ABSTRACT
The period 1954-1970 saw emerging technologies generate an expansion in the role of the bass in jazz. The expanding role of the string bass in the jazz ensemble was manifest in the highly interactive performances of players such as LaFaro, Red Mitchell and Charles Mingus. The genesis of the electric bass is addressed briefly in order to ascertain the extent of its design philosophy's indebtedness to the string bass. The physical and sonic attributes that distinguished the electric bass from its acoustic counterpart are analyzed with the aid of waveform diagrams. This chapter examines factors contributing to the popularity of the electric bass in the commercial music industry. Finally, the early attempts to legitimize the electric bass as a jazz instrument is assessed in order to provide an understanding of the context within which revolutionary developments in electric bass style and performance subsequently flowered in the mid-1970s.
