Jaco Pastorius ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED Remastered by Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED Remastered

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Jaco Pastorius ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED Remastered

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Audio CD (August 1, 2000)

Number of Discs: 1

Format: Weather Report, Jaco's music on this, his debut album as a leader (and in a trio setting with his soulmate Pat Metheny on the guitarist's maiden voyage, Bright Size Life), defines his greatness, his outreach, and his ambition. Boppish changes à la Miles Davis come through with Jaco's incredible touch, tone phrasing, and rhythmic locomotion--as does the musical leap of faith from bebop to funky-butt R&B delivered with lyrical majesty on Jaco's aptly titled "Continuum." This reissue greatly enhances the fidelity of Jaco Pastorius, particularly in the bassist's famous, elusive tone, from lightly chorused, vocal-tenorlike glissandos on "Continuum" and the bell-like harmonics of "Portrait of Tracy" to his percussive, hand-drumlike rhythmic cycles underneath Peter Gordon's august French horn on "Oknokole Y Trompa." Even more stunning are the manner in which Jaco deploys a steel drum choir underneath Wayne Shorter on "Opus Pocus" and the ferocious Latin-inflected groove Jaco, Lenny White, and Don Alias conjure under Herbie Hancock on two takes--one unissued until now--of "(Used to Be a) Cha-Cha." Pat Metheny contributes an extraordinary set of liner notes to this set, putting Jaco's contributions to jazz and the bass in sharp perspective. Still, a spirit of innovation and discovery suffuses every note on Jaco Pastorius, and it is startling how modern and engaging this music remains. --Chip Stern

Reader Reviews
Jaco's first solo record proves to be the most important and influential recording in the history of the electric bass. I invite listeners from all other forms of music to try and find another bass player other than old jazz cats like Charles Mingus and Scott LaFaro who did more for the bass than Jaco has. He single-handedly showed us new directions we could take the instrument in. Modern players like Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Flea, and Les Claypool owe an immense debt to Jaco Pastorius. This record holds even more weight, because it was recorded all the way back in 1976. Jaco totally revolutionized the electric bass. 'Donna Lee,' an arrangement of a Miles Davis song, is just about the closest you could get to a bassist who 'shreds' in the style of monster guitarists like Malmsteen and Vai. Every note is played clean and clear - Pastorius is a perfectionist and he makes no mistakes on this opening piece. This is followed by the only track with vocals, 'Come On, Come Over.' It features Sam and Dave on vocals, and I predict that one day Quentin Tarantino will use it in one of his movies. Pastorius shows his versatility through his mastering of natural harmonics on the sublime 'Portrait of Tracy.' He also shows his versatility in playing slow using plenty of vibrato and slides in other tracks like 'Ocus Pocus' and 'Continuum.' Keep your ears open for elements that would sprout up in all forms of music from Rock to Rap to Hip-Hop to Country following this debute record. In my opinion, the true highlight of this record is 'Used to be a Cha-Cha' which is another arrangment of Charlie Parker's 'Ah Leu Cha' which is also covered by Miles Davis on his ROUND BOUT MIDNIGHT lp. The track features Herbie Hancock and is a fusion barnburner full of solos from Hubert Laws, Hancock, and an hypnotic looping bass line from Jaco. The alternate take bonus track on this edition is a gem, with Hancock shining even more. Listen to what I have to say about Pastorius and this record. If you don't believe me then look no further than Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Randy & Michael Brecker, all of which are featured on this pioneering release. If you are a bass player, or simply call yourself a fan of the instrument, then anything Jaco has ever done belongs in your collection, including his solo material, his work with Pat Metheny, and his late involvment with the fusion supergroup, Weather Report.

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