Jaco Pastorius

Review

It's impossible to hear Jaco Pastorious' debut album today as it sounded when it was first released in 1976. The opening track -- his transcription for fretless electric bass of the bebop standard "Donna Lee" -- was a manifesto of virtuosity; the next track, the funk-soul celebration "Come On, Come Over" was a poke in the eye to jazz snobs and a love letter to the R&B greats of the previous decade (two of whom, Sam & Dave, sing on that track); "Continuum" was a spacey, chorus-drenched look forward to the years he was about to spend playing with Weather Report. The program continues like that for three-quarters of an hour, each track heading off in a different direction -- each one a masterpiece that would have been a proud achievement for any musician. What made Jaco so exceptional was that he was responsible for all of them, and this was his debut album. Beyond his phenomenal bass technique and his surprisingly mature compositional chops (he was 24 when this album was released), there was the breathtaking audacity of his arrangements: "Okonkole Y Trompa" is scored for electric bass, French horn, and percussion, and "Speak Like a Child," which Pastorious composed in collaboration with pianist Herbie Hancock, features a string arrangement by Pastorious that merits serious attention in its own right. For a man with this sort of kaleidoscopic creativity to remain sane was perhaps too much to ask; his gradual descent into madness and eventual tragic death are now a familiar story, one which makes the bright promise of this glorious debut album all the more bittersweet. (This remastered reissue adds two tracks to the original program: alternate takes of "(Used to Be a) Cha Cha" and "6/4 Jam"). ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Track Listing

1. Donna Lee	2:27
2. Come On, Come Over	3:54
3. Continuum	4:33
4. Kuru/Speak Like a Child	7:43
5. Portrait of Tracy	2:22
6. Opus Pocus	5:30
7. Okonkole y Trompa	4:25
8. (Used to Be A) Cha Cha	8:57
9. Forgotten Love	2:14
10. (Used to Be A) Cha Cha [Alternate Take][*]	8:49
11. 6/4 Jam [Alternate Take][*]	7:45

Details of This Recording

Label: Epic
Credits:
Additional Info:
Styles:
- Bass
- Post-Bop
- Fusion
- Jazz

Extended Article

The self-titled Jaco Pastorius album was his first album as a leader and, by focusing on his sound, it made him the definitive electric bassist of the past 30 years. The original nine selections are highlighted by a bass-conga duet on Donna Lee, Continuum, Okonkole Y Trompa and (Used To Be A) Cha-Cha; two additional numbers (an alternate version of Cha Cha and 6/4 Jam) are released on this reissue for the first time. The music is dynamic, unpredictable and still quite fresh.

Today there are a countless number of electric bassists who sound like Jaco Pastorious. His brilliant playing on this CD is one of the main reasons why.

Read About This Recording

The electric bass was first played in the 1950s by Monk Montgomery (a brother of guitarist Wes) but it did not catch on until the mid-to-late 1960s when it became a permanent instrument in rock. Most of the players who used the electric bass in jazz of the 1960s were utilizing it as a double, treating the instrument as if it were just a louder acoustic bass. Stanley Clarke emerged in the early 1970s, but Jaco Pastorius was the first electric bassist who was so distinctive as to be instantly recognizable.

Jaco, whose background was in r&b bands, became a jazz superstar when he was a member of the pacesetting fusion band, Weather Report. He was at the top of his game for a few years after leaving Weather Report (leading an occasional big band called the Word Of Mouth Orchestra) but his last years were tragic as he suffered from mental illness, usually refusing to take medication that might have helped. He died in 1987 at the age of 35 after starting and losing a fight with a club bouncer.

The self-titled Jaco Pastorius album was his first album as a leader and, by focusing on his sound, it made him the definitive electric bassist of the past 30 years. The original nine selections are highlighted by a bass-conga duet on Donna Lee, Continuum, Okonkole Y Trompa and (Used To Be A) Cha-Cha; two additional numbers (an alternate version of Cha Cha and 6/4 Jam) are released on this reissue for the first time. The music is dynamic, unpredictable and still quite fresh.

Today there are a countless number of electric bassists who sound like Jaco Pastorius. His brilliant playing on this CD is one of the main reasons why.

-Scott Yanow