James Robert Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass guitarist who was a founding former member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass.

Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican immigrants, Spanish was Haslip’s first language and he learned to speak English in kindergarten. His father, James Joseph (Jaime) Haslip (1915–1999) served in the United States Customs Service, beginning as a Merchant Marine until moving to patrolman and eventually deputy commissioner, marrying Jimmy’s mother Virginia (Viera) Haslip (1912-2009) in 1937.

Haslip moved to Huntington, New York when he was four years old. At age seven, he began playing drums and then moved onto other instruments such as trumpet and tuba until playing bass at age 15. Although he took music lessons and went to a private music school, he considers himself self-taught. He has said that he went to a local music shop with his father and purchased a right-handed bass (he is left-handed) and learned to play it upside down.