Which Jaco songs did he play fretted on?

Teen Town and Birdland are two well known examples.

 

That sounds fretted to me.

Also Come On Come Over, Portrait of Tracy from his debut, Chromatic Fantasy from Word of Mouth. There's more for sure - that's just what I could think of.

 

A couple that haven't been mentioned:

"In France They Kiss On Main Street" ("Shadows & Light").

"Black Market" & "River People" (Rockpalast 1978).

 

Okay, so just so I understand..(because I can't believe I think you are saying what I think you are saying)

You all are saying that "Teen Town", "Come on Come Over", "Black Market" (which isn't even him on the recording) and "Dry Cleaner from Demoines" were played by Jaco on a fretted bass? Birdland????? Do you even know what a fretless even sounds like?

Seriously? You really think that?

You are all just plain wrong. None of those, NONE, were played on a fretted bass. Hello? Are you guys really serious?

Jaco was never recorded on a fretted bass as far as I am aware, at least not on a commercial album. Think about it, who would hire the worlds greatest fretless bass player and then say "could you please play fretted bass for me". It wouldn't happen.

The only time I have ever seen a photo or heard of him doing it was on his instructional video and that was on someone else's bass.

Unless someone has visual/auditory proof, it is pretty clear that everything Jaco ever recorded was on fretless (barring jam session stuff).

NOTHING on his first record is fretted. Nothing. How can you even say that? What are you talking about???? Its all fretless. This is a very well understood fact that doesnt even need to be defended. LISTEN to it.

All the joni stuff was also fretless, you can see him playing it all (on his fretless) in the live concert footage in Santa Barbara (they open with "In France They Kiss on the Main Streets") with Metheny and Brecker. He basically played one bass his entire recording career, the infamous Bass of Doom, his ' 64 (I think) fretless that he epoxyed himself etc etc.

Yes, his intonation was insane, yes he could play fast and stay in tune and phrase like that on fretless. That's why he was Jaco.

 

The Chicken.

 

That's just not true. Portrait of Tracy was done on a fretted.

 

Prove it. Explain how and where you heard that and back it up.

I will send you to 12 different youtubes of him doing it live, on his fretless over 10 different years.

You are just wrong, sorry.

 

how did you come by that screen name?

 

As I mentioned, the only time I have ever seen/heard him playing fretted was on his instructional video, or on a couple of jam session clips (the MIT clip with Jeff berlin). Nothing that was released as an album.

That clip is from his "Modern Electric Bass" instructional video.

 

I dont even think Jaco would have remember which he recorded with a fretted.. he didnt even know the difference later in his career.

Drugs are a powerful thing.

 

Birdland.

 

Jaco used a fretted bass on the albums.


Word of mouth and invitations.

 

Well, that looks like his jazz bass to me, and those slides sound like his fretless. But that could just be him.

Maybe he had to borrow someones bass for that gig, but the actual recording of "Birdland" is unquesionably fretless.

 

At least you are correct about that.

 

On what tracks??

I am stunned.

 

It's just silly to assert that Jaco used fretless all the time. Check out the WR videos and the Joni Mitchell stuff. He's got both basses on stage, and he alternates. I can't find the original sources, because they pre-date the 'net and I don't have time to search for old issues of "Guitar World" magazine now, but the version of "Portrait of Tracy" on the first ablum was fretted. Even given his incredible control of intonation, those big stretches like where he frets the B at the second fret and stretches his pinky up to grab the D# harmonic at the 6th fret are going to be smeared. Also the chromatic descending part (C B Bb) while playing double-stop harmonics on the other three strings just don't sound like his fretless.

And the assertion that people hired him specifically to play fretless just doesn't ring true. Joni Mitchell hired him to play bass because of his voice on either instrument, and Zawinul never seemed to care if it was fretted or fretless.

jte

 

That's his FRETTED bass, not the fretless "Bass Of Doom". Check out the body wear, etc. He had several basses, and the two most common ones were both 'burst Jazz basses, no pickguards, one fretted, one fretless.

jte

 

Take a close look a 0:34. It is clearly a fretted bass. Jaco had more than one bass. I think the bass he used on the instructional video was his Frankenbass, Jazz body, P bass neck.

 

Aside from the tracks I mentioned before, he also played fretted on Pat's Omaha Celebration from Bright Size Life.