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Can anyone really play LIKE Jaco?

Bass solos and soloing are very common in many genres, such as jazz, fusion, and funk.....we just happen to be on TalkBass where a great many older players play classic rock, blues, and related genres where bass soloing is less common.........the problem with conversations like this one is many players think the entire musical universe revolves around the subset of genres they listen to and play. This isnt the case
 
Dude that ad has been up, religiously refreshed and reposted for AT LEAST ten years. Sometimes he requires the applicant to be a Berzerklee grad. I think I actually emailed him and called him out on being a weirdo, and got some strange reply back.
Right? I check CL less and less every year because it's a cesspool, but i'm pretty sure every time i've checked since 2014 when i moved back to NYC from the west coast i've seen some form of this ad. And then i moved abroad for a few years, moved back a couple years ago and it's still there.

One of us should put up a copy ad, but translated to what the ad is really saying :angel::whistle::roflmao::
I'm a mid-grade player so i'm going to demand the rest of my band be elite players to pick up my slack and help my band match how good i think i am in my mind. I don't want to get better myself; i need your playing for that.

Professional players can see right through me and won't put up with my BS. They often have input on how to improve our songs or my playing, and i take any suggestion for improvement as a personal threat. Ergo, you can't be a "veteran player." You need to be young and inexperienced so i can tell you what to play, and then you need to exceed my expectations, and then shut up and smile.

Pocket/Rhythm bassists won't cut it for us because i actually have no idea about Jaco's playing and don't realize every melodic line or blazing fast solo Jaco played had immense pocket and rhythm. I just want you to overplay all the notes as fast as possible.

Must have pedals for lead because i don't understand playing a lead line is more about a musical focal point of the song than turning on distortion.
 
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You can learn his music note for note , get his tone and buy a Jaco model bass , but he was the original and anyone after him is just someone who is copying his style (nothing wrong with that )and not taking it to the next level......if there is a next level . To the original question at hand.........yes.:bassist:
 
it's like wanting an artist "like davinci"

sure, we can copy the vibe. but the creative genius and inspiration behind those things was a one of one.

i'd argue any real pro should have the "jaco vibe" available to some extent. but nobody can actually replicate what he did.

the ad is deleted, but if the person posting it is a pro they'll know what the realistic expectation is.
 
For God’s sake people, its just a figure of speech. Jaco’s playing is definitive and iconic.
“…plays like Jaco.” Can simply mean someone who plays fast finger style funk, or fretless lead, or both.

It really works for any iconic bass player.
“…plays like Jamerson.” = can do motown.
“…plays like Duck Dunn.” = pocket player
“…plays like Flea.”= slapsalot
“…plays like Les Claypol.” = flashy solo bass crazy technique.

Nobody really plays like any of those players. Its just that they have come to define a particular style of playing.
 
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The man's been dead for 37 yrs. A lot has evolved in the bass world since then. Let's move on?

Aside from Jaco's playing style which which can only be copied, a lot of his "sound" was the recording studio's eqing, Jaco's equipment including his amp and effects "stuff".

A super quick Google search reveals this, (if it is accurate)..............

Jaco prominently used an MXR rack-mounted delay through one of his amps while the other remained dry, resulting in a lush, modulated chorus tone when using short delay times, as well as using its sampling function to loop passages on songs like 'Slang'.

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What effects did Jaco use?

Amplification and effects

Pastorius used the "Variamp" EQ (equalization) controls on his two Acoustic 360 amplifiers (made by the Acoustic Control Corporation) to boost the midrange frequencies, thus accentuating the natural growling tone of his fretless passive Fender Jazz Bass and roundwound string combination.

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Bass players can be copied or mimicked but the way all of us play bass is just like our hand writing! Unique and one of a kind. It's impossible to accurately play LIKE anybody else. IMHO (not to sound dogmatic NTSD)

Needles to say, Jaco was a very talented bassist! One very mentally sick person too. Perhaps that's a particle reason for his excellence.

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Humor alert!! I was being funny!! What about Les Claypool or Flea?

I don't know about this Les Claypool, but I do know that Flea was an iconic villain character in the legendary 1995 Super Nintendo video game Chrono Trigger, which had character art by the legendary Akira Toriyama (RIP) of DragonBall Z fame.

Flea-From-Chrono-Trigger-1904510826.jpg

And, yes, I'm being a snarky jack-in-the-box too!