Wilbur Ware

From listening to a lot of different types of music, Wilbur Ware is one of these musicians I keep coming back to. To put it simply, he is fucked up (in a good way that is). I've always tried looking him up, but never really found much out, only that he never owned a bass due to his heroin addiction and lost his place in monk's quartet with coltrane because he left the soundcheck to get a sandwich but never returned.
He only recorded one album as a leader, Chicago Sound featuring Johnny Griffin which was released in late 1957. There are some incredible bass solos on this record, not flash at all, just simple melodies, amazing feel and great musicality. This record was a great feature for him as a soloist, where he'd have solo bass spots on a few tracks, definitely one for bass players to check out, not all about good technique, just incredible feel.

His bass lines are crazy. From transcribing different bits of his walking lines, I've realised he didn't follow the harmony too closely, where a lot of the time he threw in a lot of substitutions, but in a way that would lead the music forward. 

Check him out if you have a chance, he's on the Sonny Rollins Live at Vanguard record, Grant Green Standards and Johnny Griffin Sextet, all amazing listening.