Poll: Jaco and John Taylor

[charlie monroe]

Choose to recognize one, both or none.

 

[rufus.K]

both.
Never deeply studied JT, but cant deny, he is great.
Jaco, no question. For me, he is able to channel what we mostly just get glimpses of while playing ourselves.

 

[crucislancer]

Both! Off-shoot thread from that "I don't get Jaco" thread?

 

[charlie monroe]

Both! Off-shoot thread from that "I don't get Jaco" thread?

Yes, Sir.

 

[jallenbass]

I had to find some Duran Duran on YouTube to know what John Taylor sounds like and I do enjoy his playing. That's probably the last time I'll intentionally listen to Duran Duran though.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I had to find some Duran Duran on YouTube to know what John Taylor sounds like and I do enjoy his playing. That's probably the last time I'll intentionally listen to Duran Duran though.

Didn't know who John Taylor was till this....
Nope....no Duran Duran for me ever....only what I hear from the radio. And....that's enough!

 

[MrWolf14]

Both.
One is a musical genius, the other one contributed to the most important and recognizable boy-band of the 80s (...hmmm... maybe I forgot U2...)

 

[Jhengsman]

Both.
One is a musical genius, the other one contributed to the most important and recognizable boy-band of the 80s (...hmmm... maybe I forgot U2...)

U2's frontmen Bono and The Edge were not fan magazine centerfold pretty even if their backline were, thus they did not get a Boy band tag. I guess in the pop context we can ask John Taylor versus Adam Clayton. Meanhile Weather Report and Jaco individually, even when a "pop" star hired him, was normally aiming for a different audience

 

[Garret Graves]

Very different bass players. Im a fan of Jaco, I dig JT's playing too. I understand OP isnt a Jaco fan, and there are many recordings of him at live events, that, if thats all we had to hear, very few would think twice about the guy. Thankfully, we have many great recordings that show how deep of a player he was. I mean can't you hear and appreciate Donna Lee, Portrait of Tracy, the bassline on Crisis, the solo on WR' Port of Entry, and many others, and be damn impressed? I'll stick to a freind of mines good analysis " Never trust a songwriter who doesn't like The Beatles, and never trust a bass player that doesn't like Jaco".

 

[MarkoYYZ]

Strange discussion. It's like asking someone if they prefer Jimi Hendrix or Slash. Both great players... one was transformational in terms of how the instrument was played and died young, while the other was in a globally iconic band doing stadiums and arenas.

They acheived a different kind of success.

That said... I fully understand Jaco's influence on our instrument, but its technicality exceeds my understanding. I enjoy listening to it, but JT was one of the first musicians I ever noticed in terms of the instrument he played. I was 10 when I started into music, and Duran Duran was on the cover of every magazine, got constant airplay on MTV (and MuchMusic here in Canada), and I did go through my 80s stage... so John Taylor was more influential to me. I got to meet him last weekend, which was pretty awesome, as he had several of his basses there backstage as well. The Aria, the Peaveys, and even Bernard Edwards' old Musicman (which weighs like 15 lbs). Very cool dude, and I plan to see them again during this tour that DD just kicked off.
.

 

[jerry]

Both are great and both had an impact that influenced a lot of bassist!

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Both are great and both had an impact that influenced a lot of bassist!

John Taylor.... "Great"?

Hmmmmm

 

[andruca]

John only needed 4 strings too, he just had this plus of knowing how to make a good song.

 

[MarkoYYZ]

JT does have a couple of fivers on this tour, and it was needed for one song IIRC, but they've recently put Hipshot drop tuners on all the 4s, so perhaps the 5s will get put away.

Also... while Duran Duran was a sensation with young girls, I'm unsure it's fair to call them a boy band. They write and perform all their music, while having the added good looks that helped a great deal with the advent of music videos in the 80s, and they met and formed in the organic "band" way.

To me, boy bands are an assembly of performers, who sing and dance to music written by others, and the band itself is often formed by someone other than the members. Menudo, Backstreet, One Dimension, etc...
.

 

[Son of Wobble]

John Taylor was more influential to me. I got to meet him last weekend, which was pretty awesome, as he had several of his basses there backstage as well. The Aria, the Peaveys, and even Bernard Edwards' old Musicman (which weighs like 15 lbs). Very cool dude, and I plan to see them again during this tour that DD just kicked off.
.

I have known and hung with some big names in the 'business of show,' and John Taylor is top of the heap: intelligent, thoughtful, seeking, charming, funny, kind and humble.

I also second your point that DD were no boy band; like U2, they were driven and committed kids with a vision, and true believers.