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Jaco was a beast

#61
bucephylus said:
That video with Jaco and Jeff Berlin is SO darkly comical Jaco, that it makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time. Jaco is clearly in VERY tough shape. Jeff is on a mission to show everyone he is the "better" bass player (lol); and what does Jaco do? He makes himself a pickguard. Check out the pickguard for Jaco's commentary on the whole sordid affair.:crying::roflmao::cool::crying:
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Jeff Berlin, although being a good player, was never in Jaco's circle regarding totality of musicianship. Jaco had his demons as we all know now, and he struggled in the end. That still does not take away from his body of work when he was healthy.

I've never had much respect or use for Jeff Berlin as a human. His over inflated ego was really never that attractive to me, and definitely took away from him. Trying to be "better" than Jaco as the video shows just backs up what I already felt.
 
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#65
JGbassman said:
Jeff Berlin, although being a good player, was never in Jaco's circle regarding totality of musicianship. Jaco had his demons as we all know now, and he struggled in the end. That still does not take away from his body of work when he was healthy.

I've never had much respect or use for Jeff Berlin as a human. His over inflated ego was really never that attractive to me, and definitely took away from him. Trying to be "better" than Jaco as the video shows just backs up what I already felt.
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Were you able to make out the pickguard? It's rich.:bassist:
 
#66
Gorn said:
I like everything on his self titled album. I'm not crazy about most of the stuff he did with Weather Report.
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I love that song where he programmed the synth sequencer. He really had an ear for tone as it sounds like a real bass, much more than Zawinul's synth programming. Zawinul was a beast as well, but not in synth programming. Weather Report sounds extremely dated because of the cheesy synth sounds. I mean Headhunters by Herbie is also kinda cheesy, in the best way possible, but it still beats the test of time.
 
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#69
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool soul / r+b / blues guy, with the usual weakness for the Brits.

But the first time I heard the live 'Byrdland' from Weather Report's live '8:15' album, it was if I'd heard a UFO, it really, really expanded my ears as to what was possible. Those side of the thumb harmonics . . . . on a bass ! Then all the other things he did, I was totally and absolutely dumbstruck.

Amazingly, he got that tone (it really, really is in your fingers) out of two of the Acoustic 320's, those massive folded 18's, and overnight he made the market very tight for that original rack-mount blue face MXR Digital Delay. In those days, a BOSS CE-1 or the chorus side of a Space Echo would get you close to that chorus sound . . . .

The real lesson to take from Jaco: Living in this world is often cruel and heartless, and often the truly gifted (and us mere mortals as well), are not always completely armed to face it all. IF you know someone who has been broken mentally and spiritually, probably self-medicating in a desperate attempt to find any relief they can, do what you can to help and lift them up. This was a needless death that followed needless suffering. Don't let this happen to anyone you know and/or love.
 
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#71
Bob_Ross said:
Given the relative paucity of his output in the grand scheme of things it's probably a worthwhile endeavor to check out "all of them" eventually...but I think the general consensus is that you want to concentrate on his pre-1982 work. That's the shizznit. Post-1982 the QC department seemed to take a lot of time off, noamsayin?
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Yep, post 82 gets a little questionable. That's when his illness really started to kick in and do a number on his whole life. Sad really, he was amazing.
www.basslessonslosangeles.com
 
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#74
InhumanResource said:
I came here to suggest this. The Birthday Concert is, in my opinion, the best and most listenable thing in the catalog. The rest of his records have their gems but also do the fusion thing of going up their own ass.
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Yeah it really stands out, the most polished, accomplished. Though personally I also really like the more raw or trippy stuff... Zawinul/Shorter/Pastorius was an elemental force of nature in motion. I guess that's what I love best. You're not listening ever to a solo bass album. It's always a colloborative improvisation, a lineup of people he respected, wanted to hear and play with. And on the Birthday Concert... man... Brecker, Don Alias, Peter Erskine.... so tasty
 
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#75
bucephylus said:
That video with Jaco and Jeff Berlin is SO darkly comical Jaco, that it makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time. Jaco is clearly in VERY tough shape. Jeff is on a mission to show everyone he is the "better" bass player (lol); and what does Jaco do? He makes himself a pickguard. Check out the pickguard for Jaco's commentary on the whole sordid affair.:crying::roflmao::cool::crying:
Click to expand...

What's going on with the pickguard? I couldn't see...
 
#77
Invalid Link Removed

Solo: Self-titled debut, Word of Mouth, Invitation (live),

Archive/Alternate versions: Modern American Music...Period! The Criteria Sessions

w/ Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life

w/ Weather Report: Black Market, Heavy Weather

w/ Joni Mitchell: Hejira, Shadows and Light

I've not invested time in most of the live recordings, as they tend to be of poor quality (with a few exceptions, notably Invitation, Live in NY vol 4, and Birthday Concert)
 
#79
Wiremessiah said:
]Have you guys heard Peter Erskine's new album "Dr. Um"? It has a tune with a bassline that is a lot like teen town (excerpt starts at around 2:50)

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I have that album, Ben Shepherd is the bassist on it, I wasn't familiar with him before the Return Of Dr Um, but he sounds great. Erskine's body of work is flat out awesome!
 

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