Bessie's Bass Busters by Russell Hall

Are you ready to take a journey of discovery into the world of jazz bass?

Check out this short video to learn about Bessie's Bass Busters!

What is the course about?

This course is designed to teach you Russell Hall's most effective lessons, his Bass Busters! It comprises 45 videos over five hours and covers a wide range of topics on jazz bass. These are incredible lessons, taught by one of the bass world's brightest stars.

Many of the videos feature a live band with Fender Rhodes and drums accompaniment. We also provide play-along tracks with three mixes of each recording:

Full band
Keys and drums
Solo double bass

Detailed transcriptions of Russell Hall’s bass lines and solos are included in the course. There are 154 pages of sheet music, so you will have everything you need to practice at home.

This course is available to stream online, exclusively at Discover Double Bass.

Artist

Russell Hall

As a first call bassist in New York City, Russell Hall (a.k.a Bessie) has performed with some of the biggest names in music including Joey Alexander, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Kathleen Battle, Christian McBride, Emmet Cohen, Russell Malone, George Coleman and many more.

This course is perfect for jazz bassists who want to learn Russell Hall's unique approach to jazz bass!

What will I learn?

The lessons cover a wide range of topics on jazz bass. These include:

Phrasing
Rhythm and rhythmic displacement
Bass line construction
Playing in odd meters
The evolution of jazz bass
Mastering the two feel
Playing at fast tempos
Reharmonizing on the fly
Approaches to soloing
Left hand technique, including thumb position
Right hand technique and sound production
...and much more!

Many of the topics are demonstrated using chord progressions to commonly played jazz standards such as Stella by Starlight, Autumn Leaves, Rhythm Changes, A Night in Tunisia, All Blues and more.

Want to check out a free preview lesson? Click here

Transcriptions

Detailed transcriptions of Russell Hall's bass lines and the exercises are included. These PDFs are displayed on the lesson pages and can be downloaded if required. There are 154 pages of sheet music in this course, so you won't run out of new music to learn!

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Play-Along Tracks

We have provided play-along tracks performed by Russell's trio, so you can practice with the full group, Fender Rhodes and drums only, or solo double bass. These MP3s can be played from the lesson's pages or downloaded.

- Bruce Dudley on Fender Rhodes & Josh Hunt on drums.

Here's what's being said about Russell Hall:

"Russell is a joy to listen to. He has a great positivity and love for the music and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of so many bassists, including the details of what makes them distinctive. His love for music and for the bass is contagious and this course has been very inspiring to me - I've walked away with lots of tangible things to work on to improve my playing.

Thanks so much to Russell for sharing his wonderful playing and insights, and thanks to Geoff and his team for making such amazing content available to us!

- Ray Pfeiffer

"Yet another great course by DDB! Lots of topics and information. Russell Hall is a true master and has a lot of knowledge, love, and respect for the music he plays. Highly recommend."

- Nordine BK

Start Learning!

Enrol on the Course Coupon Discount

Enrol on the Course or redeem a gift certificate.

$129

Gift the Course Coupon Discount

Please fill in your own details when purchasing the course. After confirming your purchase, we will ask for details of your recipient via email and send you a printable gift certificate.

$129

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the course start and finish?

The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

Will the course work on a tablet?

Yes, all of our courses can be viewed via an internet browser on any device. However, please note an up-to-date operating system and/or browser may be required for video playback.

Can I download the videos?

No, they are only available to view online. However PDFs of the transcriptions are available to download.

Can I ask Russell Hall questions?

Russell Hall isn't available to answer questions, but we do include membership to the 'Study Group', a private group in which you can ask Geoff Chalmers and our community of double bassists questions.

Our courses are only available on DiscoverDoubleBass.com and include a 30 day, no questions asked, full refund policy.

Have questions or need help? Contact us.

Bessie's Bass Busters

Jazz bass lessons by the acclaimed artist, Russell Hall.