In Part One of the multi-part series, Ethan Wiley and Timo Shanko discuss the development of the acoustic (upright, doghouse, bull fiddle, string, contrabass, double, etc.) bass in early jazz and the first virtuosos to conquer the unwieldy instrument. Featured artists: George "Pops" Foster, William Braud, John Kirby, Walter Page, Slam Stewart, Milt Hinton, Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford, Junior Ranglin, Tommy Potter, Curly Russell, and Gene Ramey.