This to me is not the best version (that was from his early dark period). But glad you liked it.
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could you please sell me on Jaco?
- Thread starter Rumbledore
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This to me is not the best version (that was from his early dark period). But glad you liked it.
I was just kidding. I'm a big jazz head. "A Remark You Made" is a fine song for the last one of the night....
You couldn't get me to play Bon Jovi tunes for anything....
Ahahah it was not obvious
I'm currently on a massive Brand X binge... I've got Nightmare Patrol pretty much down.. Great tune to play.
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I groan when I hear a karaoke DJ start up a Bon Jovi tune. Now that their songs are not in heavy rotation, I don't mind as much.
Yes, but Pee Wee Ellis was the Sax player in James Brown's band and wrote the tune then. I do believe it was first recorded by James Brown.
Here's one...in a Blindfold test, I woulda guess Weather Report/Jaco (you probably already know it).
I'm currently on a massive Brand X binge... I've got Nightmare patrol pretty much down. Great tune to play.
^^^ Ahem, way ahead of youze folks - post #43 above:
Signed, Chop D. Liver
Signed, Chop D. Liver
Immolation is the most definitive form of flattery!
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Percy Jones is the business, and very much not Jaco in the tone department, to my ears at least - proof that bottom-end punch and mid-focussed articulation without burp are not mutually exclusive.
Jaco was one of kind for these reasons:
1) he was the pioneer of the fretless bass on which he created a whole new very expressive and melodic style.
2) he was an incredible player, his solo albums, his work with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, etc.
3) and most importantly for me he was an amazing composer. His album word of mouth showed me that here’s this phenomenal bass player who can also write gorgeous tunes for jazz orchestra.
It’s rare that a musician covers these 3 areas.
1) he was the pioneer of the fretless bass on which he created a whole new very expressive and melodic style.
2) he was an incredible player, his solo albums, his work with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, etc.
3) and most importantly for me he was an amazing composer. His album word of mouth showed me that here’s this phenomenal bass player who can also write gorgeous tunes for jazz orchestra.
It’s rare that a musician covers these 3 areas.
I hardly ever listen to Jaco anymore, I rarely play fretless, but the way my hands work on a bass everyday are a result of studying Jacos technique and harmonic thinking along with James Jamerson and Bach.
Since the original post asked for help in appreciating Jaco, I'll offer the track which first grabbed me: Joni Mitchell's "Refuge of the Roads." This is early Jaco, and he's very restrained and lyrical. His imagination and creativity are WAY beyond what anyone else was doing at the time.
I knew him briefly, in 1977-78, and he told me the story of how he played on this album ("Hejira"). He was still mostly unknown at the time, and someone recommended him to Mitchell. His "audition" was this: He went into the studio after everyone else except the engineer had gone, and added bass parts to the basic tracks. (He listened once, then did his thing.) The next day, Joni came in, listened, and was blown away.
Listen in particular to what he does on the word "thunderhead"-- again, no other bassist was doing anything like this. It had an huge effect on me.
I knew him briefly, in 1977-78, and he told me the story of how he played on this album ("Hejira"). He was still mostly unknown at the time, and someone recommended him to Mitchell. His "audition" was this: He went into the studio after everyone else except the engineer had gone, and added bass parts to the basic tracks. (He listened once, then did his thing.) The next day, Joni came in, listened, and was blown away.
Listen in particular to what he does on the word "thunderhead"-- again, no other bassist was doing anything like this. It had an huge effect on me.
Invalid Link Removed
I have this Musician magazine...glad this part is online.
I have this Musician magazine...glad this part is online.
I liked that about Cliff before YouTube existed. Not that I think he was a genius, but I recognize that he did more for simple songs than most bassists by the way he decided the chords. Matter of fact, when I first started looking for bands, I used to advertise that I was influenced by everyone from Cliff Williams (who plays 180 steady 8ths in a row in Thunderstruck with no deviation) to Adrian Davison (a bass shredder that advertised that he could cram 31 notes into a single second - I also enjoyed that his ad triggered Anthony Jackson).
Absolutely wrong. The best bassists in death metal, from Steve DiGiorgio to Sean Malone to Forest LaPointe, are often players with a clear Jaco influence. Matter of fact, the fretless bass is rarely being championed these days in American music except in jazz and technical death metal!
I love your Schwarzenegger reference - dead on analogy! I don't downplay Stanley though. Both greats had their highs and lows, but Stanley at his best was always more exciting to me than Jaco. Something to do with the forward motion of his groove. And Stanley was top tier on both upright and electric which is amazing for a doubler, even in 2012 I saw him play an absolutely amazing solo piece on an instrument that destroys hands, and he's no young rooster!
