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In 1952, jazz critic Leonard Feather heralded the Fender Precision Bass as a “sensational instrumental innovation” and envisioned a bright future for this new instrument as a smaller and more powerful replacement for the traditional upright. Yet, the “bass-ic revolution” that Feather predicted never actually transpired, at least not in jazz. I seek to complicate the standard narrative of jazz through an alternative history of the electric bass in the 1950s. In so doing, I challenge common assumptions about the instrument's heritage, its sound, and its connection to 1970s jazz fusion. Focusing specifically on the plight of pioneering electric bassist William “Monk” Montgomery (older brother of famed guitarist Wes Montgomery), I contextualize the early history of the instrument and the discourse that surrounded its arrival. Drawing upon recordings from this era, critics’ commentary in liner notes and publications such as Down Beat and Melody Maker, and Montgomery's own recollections, this article examines the electric bass's early reception in jazz and how Montgomery personally and professionally navigated his position at the margins. Ultimately, I am attempting not only to complicate the conventional conception of the electric bass as a fusion instrument but also to explore the challenges that early jazz electric bassists pose to jazz historiography.
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