The greatest contemporary bassist, according to Geddy Lee: “A monster”
Because of how often bassists tend to get overlooked by the general public, when a master of the bass, such as Geddy Lee, recognises the talents of another bassist, you ought to take note.
The Rush frontman has been known to celebrate other bassists from the world of progressive rock over the years, with the likes of Yes’ Chris Squire and Primus’ Les Claypool being among his favourites for how they’ve utilised their instruments both melodically and in an experimental fashion. Without Squire, there would arguably be no Lee, and without Lee, there would probably never have been a Claypool, at least not in the way we’ve come to know him.
Just because he’s a titan of progressive rock, that doesn’t mean he’s a genre purist when it comes to selecting his favourite bassists, and will happily talk about the likes of Paul McCartney, soul legend James Jamerson, and the inimitable jazz fusion player Jaco Pastorius as being up there with the greatest of all time. These selections are all hard to argue with, and have rightfully earned their places in the pantheon of all-time greats, but there aren’t necessarily many modern players who get mentioned in the same breath.
However, when it comes to more contemporary players, Lee does have a standout favourite who emerged long after Rush had become popular, citing Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary as his personal favourite bearer of the modern bass torch. Known for his amalgamation of funk, rock and metal styles all played at once, Flea is regularly seen as being the last true great of the instrument, and until the current generation chooses to nominate someone else to fly the flag for the four-string, he’ll remain at the top of the pile.
In a 2019 interview with Amazon Music, Lee went as far as to say that Flea is perhaps his favourite bassist, and that he stands high above all other currently active players. “He is a monster player,” the Canadian bandleader argued. “Flea is one of the great contemporary bass players. His influences are so funk-driven, yet, he can do anything.”
Lee went on to compare his playing to that of McCartney, stating: “On ‘Give It Away’ he is just like the bass in ‘Come Together’. Like the bass in so many great pop songs, he is providing an alternate rhythm for the drums and an alternate melody, and he is working at the bottom of the neck and the top of the neck. He is going back and forth between. Which I always love as a bass player, that’s a perfect example of that,”
He might not necessarily be ultra-modern, having been active since the 1980s, but there are few who can complain about this assertion due to how much he has shaped the art of modern bass playing. As someone who managed to work slap bass into rock tracks and who approached his instrument with compositional flair rather than as a straightforward accompaniment, there aren’t many better than Flea. While you may want to nominate modern bass titans like Thundercat to take the mantle, Flea still holds his own in the current age.
