a Duke Ellington piece, recorded by his orchestra in 1940, and Ellington wrote it specifically for Blanton, one of the greatest upright bass players to ever do it. A lot of the talk about him is centered on when he played what he played. Far more important is what he played and how he played it.
How do you play Jack the Bear in tune?
The first thing I point out in the lesson is a pause that’s easy to skip when you read it off the page. If you really listen to what he’s playing, he leaves a pause between the E-flat and the A-flat.
In the next four bars, there’s a way to play it that’s still stylistically appropriate and makes your life much easier. Play the A-flat to the E-flat the way I show first, and chances are it’s going to be out of tune. Use the open string to move around the fingerboard instead, and you have a really good chance of playing it in tune, because you’re already in position. In this spot, the G is what gets me to the A-flat.
That’s really important, because then you’re not moving as much. When you’re not moving, the line swings more, you play the phrases better, and it’s just physically easier.
Old Simandl or New Simandl? Pick by the phrase
Do we have to use the Simandl method for everything? I may get sued for saying this, but it’s possible that if it had existed, Jimmie Blanton may have used the New Simandl some of the time. Take the scale passage, which is much easier in a different part of the neck. Watch the few videos that exist of bass players from the ’40s and ’50s and you’ll see how much they’re moving across the bass, almost with their whole body. They didn’t have to do that. (If the New Simandl is new to you, here’s how I re-fingered the Simandl method for the whole bass.)
The next part is only possible with the older fingering. If you try the New Simandl fingering there, it doesn’t work. I’m not saying there’s a one-size-fits-all method.
Some excerpts, New Simandl fingerings are better. Some excerpts, old Simandl is better. All depends on where you are on the fingerboard and what’s happening in the phrase.
Cole Davis
On one passage there’s no argument: the New Simandl fingering is easier. I raise the tempo on it in the lesson and play it in one take. Then in bar 10 there’s no way to play it without shifting, so you shift.
Get the gallop in his eighth notes
What’s amazing about him is that he isn’t just using swing eighths. He’s playing a cross between straight eighths and swing eighths. Of course it swings like crazy, but there’s an element of straight eighths in there.
At the end, he’s separating the notes again. Here’s how he’s doing it: fourth finger, then second finger, and he takes his hand off the fingerboard. A lot of it is separating the fingers and taking your hand off the fingerboard, which I usually say not to do. It’s very subtle. I’m not saying take your whole hand off. It’s a small motion, and it creates that galloping effect without it sounding corny.
- Leave the pause. Play that phrase with space between the E-flat and the A-flat.
- Use the open string. Let it put you in position so the next note lands in tune.
- Pick the fingering by the phrase. Try the old Simandl and the New Simandl fingering on a passage and keep whichever is easier.
- Work the gallop. Fourth finger, then second finger, with a very small motion off the fingerboard.
What’s in the transcription
The full transcription is Blanton’s part on Jack the Bear as a PDF with the fingerings and the strings written in, plus the video lesson, just under nine minutes, where I go through it phrase by phrase.
Start with that pause tonight. It’s easy to skip when you read it off the page, and it’s how he plays it.
Go deeper
Jimmie Blanton: Jack the Bear
Ellington wrote Jack the Bear for Jimmie Blanton. Here’s how to play his part in tune and swinging, with every fingering and string written in.
FAQ
Who wrote Jack the Bear?
Duke Ellington. It’s a great Ellington composition that he wrote specifically for Jimmie Blanton, and his orchestra recorded it in 1940.
Who was Jimmie Blanton?
One of the greatest upright bass players to ever do it. A lot of the talk about him is centered on when he played what he played. Far more important is what he played and how he played it.
Did Jimmie Blanton swing his eighth notes?
He’s playing a cross between straight eighths and swing eighths. Of course it swings like crazy, but there’s an element of straight eighths in there.
Is it OK to take your hand off the fingerboard on upright bass?
I usually say not to. At the end of Jack the Bear it’s part of the sound, but it’s very subtle. I’m not saying take your whole hand off. It’s a small motion, fourth finger then second finger, and it creates that galloping effect without it sounding corny.
Do you have to shift to play Jack the Bear?
In bar 10, yes. There’s no way to play that phrase without shifting.
