I think the "ESP" thing is something that happens over time, by playing with a solid drummer.
Back in the late 70's I was lucky enough to play in the same band with the same drummer for seven years. And this drummer (I'll call him JR) was a real stickler for timing. If any of us were off time, he'd hurl a drumstick at us right in the middle of a song. JR and I also lived together for a number of years, so we were always working on something even if the rest of the band wasn't around. Needless to say, I owe a lot to JR for my good timing.
Fast forward to today. I recently went through a number of auditions for about 5 different bands. One of the bands was also auditioning drummers, so I got to play with several candidates. It was easy for me to tell which ones had good timing and which didn't.
The drummer in the band I finally joined has good timing. I knew it the very first time we played together. I've noticed that when we rehearse, a lot of the time I don't even hear him, but I know he's there. It's that ESP thing you're talking about. We're both in sync timing wise, and don't have to necessarily hear each other to know we're both on the same beat. Sometimes we'll just look at each other and smile because we both can feel it.
One thing I use to get this sync with drummers is listen to their kick drum. If the accents on 2 & 4 in my bass riff match his kick drum 2 & 4, I know we're in sync. Practice playing in the pocket with your drummer by doing basic 4 bar Blues. This will help you get comfortable with each other's playing. Pay particular attention to the the kick and focus on getting the ESP going first. Then you can stretch out those Jaco fills and not have to think about it.
I hope this helps,
Rayzorxbass
A rhythm-section thread
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