Jaco and Jamerson?

I think his eponymous solo album and the Weather Report album Heavy Weather are the most accessable ones.

 

Hmmm...I really like Birthday Concert CD; Twins is also really great. Both of his 2 solo albums are cool. And Heavy Weather ofcourse.

 

Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius - The Birthday Concert
Jaco Pastorius - Twins

 

For Jamerson, get the 4 disc set called Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971. It contains most of Jamerson's famous lines. Highly recommended.

 

For Jaco, don't forget Joni Mitchell's "Hejira" album.

 

1962 Fender jazz with frets pulled out and neck covered with epoxy (to protect the wood) roundwound medium gauge strings. For his recorded stuff he just went direct into the desk, live he used two acoustic 360 amps with built in fuzz.

(check out "Slang" his live bass solo, he uses an MXR f/x 113 digital delay to loop a funky bass figure and then solos over the top of the loop. Other essential recordings are:

Joni Mitchell: Hejira (some of the finest fretless bass lines imo).

Joni Mitchell: Don Juans reckless daughter.

Joni Mitchell: Shadows and light live.

Interested in Jamerson?
Run to your nearest store and pick up "Standing in the shadows of motown" by allan slutsky(dr. licks). this is a comprehensive story on jamerson(and the funk brothers) careers, the book also contains 2 cds with some of the worlds top bassists playing Jamersons "greatest hits" with full notation as well.

 

But as everyone will tell you , Jaco was famous for saying that his tone was "in his hands"!!

 

If your just getting into Jaco I would suggest Punk Jazz: The Jaco Pastorius Anthology. It covers a wide range of his stuff and I really enjoyed the cd.

 

Also recommend the SITSOM DVD that just came out,
FYE had it here on sale for 12.99, buy 2 !!

Also, a lot has been said here as you know on this so run the Jamerson search. You'll find some good threads there.

Thor

 

I wouldn't recommend this at all - if you really get into Jaco, you are going to want the whole albums - especially the solo albums - this anthology will mean duplicating loads of tracks and essentially be a waste of money. I think anybody would be better off with complete albums - like Heavy Weather as has been mentioned and Hejira etc.

 

Agreed,
I usually find anthologies/etc cater more for the serious collector/completist(sp) and as such are not really a good introduction to an artist per say, personally if my first introduction to jaco was through those crappy live in NYC cds I doubt I'd have bothered..

fortunately I heard coyote first

 

I don't like to bother with compliations. Like Bruce says, I think it's better to wade in and get one of the albums, rather than going for a compilation. You just end up duplicating.

What I really don't like is, "greatest hits" and "best of" collections that include extra songs, not on the albums. Rip-off. Also, that whole CD-1/CD-2 ruse with singles. That's a rip-off too.

 

I have some thoughts on the subject Jaco V Jamerson.

Jamerson was a "bass star" (so to speak) a full 10 years before Jaco got on the scene (recording). We are talking aboutr 1962 vs 1972 or so when Jaco first started recording. When you look at the two of them one must consider what influence one must have had on the other. If Jaco was a R&B bassist in his first bands he must have surely been influenced by Jamerson at Motown.

Now, Jaco WAS the "jamerson" of his era. There were a lot of other bassists who had original statements (unlike Jamerson in the 60's) but in his era Jaco stood heads above the others with regard to his originality and virtuosity. He inspired those who came after him in the same way Jamerson influenced those who came after him. In that way I see them both as equal.

Just my opinion and as always, I could be wrong.

BL

 

I think that Jaco's best work is with Joni Mitchell on the CD "Don Juan Reckless Daughter". I also really enjoy the live Weather Report CD "8:30". But pick up anything with Jaco Pastorius and prepare for your jaw to hit the floor.

 

Ask Adam Nitti what albums......I'm sure he knows what you need to hear......great player, that Nitti fellow

 

Well - I dont think there is any way you can compare - they are like chalk and cheese or apples and oranges - or whatever you want to contrast!!

So Jaco was playing Jazz - he and his father we "Jazzbos" - they loved Jazz standards and Jaco has said in interviews that he really wasn't up with most pop/rock - so he hadn't heard any Joni Mitchell tracks before recording with her, but loved Frank Sinatra!!

Jaco was a composer and arranger - for big bands and small Jazz combos - his compositions were as innovative in some ways as his bass playing. Jaco lead his own bands where he wrote and arranged most of the material and Jo Zawinul says in an recorded interview that Jaco was a monster improviser!!


All of this is completely different from what James Jamerson did - he was known as a high-volume session player - and was not known as a composer/arranger - although of course his lines added hugely to a lot of great tunes.

Jaco was certainly NOT - the Jamerson of his era - although I have no doubt he appreciated what Jamerson did - I think you have to realise that in the 60s and 70s session musicians like Jamerson weren't credited anwhere - so Jaco would not necessarily have known his name or what he played - it's only looking back that we appreciate Jamerson's contribution - but at the time he would have been anonymous.

But even so - Jaco is not part of this tradition - if anything he is the Charles Mingus of electric bass - although that might be stretching it a bit - but this is a more valid comparison I would say.

So as Mingus was in the Jazz tradition - as band leader/arranger/composer - so was Jaco - although his life was cut short(er), so we might have had a more substantial body of work like MIngus left.....?