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Where were you when Jaco died?

#41
Skitch it! said:
Dude, I feel your pain but c'mon, you can't be getting everyone to dig Jaco's thang, horses for courses :)
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I get it, but i still want to know how some people can dismiss such a player w/out explaining. The closest thing I've read is the "wanking" argument. If so, isn't most or all jazz "wanking"?

I remember the first time I heard Jaco. It was Christmastime and my older brother [bassplayer] picked up a few albums. The first was Al Di Meola's "Casino" <---GREAT RECORD. The second was Rush, "Fly By Night" IIRC. Then there was Weather Report's "Heavy Weather", which was the record he chose to play first.

Side one, track one was "Birdland". My brother didn't tell me the intro was bass. After it was over, I was blown away. Again, i didn't know about the harmonics. My brother explained and demonstrated to me about pinch harmonics after he told me what I had heard. I was blown away even more. I was hooked on bass.
 
#44
bassrique said:
Please explain. What of Jaco's playing have you heard?
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All of it......I don't like his style, I hate his tone........it's just not what I'm into and I don't get it.......I'm glad folks have a hero......I'd much rather hear some Jamerson.......we obviously don't have to all like the same players right?? Jaco is just one I've never understood........drug addict, who threw his life and career away, I'm sad that anyone dies, but well.....I don't wanna be a troll......some of us don't like him, more of you do.... .......me, no thanks..........
 
#46
While it's true that we don't have to all like the same things, it's also the case that some people are so exceptional that they transcend mere personal opinion. And regardless of what anyone thinks of his mental health issues, as a bass player and musician, Jaco was certainly in that category. I'd like to think that anybody who considers themselves a fellow musician can respect and understand that.
 
#47
DigthemLows said:
All of it......I don't like his style, I hate his tone........it's just not what I'm into and I don't get it.......I'm glad folks have a hero......I'd much rather hear some Jamerson.......we obviously don't have to all like the same players right?? Jaco is just one I've never understood........drug addict, who threw his life and career away, I'm sad that anyone dies, but well.....I don't wanna be a troll......some of us don't like him, more of you do.... .......me, no thanks..........
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I recently got flamed big time for expressing pretty much the same sentiment. I always feel like avant garde jazz is like the fable of the emperors new clothes. If the guys could just calm down and focus a little their music would be more listenable. The bass player from ac/dc has made a pretty nice living for the past 35 years or so and his music has touched and inspired alot more people than Jaco's ( judging by album sales and concert attendance)
Never liked the Jaco thing at all, but I'm glad that it makes some of you happy.
 
#49
UncleMattGuy said:
I recently got flamed big time for expressing pretty much the same sentiment. I always feel like avant garde jazz is like the fable of the emperors new clothes. If the guys could just calm down and focus a little their music would be more listenable. The bass player from ac/dc has made a pretty nice living for the past 35 years or so and his music has touched and inspired alot more people than Jaco's ( judging by album sales and concert attendance)
Never liked the Jaco thing at all, but I'm glad that it makes some of you happy.
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Like I said, Jaco was great enough to transcend mere personal opinion.

I do agree that music by AC/DC is more likely to appeal to the general population.
 
#50
bassybill said:
Like I said, Jaco was great enough to transcend mere personal opinion.

I do agree that music by AC/DC is more likely to appeal to the general population.
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Not just likely, it's a fact. Not that it makes ac/dc better but if music is a form of communication, Jaco's choice of genre and style were very limiting in his ability to communicate. ac/dc was used as an example because the concise, understated Bass playing exemplifies the polar opposite of Jaco's . Jaco's playing sounded schizophrenic and unpleasant to me. I love good musicianship and I wish I could hear something enjoyable in JP"s playing but meh...
 
#52
UncleMattGuy said:
and his music has touched and inspired alot more people than Jaco's ( judging by album sales and concert attendance)
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I really wouldn't rely on that as an influence of my opinion of....just about anything.
You want to know who else was really popular and touched the hearts of millions? Hitler. I'm betting he had better "attendance" than any musician.

Not disrespecting your lack of love for jaco, I love Jamerson 10X more than him, but using that as backing for your opinion is pretty stupid.

edit: ^^^BassyBill beat me to it.
 
#58
Pilgrim said:
Don't know. Don't care.
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^^^This.


Pilgrim said:
Didn't like his playing much.
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I liked his playing well enough (and I certainly recognized his impact & importance to bassists & bass playing), but by the time he died I was already pretty over the deification of Jaco that seemed to pervade many bassist's conversations, and I was kinda disgusted by the arrogance & egotism that pervaded his own self-evaluation. Being awakened at 5:00AM by the sound of Jaco dribbling a basketball across the street from my friend's apartment where I had crashed one night in '85 or '86 was the last nail in the coffin (no pun intended).
 
#59
I was in the penitentiary. I remember coming off of the yard and going into me cell and turning my radio on to a jazz station I would listen to. I caught the very last end of the dj saying what sounded like something to the effect of Jaco having died. So I started going thru the radio stations searching for what I thought I heard. A couple of hours later I come across another station that mentioned his death.


A very sad day for sure.
 

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