jaco´s

[heavyfunkmachin]

hi, i was wondering if someone could give me a hint... i only have jaco´s first record, his very own, and, well, a buch od internet archives (am i a thief?), and i wanted to get some more records, but since i´ve been told to watch for the quality of some of them, i was wondering if are there anr that MUST be check out, or if any of them should de avoid...

by the way, how good is the "portrait of jaco" thing?

thanks.

[saintx]

Good stuff:
Joni Mitchell's 'Hejira'
Pat Metheny's 'Bright Size Life'
Weather Report's 'Heavy Weather' '8:30' 'Black Market'

I really enjoyed 'Portrait of Jaco.' Well worth the money.

I've never purchased any of the bootleg recordings because I've heard of poor quality, so I'd be interested to hear which are good and bad also.

[bassbrad]

Other good stuff:
'Word of Mouth' really shows off Jaco's compositional and arranging talents with a broad range of music.

'Invitiaion' is a live recording with lots of energy, Jaco in full force.

'The Birthday Concert' offers a different view of some of the same material as Invitation with the addition of Domingo and Punk Jazz.

'Punk Jazz : The Jaco Pastorius Anthology' is a 2 cd set that covers some of Word of Mouth, Invitiation and the Birthday Concert but it also collects some other music from before and after his tenure with the label that really gives a great overall view of Jaco's work with others.

I agree with saintx that Portrait of Jaco is a set well worth the money for the look at Jaco before WR. Plus their are interviews with Joni, Herbie Hancock and Joe Zawinul and many others so you can get the gospel from their mouths about Jaco. Bob Bobbings text and photos round out this wonderful package.

The 2 Brian Melvin cds 'Standards Zone' & 'Curtain Call' are worthwhile if you can find them and not spend too much. I like hearing Jaco in the piano trio setting.

The Live in NYC stuff is where the battle over the good stuff begins. I enjoy listening to them but they are certainly not Jaco's best stuff but I am happy for any glimpse I can get at Jaco. The prices I see for that stuff is outrageous and not worth a fraction of the going rates. The PDB stuff and the recordings with Birelli LaGrene are not worth the effort at all.

As far as Jaco's work with Joni Mitchell my favorite is 'Don Juan's Reckless Daughter' and lest we not forget about 'Mingus'. The 'Shadows and Light' DVD is the best way to view Jaco that I've seen but I'd really like to hear about other legit DVDs.

[JamesM]

Originally Posted by saintx

I've never purchased any of the bootleg recordings because I've heard of poor quality, so I'd be interested to hear which are good and bad also.

Curtain Call is pretty good. Jaco's last recorded performance, does a few nice solos, pretty good mix.

[The_Ryst]

His stuff with Weather Report is so much better than his solo work. Honestly, I do not like a lot of his solo compositions for horns and whatnot. He, on bass in these albums, is amazing, but sometimse I feel he is too low in the mix.

[Wrong Robot]

After the Self-titled LP. I think the best Jaco to get is warner's "Punk Jazz: the Jaco Pastorius anthology"

It's a 2 disc set that has many very good songs spanning the length of his career.

After that, I would pick up "invitation" and then "the birthday party"

"portrait of jaco" is very neat for it's historical value, but it's more of a documentary via CD than an actual album or compilation. There are some fascinating rarities on it, that are well worth hearing, but ultimately, I don't listen to it all that often recreationally.

[slybass3000]

There is an album he played on in his prime time(79) that a lot of people don't know about is Michel Colombier where he is a guest player on couple of and it is lovely,then, there is a great track on Herbie Hancock Mr.Hand called 4.AM which is totally great.
SB

[Wrong Robot]

Originally Posted by slybass3000

There is an album he played on in his prime time(79) that a lot of people don't know about is Michel Colombier where he is a guest player on couple of and it is lovely,then, there is a great track on Herbie Hancock Mr.Hand called 4.AM which is totally great.
SB

The Colombier tunes are on "punk jazz: the jaco pastorius anthology" as well, and they are awesome.

[Ostinato]

Originally Posted by slybass3000

,then, there is a great track on Herbie Hancock Mr.Hand called 4.AM which is totally great.
SB

+1

Man, that's one of my fave Jaco recordings. The hookup between him and Harvey Mason on that is pure magic. It's groove heaven.