The Essential Jaco Pastorius
Last week during a team lunch expedition I lobbied my co-workers to make a quick side trip to a CD store in West Seattle. They were kind enough to agree, and I picked up two discs that I had been wanting. One was the latest Tool release (review forthcoming), and the other was a double CD titled The Essential Jaco Pastorius. As a student of the instrument, I’m interested in analyzing Jaco’s approach to bass, and obviously his contribution to – and influence on – modern fretless bass cannot be overlooked. Most musicians hold him in reverence as the Jimi Hendrix of fretless bass.
I was aware of Jaco in the 1980s because my jazz musician buddies were always talking about him. My perception of his work was that he was brilliantly inventive, technically virtuosic, and determined to be up front in the band. Having the benefit of a few decades since those first listenings, my assessment of his playing is still very much the same. I think he was very interesting and complete as a stylist. But I’m not a fan of the music he played. The tracks with Weather Report seem a bit cheesy, both in the 80s new-wave-jazz-rock instrument tones, and in the actual compositions themselves. I enjoy his playing with Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny and of course with Herbie Hancock. There is a strong sense of drive in his playing that adds a new dimension to the music around it. He definitely has a strong lead melodic sense, which was (and still is) a departure from the traditional role of the bassist.
Studying Jaco is good for my musical education, and for my increasing understanding of the modern bass repertoire. However, the net effect is that I have an even greater appreciation for Mick Karn. Jaco is technically a much more adept and well-known bassist, but Mick’s playing resonates with me in a much deeper way.