Review by Matt O’Donnell

One of the coolest independently released books to be given to the bass community was Jim Stinnett’s “The Music of Paul Chambers”, a book of solo transcriptions played by “the Bird of bass”. Two more volumes of transcription books (including “Arcology”, a collection of P.C.’s bowed solos), Stinnett has taken it to a higher level with “Secret Chambers”, where he looks far past the solos as their own individual entities. Instead, the book goes over the solos with a fine-tooth comb and presents a distillation of Chambers’ entire jazz vocabulary.

Secret Chambers

“Secret Chambers” is a tome that, if used correctly with good foundation, wisdom, and diligence, can unlock the methodology of jazz soloing. The book compiles seventy-five solos, and analyzes them by comparison. After a thoroughly explanative forward (a Stinnett trademark of being as complete as possible while still attempting to be concise), 2 1/2 pages of P.C. licks are presented (essentially 39 licks, some containing derivatives). Past these fragments, Jim stops and further clarifies. Then comes the head spinner. The next two pages of “Secret Chambers” are the “Lick Distribution Chart”, where you can see how many times each of the seventy-five transcriptions included. This is just a simple statistics chart, but it’s crazy to see how what many would construe as simply the mind of a jazz genius can be looked at as a simple science. Again, and truly in the most important spot possible, Jim makes you STOP and think about what’s going on. This book is the culmination of over 27 years of his own immersion into the music of Chambers, and so it’s important that the reader put on the brakes and take a minute to read the explanations and analyses instead of just looking at the “neat charts”. Included is a very clever FAQ section responding to the most often presented objections to this kind of study. And believe me, Jim Stinnett has taught at Berklee College of Music for over 20 years, and he’s heard everything there is to hear. Past that, you get each individual transcription, with every lick broken down and labeled, along with a mini distribution chart to show how many times each lick is used throughout the solo.

This is easily the most comprehensive study of a bassist’s style ever published. Not even the four simultaneously released books about the music of Jaco Pastorius do anything more than just put transcriptions on paper (although, anyone who knows the music of Jaco knows that this kind of study could be done). Jim absolutely has the advantage of having spent so many years transcribing this music independently as opposed to being commissioned with writing a book for a company. However, his explanations and advice clearly show that this is a labor of love, and a tremendous gift to the bass community, nevermind the entire musical community. If you’re ready to get on top of your game and internalize the style of a master, this book is for you.

Purchase “Secret Chambers” here.