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What do you like about Jaco Pastorius' playing?
- Thread starter bassinplace
- Start date
I was lucky enough to see Weather Report in 1978 at the Greek theater in Berkeley. Totally mind blowing on every level. His energy and groove that night was phenomenal. Someone mentioned Hendrix in an earlier post. That's what I was thinking that night and days later. He may have been a jazz virtuoso but he totally owned the funk.
The ghost notes, palm muting, very aggressive 'attack the bridge' sound that i like. Also al the nice syncopation 
My hero on the bass. He lead me to so many places to learn from.
Thanks for all the details from everyone who shared why he is so important on a personal level. I even found some food for thought in the (thankfully few) lukewarm and almost dismissive comment or two about a player who anyone on four strings should revere at the very least.
I saw Jaco twice in small group settings in the 80's. Once in DC and then in Boston. It is hard to explain his live presence and power. He mesmerized everyone with musicality and elevated ALL of the other musicians on the stand with him. He was always honest and authentic in his playing, devoid of any fat or 'overplaying' in his harmonic and melodic approach and just fearless in going for it.
I feel that in American jazz music... American music in general, there are musicians and composers on any given instrument that are simply unimpeachable: Innovators who transcend their instrument and/or composing and upon who's shoulders everything else rests. And thankfully a very long list. Also it is not really a matter of opinion; it is simply the historical record after a certain point.
A (very) small example being: Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Duke Ellington, Bill Monroe, Bird, Gil Evans, Bud Powell, Hendrix, Trane, etc. etc. and yes Jaco is solidly on that list too.
P.S. Pat Metheney says it best in the liner notes of the 'Jaco Pastorius' reissue:
"Because jaco’s thing has been so fully assimilated into the culture and the musical vocabulary of our time, i notice that it is difficult for people who weren’t around at the time of his emergence to fully weigh the impact of his contribution. as a young musician who met jaco in his prime when we were both just starting out, i can only say that my reaction upon hearing him for the first time (with ira sullivan in miami, florida in 1972) was simply one of shock - i had literally never heard anything remotely like it, nor had anyone else around at the time. and yes, as is so often noted in his case, the way he was playing was unprecedented in technical terms, but that wasn’t what made it so stunningly appealing to me. there was a humanity to jaco’s thing, built into those relentless grooves was that rare quality that only the most advanced jazz musicians seem to be able to conjure up - with jaco, you were hearing the sound of a time, of an entire generation at work, on the move.
jaco’s legacy has had a rough go of it - a horribly inaccurate, botched biography, endless cassette bootlegs of late-life gigs that do nothing but devalue the importance of his message through greed and overkill, and a mythology that seems to thrive on the stories that surrounded the lesser aspects of his lifestyle over the triumphs of his early musical vision and wisdom.
but you know what? you put this record on, and none of that matters. it is all here, in the grooves; everything you need to know about the guy. jaco pastorius was one of the most important musicians of our time - the fact that this was his first record is simply astonishing, there is no other way to put it. that this is without question the most auspicious debut album of the past quarter century is inarguable. as with all great recordings, the force of it’s value becomes more evident as time passes."
Thanks for all the details from everyone who shared why he is so important on a personal level. I even found some food for thought in the (thankfully few) lukewarm and almost dismissive comment or two about a player who anyone on four strings should revere at the very least.
I saw Jaco twice in small group settings in the 80's. Once in DC and then in Boston. It is hard to explain his live presence and power. He mesmerized everyone with musicality and elevated ALL of the other musicians on the stand with him. He was always honest and authentic in his playing, devoid of any fat or 'overplaying' in his harmonic and melodic approach and just fearless in going for it.
I feel that in American jazz music... American music in general, there are musicians and composers on any given instrument that are simply unimpeachable: Innovators who transcend their instrument and/or composing and upon who's shoulders everything else rests. And thankfully a very long list. Also it is not really a matter of opinion; it is simply the historical record after a certain point.
A (very) small example being: Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Duke Ellington, Bill Monroe, Bird, Gil Evans, Bud Powell, Hendrix, Trane, etc. etc. and yes Jaco is solidly on that list too.
P.S. Pat Metheney says it best in the liner notes of the 'Jaco Pastorius' reissue:
"Because jaco’s thing has been so fully assimilated into the culture and the musical vocabulary of our time, i notice that it is difficult for people who weren’t around at the time of his emergence to fully weigh the impact of his contribution. as a young musician who met jaco in his prime when we were both just starting out, i can only say that my reaction upon hearing him for the first time (with ira sullivan in miami, florida in 1972) was simply one of shock - i had literally never heard anything remotely like it, nor had anyone else around at the time. and yes, as is so often noted in his case, the way he was playing was unprecedented in technical terms, but that wasn’t what made it so stunningly appealing to me. there was a humanity to jaco’s thing, built into those relentless grooves was that rare quality that only the most advanced jazz musicians seem to be able to conjure up - with jaco, you were hearing the sound of a time, of an entire generation at work, on the move.
jaco’s legacy has had a rough go of it - a horribly inaccurate, botched biography, endless cassette bootlegs of late-life gigs that do nothing but devalue the importance of his message through greed and overkill, and a mythology that seems to thrive on the stories that surrounded the lesser aspects of his lifestyle over the triumphs of his early musical vision and wisdom.
but you know what? you put this record on, and none of that matters. it is all here, in the grooves; everything you need to know about the guy. jaco pastorius was one of the most important musicians of our time - the fact that this was his first record is simply astonishing, there is no other way to put it. that this is without question the most auspicious debut album of the past quarter century is inarguable. as with all great recordings, the force of it’s value becomes more evident as time passes."
