Danny Thompson Essentials

He has such a distinctive style, yet this English bassist is the king of crossing genres. With Victoria, the beloved stand-up bass that he bought, at the age of 15, for five English pounds in the early '60s, he's known for inventive, loping melodies that have underpinned some of the giants of folk, rock and pop. Playing around the beat and creating counterpoints that positively sing beneath the songs, he has buttressed everything from the haunted folk melancholy of Nick Drake to the gritty rock drive of vintage Rod Stewart.