So, what can we say about Jaco?

[jonster]

Our hero would have turned 59 years old today.

[OOZMAN]

I heard he's good at bass guitar or something...

[Fionntallica]

He only needed four strings! :P

Seriously though, he totally blew the instrument apart with his amazingly original style.

[Woodchuck]

You wanna hear what NASTY sounds like? Go to the 2 minute mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-STXsuxWptk

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by jonster

what can we say about Jaco?

Unequivocally? Very little. Perhaps that he's dead. Watch, now some troll will come on this thread and insist Jaco's still alive and that I'm just a hater.

[Woodchuck]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Unequivocally? Very little. Perhaps that he's dead. Watch, now some troll will come on this thread and insist Jaco's still alive and that I'm just a hater.

How ironic.

[DaZombieWoof]

One might say value of mental health. Manic depression, the clinical condition not the song, is serious. Also perhaps a strong testament to the inadvisability of having long hair, being drunk, and talking trash to rednecks. More so to the bouncer of that kind of bar. Drugs and alcohol don't mix well with the condition, medicated or not. Those I have known with that situation are either dead or, at minimum, not playing gigs if they have not made a concerted disciplined effort to resolve it.

[alembicguy]

That drinking and taking drugs mixed with a super cocky attitude doesn't work even if you were a master on your instrument.
It would be interesting to see his reaction to the world being filled with guys who can blow him out of the water with no drugs and attitude.

[JTE]

What can we say? I dunno, but I know what I can say.

A. Like Jamerson (and like Parker with the sax, Armstrong with the trumpet, Christian and Hendrix with the electric guitar) there is simply the world of electric bass before, and the world of electric bass after him. Like his music or not, he DID change the way the general world perceived how the instrument could function musically.

B. He challenged a lot of people to get better- not just a focus on physical technique, but more importantly on the MUSIC.

C. For those who know, he's a constant reminder of what can happen to those we love when they're afflicted with bi-polar. Given the relatively misunderstood nature of the disease in his day, it's kind of amazing how much he did accomplish.

D. (Cue up Living Color's "Cult Of Personality" as background for this one.) People buy into the myths surrounding our heroes. Jaco reportedly took the lessons of Hendrix and Parker et. al. too much to heart. It ain't glamorous to die before you're 32, and letting coke, smack, bennies, alcohol, whatever control your life ain't glamorous either.

E. He made me WANT to be a bass player- and he reinforced for me the lessons he learned from Jerry Jemmott. That is what I choose to remember. The achingly heartfelt lyrical sigh of his fretless when he was "on", those deadly 16th note grooves, the infectious smile on his face when he played...

John

[dpbass66]

Originally Posted by alembicguy

That drinking and taking drugs mixed with a super cocky attitude doesn't work even if you were a master on your instrument.
It would be interesting to see his reaction to the world being filled with guys who can blow him out of the water with no drugs and attitude.

Thats a bit of a strong statement, and IMO the "blow him out of the water" part is not true. If you are talking about sheer technique, maybe there are handfuls of guys (young ones mostly who grew up with Wooten) who can play circles of technique around MOST bass players. However, if you are an older more experienced player such as myself, you may have come to realize its all fun and entertaining, as in a circus is entertaining, but mostly meaningless. Additionally, his technique was in fact formidible, even by today's standards. Had he been born in 1990, I would argue that he would still have risen to be a ground breaking player, even if he played as he did in the 70's...which isnt probable in my hypothetical, since he likely would have adopted modern playing techniques. Jaco was not shy about ingenuity (fretless bass) or new techniques (harmonics on the bass).

You see, the essence of what Jaco brought to the table wasnt about his technique. Jaco's thing was about groove, timing, musicality and composition and arranging. I dont think on a bass blog i need to explain this further. His technique though was at times mind boggling, and just about every guy who has been playing as long as I have, and is as old as I am has a story about the first time they heard Donna Lee and Portrait of Tracy and how they spent hours wearing out the vinyl trying to cop that stuff. On the composition and arranging thing, go back and listen to his big band arrangements, they speak for themselves.

I suppose this thread is disturbing as it has a dismissive tone about Jaco. His contributioins to our instrument were/are nearly unmatched by any other player. I think others have put it this way, but I state again that he was akin to Charlie Parker/John Coltrane on the sax or Itzahk Pehrlman (sp?) on the violin, or Andres Segovia on the classical guitar, and he should be remembered as such, not for his transgressions.

[BobWestbrook]

He's the Lawrence Taylor of bass guitar - incredible, game-changing talent combined with substance abuse and deadly character flaws.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by dpbass66

You see, the essence of what Jaco brought to the table wasnt about his technique. Jaco's thing was about groove, timing, musicality and composition and arranging. I dont think on a bass blog i need to explain this further. His technique though was at times mind boggling, and just about every guy who has been playing as long as I have, and is as old as I am has a story about the first time they heard Donna Lee and Portrait of Tracy and how they spent hours wearing out the vinyl trying to cop that stuff.

While Jaco was still alive, the magazine "Guitar Player" had an interview with him and Victor Bailey. Victor said something to the effect that when Stanley Clarke came out it was "look how fast I can play" (which Clarke admits was part of the RTF composition process), but with Jaco played fast, you didn't notice the speed or technique, but the music first. It was only when you tried to work it out that you noticed the chops.

Placing someone in historical context is difficult to do when they've altered history. So many people have now grown up hearing fretless electric bass, harmonic chords, melodic use of the bass upfront, and chops out the ying-yang that it's hard to understand just how earth-shaking hearing "Donna Lee", "Portrait of Tracy", "Continum" etc. for the first time was.

John

[bighead4G&L]

"Originally Posted by alembicguy"
That drinking and taking drugs mixed with a super cocky attitude doesn't work even if you were a master on your instrument.
"It would be interesting to see his reaction to the world being filled with guys who can blow him out of the water with no drugs and attitude".

People, the man had a serious mental and addiction problem, but you cannot deny that he was the absolute pioneer on the electric bass for his time.
NO ONE played like him back in the 70's! I remember buying a Joni Mitchel album, not knowing who Jaco was, and upon hearing him for the 1st time, I was floored at his abilities. I repeat, NO ONE played or sounded like him on electric bass, and remember how young he was. Yea, there are some guys who have gone beyond the bar that Jaco set, but he opened the door to a new vision on bass that, for the 1st time, made me proud to be a bass player and not feel like I had to take a back seat to other instruments.

[Thunderchicken]

Originally Posted by BobWestbrook

He's the Lawrence Taylor of bass guitar - incredible, game-changing talent combined with substance abuse and deadly character flaws.

And most people don't remember, but Jaco ALSO broke Joe Theismann's leg once...

[dpbass66]

...actually on a lighter note, Jaco was known for being athletically inclined.....

[4001]

Happy Birthday to my favorite bassist of all time.
R.I.P. JACO.
It hurts to have to write that. Still.

[Blueszilla]

Originally Posted by jonster

Our hero would have turned 59 years old today.

HB, Jaco, RIP.

[kesslari]

He was, and continues to be, an huge inspiration to me to stretch myself technically and to play musically.

RIP JP

[JacoLesFlea]

Originally Posted by 4001

Happy Birthday to my favorite bassist of all time.
R.I.P. JACO.
It hurts to have to write that. Still.

Happy Birthday Jaco. 4001 your pic just became my desktop.

[Roy Vogt]

A whole lot of TB members weren't even born when Jaco died and they simply don't get it. This Youtube montage eloquently sheds some light on him and his work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEaLttlbPo0