For those who don't like how Jaco plays...

[Swamp_Ronin]

I think you just have to like Jazz Fusion and R%B . If he overplays so does Rocco.

Many people who complain about Jaco do not complain about Billy Sheehan who basically shreds on bass guitar. Maybe because Jaco plays through changes and not just wailing on the Pentatonic scale so Jaco is interpreted as playing too much. BTW I love Billy Sheehan equally - who is a nice person and has great energy.

NAILED it. There is a clear division between metal guys/jazz guys. These arguments are almost always cultural (anti-intellectual at worst) when you thoroughly dissect it. The Burton/sheehan guys “See I can play guitar on a bass!” Vs the wooten/jaco guys “I can play a lot of notes but it’s really about the big picture”

Sometimes people say “it’s about TOAN!” but I think it’s more about language/culture

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

As Thumper says, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

I am constantly amazed at how on earth one of the greatest bass guitarists, Fusion Jazz composers, and band leaders is so easily flamed by a bunch of ill informed hobby bass players here on TB. Literally LOL.

“Burpy tone?” That oft repeated meme in posts on TB is the first clue that ignorance is on display.

I get it that everyone has different tastes. That’s perfectly fine. Don’t like a given player or style of music? That’s just dandy. No problem. Have at it. But, pejorative comments based on false information are simply inaccurate.

A Fender Jazz Bass into an Acoustic 360 does NOT “burp.” I recommend trying it some time. Is it different from a Precision Bass? Yup. Does it “burp?” Absolutely not.

Here is a link to a later date in Jaco’s playing time. I suppose for those who have decided to “hate” Jazz, this will be TL;DL. Try to keep in mind that in 1982, we didn’t have chromatic tuners; and many players couldn’t even get their instruments properly in tune. LOL. Enjoy. Or, don’t.




Edit: I would just like to add that Jaco, the Musician, was only with us in a broad performance sense, for 13 or so years; but, in that time, he left us with a massive library of creative work, which can only be compared to the likes of Charlie Parker. Jaco had significant mental health issues, which very unfortunately went without proper treatment. Aiming “druggie” comments at him is further indication of pretty nasty ignorance. Please be kind.

Great post. Absolutely. The people who call him a druggie have already achieved irrelevance.

 

[devnulljp]

I feel like any bass player that hates on Jaco for any reason, do not appreciate players who have absolutely perfect time and deep groove. Even if you don’t dig his tone, his musical sensibilities should be loved and admired by all bassists. We can all learn from that part of his playing

I kinda feel like those people are just being contrarian, like the "I HATE THE BEATLES" people. Especially the ones who can go chapter on verse which specific tunes they don't like (you know the "track 3 side 2 of the first pressing of Abbey Road, and the Glyn Johns mixes of Get Back compared to George Martin's mix, and even then ...")
I get it, music is subjective, not everyone likes everything, but come on ... it's like a guitarist developing a specific hatred for Jimi Hendrix, or Eddie Van Halen or John McLaughlin. You might not like it necessarily, but how can you complain they didn't do something amazing? It's just hipster posturing

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Nothing wrong with Jaco. His fans are insufferable, though.

No more insufferable than his detractors.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Regardless of what anyone thinks, he changed the course of electric bass, brought fretless to the forefront(for the masses)and manipulated the sound in a manner that would facilitate that new direction. Innovators are always going to annoy the luddites. I’ll bet there were plenty of surf-style rockers and polite, big box jazzers who couldn’t fathom or cope with Hendrix.
Personally, while I was aware that there was this thing called “fretless bass”, it seemed like a backwards looking uptight jazz thing that certain players would use to imitate the upright sound. The few rock players that had it didn’t play it in a way that distinguished it from fretted. Then… I heard Percy Jones first, his stuff was groundbreaking and a little avant-garde, but Jaco came along right after that and it seemed like a whole new world opened up.
I hardly ever see anyone dis Stanley Clarke, and I thought his tone was worse.

Stanley and others get a free ride from criticism here (Stanley is a virtuoso and an innovator), yet there are the same horde of posters who robotically show up to eviscerate Jaco Pastorius.

I personally think Lee Claypool’s sound is awful, and Primus sounds like nails on a chalkboard…. But I would never say the man isn’t a virtuoso bassist, and get this: I even try to learn his stuff, because it brings something into my music that wasn’t there before. There’s something for everybody in all of the greatest musicians.

 

[Mister Magic]

Its not even his bass and he was detoxing.

Correct. He was playing somebody else's bass, detoxing, malnourished, severely mentally ill, homeless and sleeping on a park bench all while still being able to improvise better than almost any other bass player in the universe at the time. But yeah...his tone wasn't the most awesomest and he was too busy.

How many people that criticize Jaco can play Donna Lee cleanly and solo like that? Zero.

I agree with the guy that posted the Joni Mitchell link. I find that to be among his best supportive playing. And that complete video concert is amazing. What a band of all-stars! Reminds me of when I hear Victor Wooten playing in more supportive roles; I like his playing (and the music) WAY more.

Ahh, Talkbass...where a nobody can criticize a dead legend.

 

[dlmarquez]

For those who haven’t had the pleasure, give a listen to the album “Bright size life” by Pat Metheny with Jaco, or listen to the Joni Mitchell live album shadows and light again with Pat and Jaco. They showcase some different elements of Jaco’s playing

 

[spiritbass]

This is one of the best videos of him playing.....

Too cool. I'd never heard him play on frets before. Thanks for posting!

 

[brianrost]

And one more for the haters:

The Trilogue concert is a lot of fun. It was a jam thrown together at the last minute when some performer hadn’t arrived in time to play. Funk rhythm section with free-jazz trombone, just what the world was clamoring for

 

[Mister Magic]

For those who haven’t had the pleasure, give a listen to the album “Bright size life” by Pat Metheny with Jaco, or listen to the Joni Mitchell live album shadows and light again with Pat and Jaco. They showcase some different elements of Jaco’s playing

Bright Size Life is a masterpiece. I'm glad a good friend loaned me that album many years ago. I love it for the songs, not so much the bass playing, which is phenomenal.

To me, that playing is the essence of Jaco. It's also a gateway into Metheny-->Gary Burton-->Lyle Mays, etc.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

Stanley and others get a free ride from criticism here (Stanley is a virtuoso and an innovator), yet there are the same horde of posters who robotically show up to eviscerate Jaco Pastorius.

I personally think Lee Claypool’s sound is awful, and Primus sounds like nails on a chalkboard…. But I would never say the man isn’t a virtuoso bassist, and get this: I even try to learn his stuff, because it brings something into my music that wasn’t there before. There’s something for everybody in all of the greatest musicians.

 

[SLO Surfer]

Jaco liked the response of the Jazz bridge pickup. What made it palatable was his Acoustic rig used 15" speakers.

In other parts of the full video the OP shared a song from Jaco does lots of talking. When Jerry asks him why he plays over the bridge pickup, is it because of the sound/tone he gets there? Jaco then says plucking near the bridge pickup has nothing to do with sound. It’s about the string having more tension and less give so he could play/pluck faster the closer to the bridge he got. I never thought of that until I heard him say that in the video. It totally changed my approach to fast playing, because he was right.

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

Jaco's inventiveness, intonation, technique, uniqueness, touch, use of harmonics, creativity, originality, knowledge, finesse, singularity, and his ability to develop an instantly identifiable self-defining tone set him apart, and quite honestly revealed just how amazing his playing was.

But I still HATE it.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

In other parts of the full video the OP shared a song from Jaco does lots of talking. When Jerry asks him why he plays over the bridge pickup, is it because of the sound/tone he gets there? Jaco then says plucking near the bridge pickup has nothing to do with sound. It’s about the string having more tension and less give so he could play/pluck faster the closer to the bridge he got. I never thought of that until I heard him say that in the video. It totally changed my approach to fast playing, because he was right.

It works like that for guitar too — pick close to the bridge for more speed and articulation. Especially on a Fender telecaster.

 

[stevensivak]

Opinions are like bung holes.... everyone has got one.
But facts are facts.

I really like Bucy's comments-
Does Stanley get dumped on for his crummy tone also? Probably not...

Unfortunately, the tone that I think is not pleasant is Zawinul's synth sounds...
They are so synth like... or something like that..



When I click on some of these links to videos I get the following:

What is the workaround?

 

[Dlew919]

The writer Ted Gioia gave the best suggestion for listening to innovators - or at least working out how someone innovated. He used the example of Louis Armstrong - you listen for three days to the music that precedes Armstrong. Say five years before. Great playing. Then you listen to Armstrong. Works with Clapton Hendrix, Chuck, Eddie v h. Works with Jaco too. As great as monk Montgomery was, as great as Jack Bruce was, Entwhistle etc Jaco changes things.

 

[matti777]

I think my favorite Jaco tune was his cover of I Shot the Sheriff

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

The writer Ted Gioia gave the best suggestion for listening to innovators - or at least working out how someone innovated. He used the example of Louis Armstrong - you listen for three days to the music that precedes Armstrong. Say five years before. Great playing. Then you listen to Armstrong. Works with Clapton Hendrix, Chuck, Eddie v h. Works with Jaco too. As great as monk Montgomery was, as great as Jack Bruce was, Entwhistle etc Jaco changes things.

This is great

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

Opinions are like bung holes.... everyone has got one.
But facts are facts.

I really like Bucy's comments-
Does Stanley get dumped on for his crummy tone also? Probably not...

Unfortunately, the tone that I think is not pleasant is Zawinul's synth sounds...
They are so synth like... or something like that..



When I click on some of these links to videos I get the following:

What is the workaround?

I’m ready to get dunked on here, but I’ve never liked Stanley’s work. I love Marcus, Victor, and all the guys Stanley influenced, but I’ve always found Stanley’s songs to be kinda goofy. Larry Graham was less virtuosic but possessed eternal coolness. I’m ready to learn and be corrected here- because he’s clearly famous for a reason. He was a great player.

As far as his tone, It sure did sound bad coming from an 11 million dollar bass.

Jaco’s tone was awesome. Woody and expressive. But his tone doesn’t matter, because he surpassed being a bass player or even a musician. He was an Artist, like Scorsese or Cormac McCarthy. He had something to say about the world, he was cool as hell, and he will never be forgotten. When you get it you get it. Some people never will but they wear cargo shorts and chase “Toan”

 

[ryco]

"The Chicken"!! Always a fun jam!!
Pee Wee Ellis t00n Jaco brought into bass prominence with his own version!