Hey Catherine, Who are your favorite bass players?

This is a question I get asked a lot and I never manage to form a cohesive answer. My general rule of thumb with bassists is that they should be invisible for the most part. There are some who skirt past that rule based on sheer ingenuity. Or because they're extraordinarily good-looking. Here are three I am partial to:

Ray Brown: my favorite jazz player. He had the quintessential upright bass sound, especially during his tenure with the Oscar Peterson trio in the 50s and 60s. He played JUST on top of the beat and is the father of the DIK-uh-DUH-DUH lick he would toss into his walking bass lines. If you don't know what I'm talking about, axe me next time you see me.

James Jamerson: This is the dude who plays on all your favorite Motown tracks in the 60s and early 70s. He was basically the first dude in "pop music" to come up with the idea of playing melodic and syncopated lines to complement a singer. I don't know how he had the nerve to make all that noise. Like, who told him it was ok? Anyone who doesn't like Jamerson is a terrible person.

Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose): ok look, no one should ever play like this guy. It sounds like a terribly stuck-up beautiful woman getting slapped in the face with a fish. If you enjoy the punk rock, you already know who this guy is. Plus he's 50 and still travels in a van and LOVES to play.

Feel free to add any comments about your favorite bassists. Or don't - I get paid the same either way.