Blogcritics Comments on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Comment by Tom Johnson on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 13:59:43 EDT

For me, it's all about The Birthday Concert, which seems to be criminally overlooked. "Soul intro/The Chicken" is unstoppable - it appeared elsewhere but nowhere near as driving as it is here. Everything Jaco was capable of was summed up in this one near-perfect concert recording. Invitation and Twins would be its equals were it not for the addition of Toots Thieleman's out of place (IMO) harmonica. And, yes, Michael Manring is absolutely incredible. Check out Soliloquy and his duo with acoustic guitarist David Cullen, Equilbre.

Comment by Mark Saleski on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 07:44:28 EDT

re: Joni Mitchell....yeah, i think that Don Juan's Reckless Daughter is required Jaco listening.

Comment by JAcoFannia on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 04:43:56 EDT

JAco Bireli???? The Best Jaco!!! Ciao Jacofania

Comment by Cindy Collins Smith on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 21:47:32 EDT

BTW, Kit, the work he did with Joni Mitchell - I mean, WOW!!! He made that bass sing. It was the perfect counterpoint to Joni's voice.

Comment by Cindy Collins Smith on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 21:41:18 EDT

Hi Kit, Yes. I got to see Weather Report / Al DiMeola. It was amazing. I'm realizing now it was probably spring 1977 (1976/77 school year). I was first told about Jaco by one of the top bass players at North Texas - who knew Jaco in Florida. It must have been 1975 or early 1976. I was a Stanley Clarke fan, and that bass player told me that Jaco was going to blow everybody away. So I was on the lookout for Jaco before he became nationally/internationally known. Then I turned my brother on to him. My brother used to tape concerts (boots), and he had a lot of live Jaco. We saw Jaco together with the big band at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. One big triumph in all this is that my brother's 15 year old son (an aspiring bassist) has continued the tradition. I'd love to say that we passed it on to the next generation, but I think Danny discovered Jaco on his own. I got a big smile on my face when he told me who his favorite bass player was. :-)

Comment by Kit O'Toole on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 16:34:03 EDT

Thanks for your comments, everyone--I'll definitely check out Manring, and yes, Stanley Clarke was (is) indeed a wonderful bassist, although I felt Jaco took the bass to another level, even beyond Clarke. And yes, Jaco did great work with Joni Mitchell, although that would require a separate column. :) Thanks for pointing that out, though, Cindy. Wow, Cindy, you saw a Weather Report/Al DiMeola double bill? What a show that must have been! Thanks for sharing such a great memory.

Comment by Cindy Collins Smith on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 16:25:20 EDT

#2 - Correct re: Stanley Clarke. He was the "big thing" right before Jaco. But then came Jaco. I'm a little surprised that this article doesn't mention what Jaco did with Weather Report and Joni Mitchell. No matter, yeah, Jaco was a groundbreaking bassist. There's more to musicianship than raw speed (and Jaco had that, but he had so much more!). In 1976, I saw a Weather Report / Al DiMeola double bill at the University of North Texas (huge jazz school). DiMeola was 22 and played just a whole flurry of super-fast notes (he developed taste later in that trio with John McLaughlin and Paco DiLucia). But then came Weather Report. Man! Multiple musical geniuses in the same band. Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and that South American percussionist whose name I can't recall right now. Man, that was amazing. And Jaco was a huge part of that mix.

Comment by Pico on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 11:21:13 EDT

While Jaco was ultimately more influential, Stanley Clarke preceded him in putting forth the idea of the electric bass as a lead instrument by a few years. And Clarke was blindingly fast (still is). Nonetheless, good job on a well-written article; Pastorius' first album blew everyone away.

Comment by Brian aka Guppusmaximus on Jaco Pastorius Transformed the Bass Forever in His 1976 Solo Debut

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 08:59:06 EDT

Excellent Article... However, his influence is present in such artists as Rush's Geddy Lee and Level 42's Mark King, among many others. Yea, but, you forgot to mention his brilliant student Michael Manring. If you wanna hear where Jaco might have went, listen to Mr. Manring. He keeps Jaco's spirit alive by pushing the boundaries with his impeccable bass playing. He even helped design the "Hyper Bass" with Zon Guitars. It is the first of its kind...