In general, I don't like jazz much. Technical mastery doesn't really impress me much. That said, he's fine when he's not doing staccato. Guys like Jamerson impress me more. Bass parts that are equally as busy but you couldn't tell unless you listen for it. Something about a pocket? Tone probably has something to do with it too. Jaco's tone is blah and way too out front.
Agree. I find that usually when someone makes that sort of comment, it's because they just don't dig the music much. And that's ok.
slobake
resident ... something
Okay I'm going to out myself here and maybe become a pariah on Talkbass. I'm not a Jaco fan. I respect him and and know that was an awesome musician, I just prefer other stlyes of music. 
Word.
We all have preferences, but what Jaco was able to do...
Not a matter of opinion!
He was an amazingly talented player who really did master the instrument.
If this has been posted already, sorry for the repeat, but listen to him & Jerry talk- & listen to Jaco PLAY!
Brilliant.
Pat Metheny's album "Brite Size Life" has been mentioned. Yes, listen to that if you have not.
What I like most about him? Jaco gives me a particular way of thinking about how to play a counter-melody that others do not.
Others have mentioned his stamina, intonation, master of groove using 1/16ths, etc and that is all true. For me, I'm not very advanced in music theory. As such, I'll say it this way. His playing strikes me as similar (in the big picture) to that of Chris Squire. That is, an elevation of the instrument out of its assigned and very limited role - within a genre - and doing so with rare levels of compositional and performance mastery.
For growth in my playing I often park my all of my tastes and preferences for style or genre when I hear music, and listen to what is being achieved. Even if I hate it. I simply listen, and then listen with the intent of trying to understand. I'm sure many of us do this. In that sense, Jaco is worth listening to by far.
What I like most about him? Jaco gives me a particular way of thinking about how to play a counter-melody that others do not.
Others have mentioned his stamina, intonation, master of groove using 1/16ths, etc and that is all true. For me, I'm not very advanced in music theory. As such, I'll say it this way. His playing strikes me as similar (in the big picture) to that of Chris Squire. That is, an elevation of the instrument out of its assigned and very limited role - within a genre - and doing so with rare levels of compositional and performance mastery.
For growth in my playing I often park my all of my tastes and preferences for style or genre when I hear music, and listen to what is being achieved. Even if I hate it. I simply listen, and then listen with the intent of trying to understand. I'm sure many of us do this. In that sense, Jaco is worth listening to by far.
Jaco was my first really taste of a jazz bass player, I had only been playing for a couple of months and had opinions on what I liked, rock, metal.....Things changed really fast after hearing heavy weather and 8:30. Thank you Jaco
It was years before I appreciated what Jaco did. I can remember having a friend tell me that I needed to listen to Jaco. I purchased an album but just didn't "get it". I actually didn't get anything that was considered jazz at that time. I was in my teens and didn't care much about anything except hard rock music and players like JPJ, Geezer etc..
After my musical ear matured a bit I did start to purchase Jaco albums and finally was able to see the pure genius of his playing and tone. Jazz is still admittedly the type of music I don't listen to on a weekly basis. I just never had the head to listen to jazz for more than an hour at a clip as I do find it self-indulgent music. I think what hits me most about Jaco's playing is definitely his phrasing. Very melodic and "horn" like in his approach. He can burn up the fretboard and also lay down some of the deepest grooves I've ever heard while still playing more notes than most players would ever consider playing. You know instantly when you are listening to Jaco and that is something that really sets the legendary players apart from the pack.
After my musical ear matured a bit I did start to purchase Jaco albums and finally was able to see the pure genius of his playing and tone. Jazz is still admittedly the type of music I don't listen to on a weekly basis. I just never had the head to listen to jazz for more than an hour at a clip as I do find it self-indulgent music. I think what hits me most about Jaco's playing is definitely his phrasing. Very melodic and "horn" like in his approach. He can burn up the fretboard and also lay down some of the deepest grooves I've ever heard while still playing more notes than most players would ever consider playing. You know instantly when you are listening to Jaco and that is something that really sets the legendary players apart from the pack.
Back in '70s and '80s I was lucky enough to live next door to Joe Zawinul in Pasadena Ca. I was already a fan of fusion. But to me Jaco it turned all around. I met a lot of heavies of that scene back then. Hancock,Mclaughlin,Tony Williams would hang at that house. I will tell you no matter what they were playing Jaco had groove and the best intonation. I've never been able to find anything to dislike about Jaco's playing. I played sax at the time. After hearing Jaco that much it made me want to groove. So I took up bass. Plus after hearing Wayne so much I figured out that I sucked on sax. Not that I can even come close to Jaco, But I like his playing because he inspired me to pick up bass.
