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What do you like about Jaco Pastorius' playing?

#22
Maybe he's not for you and that's ok. My philosophy is dont knock it until you've tried it. For example , I'm not a speed metal fan at all, but I have tried to play some and some of those guys are just brutally fast and killing it! It takes a lot to play some of those lines therefore I respect people who do play that stuff, it just ain't for me.
It sounds like you're not into bashing Jaco , it's just not for you.
 
#23
bassinplace said:
That's what I tend to think also. I'm open to changing my mind though, if I can find something that speaks to me on a deeper level. Then again, my favorite bassists are Jamerson, McCartney and Kaye. But I also have a huge love for jazz.
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I get what you and Kmonk are saying, it's that Jaco's is a very different approach. As someone earlier posted, think Coltrane and his famous "sheets of sound" approach, or even Charlie Parker at his most ferocious bop solos. High density stuff but the space, melody, rhythm, and harmony are all there.

We all have our "respect but don't care for/get" musicians and composers so that you (and others) are at least trying to get to a deeper appreciation and that's really important in terms of growth as a musician :cool:

And at the end of the day you don't like it, then hey, you did the homework and have come to your own conclusions based on your tastes and interests. Nothing wrong with that, no one likes everything. ;)
 
#24
dhsierra1 said:
I get what you and Kmonk are saying, it's that Jaco's is a very different approach. As someone earlier posted, think Coltrane and his famous "sheets of sound" approach, or even Charlie Parker at his most ferocious bop solos. High density stuff but the space, melody, rhythm, and harmony are all there.

We all have our "respect but don't care for/get" musicians and composers so that you (and others) are at least trying to get to a deeper appreciation and that's really important in terms of growth as a musician :cool:

And at the end of the day you don't like it, then hey, you did the homework and have come to your own conclusions based on your tastes and interests. Nothing wrong with that, no one likes everything. ;)
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No, that's true. But I can try! ;) And to quervo, no bashing intended at all, just trying to increase my appreciation. :)
 
#25
bassinplace said:
That's what I tend to think also. I'm open to changing my mind though, if I can find something that speaks to me on a deeper level. Then again, my favorite bassists are Jamerson, McCartney and Kaye. But I also have a huge love for jazz.
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You and I like the same players. You have great taste!
 
#27
Plain and simple, there is electric bass before Jaco, and electric bass after Jaco. He changed the way the instrument was played, and also achieved something few musicians have: a singular voice.
 
#31
joe vegas said:
anyone who hears coltrane for the first time usually thinks it's just s bunch of notes. as a player develops on his instrument, he hears more connections in music and one day it clicks and expands like a sonic cathedral.

back in '78 a bassist friend wanted to "blow my mind" with some rush/geddy lee.
i was patient, respectful, and afterward i played him jaco's "TRILOGUE", "JACO" (columbia) and "JACO" (improvisimg artists label) groundbreaking albums for the rest of the night. he couldn't wrap his head around the runs, the sophisticated machine-like ostinati, the harmonics, the solos.. it all sounded like a meaningless blur. a year later he said that the night changed his musical life, redirected his playing in a ferocious way, but that he wasn't aware of it when it was happening. music is like any art- the true ahead-of-the-curve stuff has a strange, almost acerbic quality sometimes upon first look that can be off-putting but that over time becomes the new standard.
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Love it. I've felt the same thing. Expanding on it, you can't really control the direction or pace with which your taste changes in my experience. OP may not ever like Jaco, and that's ok. If his mind/ears adapt in that direction, it'll happen almost on their own accord, not his conscious will.
 
#32
The only live solo work I like from him is America the beautiful. Can't get into his other live stuff. But I like some of his studio recordings that have funky grooves and he can create a serious funky bass line with no slap, thump etc., technique. Love it.
 
#34
What originally got me about Jaco's playing was his ability to move over and under and around the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic components of whatever piece of music he was playing. I think this fluidity is most apparent in his work with Joni Mitchell, especially Hejira - but you might like to add some more examples to that.

As I learnt more about jazz, I started to really understand what was happening in pieces like Donna Lee. Jaco was more than a bass player; he was doing things with music that were phenomenal at the time. I think Marcus Miller put it well:

I was around 15 years old and a drummer friend of mine told me I had to check this record out. It was Jaco's first album. The first thing I heard was "Donna Lee". I have to admit, I didn't quite get it. It just sounded like some cat playing whatever notes he felt like. [...]

I'll never forget when, just for kicks, I decided to walk the changes to "Donna Lee" on my bass while Jaco's version was playing. This was probably a year into listening to Jaco's album and I had finally learned "Donna Lee" at school. I was still assuming that, once Jaco stated Charlie Parker's melody, he pretty much was playing any ole' thing that he wanted and that it had nothing to do with the changes. Well I'm walking the changes under Jaco's melody and continue the changes under Jaco's 'crazy solo' and of course realize that it's not crazy at all! I realize that he's playing the changes -- and not just playing them. He was creating harmonies and lines that were so amazing it was sick!
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Now, despite always appreciating his playing, I have been critical of Jaco in the past, and I put it down to grumpiness, not knowing enough about him, and being sick of hearing about him. But I have gotten over that, and now I can really enjoy his work.
 
#35
What I've always liked best about Jaco is his be-bop-like musical sensibility, and his refusal to be limited by what previous bass players had done. I don't think he is infallible or craps ice cream, but he sure opened up possibilities for electric bassists.

Metaphorically, before Jaco, bass players were limited to twelve different colors; after Jaco, we have at least 64 colors in our box of crayons. ;)
 
#38
The thing about Jaco that influenced me the most is his super percussive staccato right hand technique. The way he makes each note thump you in the chest. I dig Rocco Prestia for the same reason. Taking this from these guys has made my playing much more articulate and dynamic, and I don't think I sound like most other hard rock bassists.
 
#39
bassinplace said:
, all I can seem to hear is very weedle-y. .
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Define this phrase, plz. You mean sonically or harmonically?

I used to think Jaco's tone was a bit thin in a live setting, until I heard Weather Report 'Live at Montreaux'. You gotta check it out. Also, his contrapuntal approach to Joni Mitchell's playing never ceases to amaze.

If you don't get/dig Jaco, that's fine. The danger here is that when a player/band doesn't meet someone's personal tastes, they are dismissed as 'rubbish' (and other nastier superlatives that I can't write here). Example: i thought Nickleback were crap until i saw one of their live shows; even though they aren't my cuppa tea, all their fans buy tickets for a reason....

...and I'm NOT comparing Jaco to Nickelback, so don't flame me for that. :ninja:
 
#40
Spaldo said:
Define this phrase, plz. You mean sonically or harmonically?

I used to think Jaco's tone was a bit thin in a live setting, until I heard Weather Report 'Live at Montreaux'. You gotta check it out. Also, his contrapuntal approach to Joni Mitchell's playing never ceases to amaze.

If you don't get/dig Jaco, that's fine. The danger here is that when a player/band doesn't meet someone's personal tastes, they are dismissed as 'rubbish' (and other nastier superlatives that I can't write here). Example: i thought Nickleback were crap until i saw one of their live shows; even though they aren't my cuppa tea, all their fans buy tickets for a reason....

...and I'm NOT comparing Jaco to Nickelback, so don't flame me for that. :ninja:
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Both. I'm just explaining how I perceive it. Not disparaging his playing. I thought I was pretty clear on that, not making a value judgement, the guy was obviously deeply talented, I think that should go without saying. Just interested in hearing the opinions of others on why they dig it.
 

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