could you please sell me on Jaco?

[dougjwray]

I met Jaco, I wouldn't say I knew him. Plenty of my friends played with him. He was a troubled guy, clearly, and he acted out in ways that were self-destructive in the extreme. Whether you like or dislike the way he played, he absolutely expanded the possibilities for bass players. In that sense he was like Larry Graham or James Jamerson. Being a bass player will never be the same because they passed this way. It also has to be said that playing the way these guys do and did requires that the music they're playing be arranged to suit the bass playing. They were special cases, and I suspect that caused them much difficulty in their careers. The rest of us can't walk into a jingle session or a Broadway show and play like those guys - we'd get fired. But our playing can be informed by what they've done, and how we use that information makes each of us the unique players that we are.

The most important thing is to see someone like Jaco as a person, complex and flawed. If you see him as a monolith, an idol or a freak, you reduce him to a two-dimensional figure. That makes it impossible to understand how he got to where he was. The difference between normal musicians and real game-changing artists is their dedication and willingness to work much harder than any of the rest of us would. I have a friend who was Prince's engineer for a while. He said Prince was the hardest-working most disciplined guy he had ever seen. Jaco was the same, willing to work harder and practice longer, tolerate more discomfort and give up more of a normal life than the rest of us. That's why he was such an incredible player, not because he got hit by a bolt of inspiration from the blue.

Excellent observations.
I've always had the same feeling about him-- being bipolar, his highs were HIGH, and his energy level and vision at those times were incredible. But he also put in the work. For example, he learned all of the natural harmonics on the bass. The rest of us just used them to tune up, thinking, "I bet you could do something else with these things... oh well..." but he went ahead and made "Portrait of Tracy" out of them. He also told me that he played Charlie Parker LPs at 16 RPM (the old folks will know what I mean) to laboriously learn the heads and solos by ear. Finally, he also told me that when he was young and playing country club gigs (he cited "Proud Mary" as a typical tune), he would spend the entire night fingering with only his ring finger, to strengthen it. He was prone to hyperbole at times, but in this case I tend to believe him. How many other people would do that?

 

[thatbasstho]

Honestly I feel the same way. I feel like he is important to bass guitar, and for the time, there wasn't anybody better, but I don't personally like his style. I appreciate what he brought to bass, but I don't actually enjoy listening to him. I feel that way about a lot of classic things, though. People get caught up in nostalgia and forget that the context of the moment is what made the classic thing so great.

I don't hate everything classical though, so don't jump at me for being young or whatever.

 

[GBBSbassist]

Yeah, I couldn't follow his jazz stuff either, but I was an Ian Hunter fan, and the lead at 1:20 of All American Alien Boy has me giving the Jaco respect thing. Ian Hunter and producers let that bass lead go probably twice as long as most rockers would give a bassist, and to throw it in as early in the song as they did, at 1:20 in, well, there was respect.

Thank you for sharing that. He really held the groove down on that song, and that solo was so juicy.

Further reinforces it for me. I respect the absolute hell out of his ability. Perhaps just some of his work just isn't my thing though?

Just keep in mind when you listen to Heavy Weather that there are a few other giants on that album too. Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter and Alex Acuña all make huge contributions. It’s not a Jaco album but his part in the end product is huge. Shorter and Zawinul’s playing and compositions and Zawinul’s sounds are central to the overall sound of the album.

I figured. There's no shortage of talent on this record. Every part seems to be played perfectly and with a lot of feeling. I went with Heavy Weather because there's always a lot of mentions of Birdland and Teen Town in Jaco threads. I listened to the album in it's entirety yesterday and I was very pleased with the album as a whole, and not just the individual parts. I've given it a few listens now actually and I can't stop listening to 'A Remark You Made'. I'm just sort of getting lost in the beauty of it. I love how energetic it starts out with 'Birdland' and then you get this relaxing piece right after it to just sort of decompress.

Good stuff, and I thank the TB community for introducing me to stuff like this.

 

[monkeyfinger]

In an biography of Jaco I read many years ago, the author discussed Jaco's work habits. When he was starting out, he played in well known regional R&B band that traveled a lot. When on the road, he would spend his time after a show learning all the parts of the records he bought after every show. He didn't just learn the bass parts, he played the horn lines, vocal melodies, etc, too. He would spend the entire night on the bus working on this after a 4 hour gig while his band mates slept. Then he would show the rest of them what he learned over the previous night. He would do this day after day. Now if that doesn't describe a manic state, I don't know what does!!

 

[buddha Longbone]

Jaco was the first to do so many things. His rhythmic approach to finger style funk is something most of us now take for granted. He was one of those guys who did a lot of his practicing on stage because he was gigging more than once per day throughout his formative years - it gave him both a unique sound and perspective. He road tested EVERYTHING for effect on the audience and found ways to grab the ears of the audiences of the day, and cut a deep groove for other musicians and himself to drive a Mack truck through.

 

[Rumbledore]

In an biography of Jaco I read many years ago, the author discussed Jaco's work habits. When he was starting out, he played in well known regional R&B band that traveled a lot. When on the road, he would spend his time after a show learning all the parts of the records he bought after every show. He didn't just learn the bass parts, he played the horn lines, vocal melodies, etc, too. He would spend the entire night on the bus working on this after a 4 hour gig while his band mates slept. Then he would show the rest of them what he learned over the previous night. He would do this day after day. Now if that doesn't describe a manic state, I don't know what does!!

Great post. Thank you.

How do you feel about someone who isn't (actually) manic, or is *with modern medicine today, could Jaco's modus operandi be a realistic benchmark for a modern player in attempt to match the intensity of his compulsive dedication?

 

[GZboat]

I couldn't begin to "sell" you on Jaco. However, these might. These recordings (and others by Weather Report and Joni Mitchell) went a long way to establishing his well-deserved reputation.


Enjoy!
Greg

 

[dannydabiker]

Here's another from the same concert...

Any bass player who seriously dismisses this incredible artistry and technique is simply spouting BS!!

 

[Rumbledore]

...seriously dismisses

^ that ain't me brother

 

[Roxbororob]

Im sitting here doing paperwork and Ive got the entire All American Alien Boy album going on youtube in my earbuds (thx for reminding me @City & @GBBSbassist !). This was him in his early days (1976) sitting in on a pretty mainstream rock album. If anyone says he cant groove or do the simpler stuff right they havent heard this great album (the whole thing)! EDIT: Accentuation added...

In fact it reminded me that I still dont have this one on vinyl so I popped over to Amazon (shhh) and there it was...boom (sold to the man in Montreal!).

You know OP we ought to thank you for kicking this thread to life and BTW I caught your objective comments way back on page whatever it was....thx to you too. Made my day.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Great post. Thank you.

How do you feel about someone who isn't (actually) manic, or is *with modern medicine today, could Jaco's modus operandi be a realistic benchmark for a modern player in attempt to match the intensity of his compulsive dedication?

Not recent and not bass, but Eddie Van Halen had the same single-minded, goal-oriented mindset. John Coltrane famously woodshedded pretty much full time for longer than three years before exploding on the scene. I'm afraid that it's common, though not typical, for savants to be stellar in one area of life and utterly incapable in others.

 

[dougjwray]

When it comes to obsessive dedication, Jimi Hendrix also comes to mind. He would apparently have his guitar on whenever he was awake... and then sleep with it, too. This is according to interviews I've seen with the Isley Brothers and others.
In his early years of paying his dues, he spent time sleeping in alleys and frequently had to pawn his guitars.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Let’s also say that, in effect, as somebody has mentioned earlier, Jaco had the opportunity to express his potential in Weather Report ... There are modern players who are more technical and elaborate in terms of the complexity of their musical language (thinking about Adrien Feraud now) ... however, will they have a chance to leave an indelible stamp in the history of modern music as Jaco did ? It seems it’s no longer time for experimentation and avant garde ... they don’t pay off and this doesn’t concern the jazz genre only ... Jaco was a very good son (musically wise) of his time

 

[monkeyfinger]

Great post. Thank you.

How do you feel about someone who isn't (actually) manic, or is *with modern medicine today, could Jaco's modus operandi be a realistic benchmark for a modern player in attempt to match the intensity of his compulsive dedication?

I think the average person is capable of doing this in small bursts of creativity. In the case of the person suffering from mania, they have a very hard time with impulse control. As an old friend from the Northeast US would say, "I would find myself in a coffee shop in Cincinnati at 5 am the next day with no clue how I got here!"

 

[ElMon]

What's a Jaco?

 

[hatchards]

Few players can support the band, keep the groove, all with the sense of timing that always “feels” totally locked in. Add original thinking, with virtuosity...boom! One of a kind.

 

[JimK]

Any bass player who seriously dismisses this incredible artistry and technique is simply spouting BS!!

Thank you...!

 

[fiveoffour]

His chops and technique were amazing, especially for his time. No one was doing that before he was. But, if you listen to his lines, and then you listen to Miles, Keith, Chick, Wayne, or any of these other guys, the difference is glaring. Most people get dazzled by his technique, (as well they should) but rarely dig deeper and actually listen to what he's playing. None of that is to say he was a hack who couldn't play melodic stuff. Not at all, but he's not the equal to the afore mentioned guys.

 

[DrummerwStrings]

Few are.

 

[Basshappi]

His chops and technique were amazing, especially for his time. No one was doing that before he was. But, if you listen to his lines, and then you listen to Miles, Keith, Chick, Wayne, or any of these other guys, the difference is glaring. Most people get dazzled by his technique, (as well they should) but rarely dig deeper and actually listen to what he's playing. None of that is to say he was a hack who couldn't play melodic stuff. Not at all, but he's not the equal to the afore mentioned guys.

Yes he was.
If he had been able to get his illness and associated demons under control this wouldn't even be in question.