Jaco - Page 2

JimK · #21 07-13-2004, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Garfinkel

He "picked up" much of his knowledge when he was on the road with Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders, learning loads about theory and arranging from Wayne's arranger (sorry, can't remember the cat's name).

Charlie Brent...he called Jaco 'the messiah'.

Mojo-Man · #22 07-13-2004, 04:18 PM

I do not believe Jaco ever attened Berkley.
He did spend time in Boston around 1975 while playing with Pat Methany group. I lived in Boston then, jaco was seen around the school and in music store's. He even teached in Boston in 1985. $50.00 a hr. for a lesson. I took lesson from Jaco, we talked for 1/2 hr. he showed me some scales, then we went to play basketball. true story. He never showed for second lesson. this was when Jaco was in bad shape.

Wrong Robot · #23 07-13-2004, 05:12 PM

Was he a good baller?

Craig Garfinkel · #24 07-13-2004, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimK

Charlie Brent...he called Jaco 'the messiah'.

Thanks Jim! Yup...that's the guy. As I recall, Charlie told the story that basically he showed Jaco everything he knew about arranging in one all-night session while the band was on the road. Like I said...Jaco was a sponge.

To clear up the Berklee thing. Jaco certainly never attended Berklee as a student. I am sure he spent plenty of time "hanging out" at and around campus sometime around '74-'75. Jaco played in a trio with Pat Metheny and Bob Moses at the time both Pat and Bob were teachers at Berklee. They toured quite a bit, and this was the lineup for Pat's first ECM record "Bright Size Life", which was recorded in Germany. Pat and Jaco met in Florida when Pat was a student (for about a minute) and then a teacher at the University of Miami. Pat moved to Boston to teach at Berklee and play in Gary Burton's band (with Bob Moses on drums). BTW, everybody I spoke to who heard that trio live said they absolutely tore places apart! But when they recorded BSL, producer Manfred Eicher made them mellow out their arrangements. It's a great record, but supposedly Moses and Jaco did not dig it at all.

Bruce Lindfield · #25 07-14-2004, 02:56 AM

So - we're saying now it's quite likely that Jaco was crashing with Pat Metheny and Bob Moses in a dorm at Berklee and this could be when Timbo's teacher saw him?

Kavorka · #26 07-14-2004, 06:12 AM

I'm still having a hard time believing anyone would catch a Jazz bass from a 3rd or 4th story window. Even if it was Jaco throwing the bass to me, I'd move the heck out of the way and let gravity win that fight.

Bruce Lindfield · #27 07-14-2004, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kavorka

I'm still having a hard time believing anyone would catch a Jazz bass from a 3rd or 4th story window. Even if it was Jaco throwing the bass to me, I'd move the heck out of the way and let gravity win that fight.

Well - if it was Jaco's bass, then I'd catch it - but maybe tell the thrower, it had smashed into a thousand pieces and was beyond repair - then put it on eBay for several thousand $ - well if I had no morals, that is!!

Craig Garfinkel · #28 07-14-2004, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

So - we're saying now it's quite likely that Jaco was crashing with Pat Metheny and Bob Moses in a dorm at Berklee and this could be when Timbo's teacher saw him?

Well...not really. Pat and Bob certainly didn't live in the dorm. They were teachers, not students. Believe me, I lived in the dorm, and it's highly unlikely that anyone not enrolled "lived" in the dorm. That's not to say it wasn't possible that Jaco hung out in somebody's dorm room. Jaco throwing the "Bass of Doom" out a 3rd or 4th story window? Again...highly unlikely, especially in 1975. At this time Jaco was clean and sober. He didn't start drinkin' and druggin' until the late 70's.

Lots of Berklee stories have been blown out of proportion over the years. It is true that in the 74-76 era at Berklee, when it was affectionately known as "Berzerklee", a lot of crazy s*** was happenin', including the practice of throwing just about any object that wasn't nailed down out the windows of the dorm rooms facing the inner courtyard. They used to have these cement urns that doubled as ashtrays and doorstops. These became especially popular projectiles. This became such a problem, in fact, that by the time I got there in the fall of '78 there was a "zero-tolerance" policy in place. Throwing a piece of paper out your window would mean immediate and unceremonious expulsion.

So anyway...is it possible that Timbo's teacher encountered Jaco at Berklee at the time in question? Sure. Was Jaco a student at the time? Absolutely not. Did he throw his bass down to someone on the street from the 3rd or 4th floor? Extremely doubtful.