Jazz Archives

It's impossible to hear Jaco Pastorious' debut album today as it sounded when it was first released in 1976. The opening track -- his transcription for fretless electric bass of the bebop standard "Donna Lee" -- was a manifesto of virtuosity; the next track, the funk-soul celebration "Come On, Come Over" was a poke in the eye to jazz snobs and a love letter to the R&B greats of the previous decade (two of whom, Sam & Dave, sing on that track); "Continuum" was a spacey, chorus-drenched look forward to the years he was about to spend playing with Weather Report. The program continues like that for three-quarters of an hour, each track heading off in a different direction -- each one a masterpiece that would have been a proud achievement for any musician. What made Jaco so exceptional was that he was responsible for all of them, and this was his debut album. Beyond his phenomenal bass technique and his surprisingly mature compositional chops (he was 24 when this album was released), there was the breathtaking audacity of his arrangements: "Okonkole Y Trompa" is scored for electric bass, French horn, and percussion, and "Speak Like a Child," which Pastorious composed in collaboration with pianist Herbie Hancock, features a string arrangement by Pastorious that merits serious attention in its own right. For a man with this sort of kaleidoscopic creativity to remain sane was perhaps too much to ask; his gradual descent into madness and eventual tragic death are now a familiar story, one which makes the bright promise of this glorious debut album all the more bittersweet. (This remastered reissue adds two tracks to the original program: alternate takes of "(Used to Be a) Cha Cha" and "6/4 Jam").

:::Review by Rick Anderson:::

Jaco Pastorius - s/t (1976)
1. Donna Lee 2:28
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Congas – Don Alias
Written-By – C. Parker

2. Come On, Come Over 3:52
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Trombone [Bass] – Peter Graves
Saxophone [Baritone] – Howard Johnson
Clavinet, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Herbie Hancock
Saxophone [Tenor] – Michael Brecker
Written-By – B. Herzog, J. Pastorius
Vocals – Dave Pratter, Sam Moore
Drums – Narada Michael Walden
Featuring – Sam & Dave
Trumpet – Randy Brecker, Ron Tooley
Congas – Don Alias
Saxophone [Alto] – David Sanborn

3. Continuum 4:33
Written-By – J. Pastorius
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Alex Darqui, Herbie Hancock
Drums – Lenny White
Bells – Don Alias

4. Kuru/Speak Like A Child 7:42
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Cello – Beverly Lauridsen, Charles McCracken, Kermit Moore
Viola – Manny Vardi, Julian Barber, Stewart Clarke
Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Jaco Pastorius
Violin – David Nadien, Harold Kohon, Harry Cykman, Harry Lookofsky, Joe Malin, Paul Gershman
Drums – Bobby Economou
Bongos, Congas – Don Alias
Concertmaster – David Nadien
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Written-By – H. Hancock, J. Pastorius
Conductor [Strings] – Michael Gibbs

5. Portrait Of Tracy 2:22
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By – J. Pastorius

6. Opus Pocus 5:29
Saxophone [Soprano] – Wayne Shorter
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Herbie Hancock
Steel Drums – Leroy Williams, Othello Molineaux
Written-By – J. Pastorius
Percussion – Don Alias
Drums – Lenny White

7. Okonkole Y Trompa 4:25
French Horn – Peter Gordon
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Bata [Okonkolo Iya], Congas, Cabasa [Afuche] – Don Alias
Written-By – D. Alias, J. Pastorius

8. (Used To Be A) Cha-Cha 8:57
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By – J. Pastorius
Flute [Piccolo] – Hubert Laws
Drums – Lenny White
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Congas – Don Alias

9. Forgotten Love 2:14
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Viola – Al Brown, Manny Vardi, Julian Barber, Stewart Clarke
Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By – J. Pastorius
Double Bass – Homer Mensch, Richard Davis
Cello – Alan Shulman, Beverly Lauridsen, Charles McCracken, Kermit Moore
Violin – Arnold Black, David Nadien, Harold Kohon, Harry Cykman, Harry Lookofsky, Joe Malin, Matthew Raimondi, Max Pollikoff, Paul Gershman
Concertmaster – David Nadien
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Conductor [Strings] – Michael Gibbs

Bonus Tracks (Previously Unreleased)

10. (Used To Be A) Cha-Cha 8:49
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By – J. Pastorius
Flute [Piccolo] – Hubert Laws
Drums – Lenny White
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Congas – Don Alias

11. 6/4 Jam 7:45
Written-By – J. Pastorius
Electric Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Congas – Don Alias
Drums – Lenny White
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Herbie Hancock

Back before he turned everyone's idea of bass playing inside out, Jaco Pastorius spent five years on the bandstand with the Peter Graves Orchestra at Bachelors III, a swanky spot in his hometown of Ft. Lauderdale. Nearly three decades after the future star's departure in 1975, and 16 years after his brutal murder, Graves got the guys back together, christened them in their former colleague's name, and invited the most prominent bass guitarists of the early 21st century down to join them in a project dedicated to Pastorius' legacy. Throughout these polished performances, the bass parts testify to how profoundly Pastorius altered that instrument's role. Bottom line (so to speak): he gave them the option of playing from a soloist mentality and blowing all over the beat, as fast and free as any saxophonist, as long as he or she had chops and didn't subvert the groove. The guest bassists on this collection absorbed this lesson long ago. Each can scatter quick licks, some of them even faster than Pastorius himself. So why does a vague disenchantment haunt these performances?

Perhaps it's because these players, great as they are, are still emulating more than discovering. Some imitate even the nuances of the Pastorius tone and phrasing, as does Richard Bona on "Punk Jazz" -- which, of course, may be a form of tribute in this context. On an opposite extreme, the light-speed, staccato hailstorm unleashed by Victor Wooten on "Teen Town" is fundamentally unmusical, focusing on the player more than the material being played -- which is, come to think of it, the real revelation here. Pastorius' tunes reflect a compositional maturity that wasn't always evident in the more improvisational context of Weather Report, and his arrangements -- notably an idiosyncratic treatment of "Killing Me Softly" and the marimba-flavored exotica of "Opus Pocus" - suggest that had he had more time, he would have written history with his pen as much as his performance. One complaint: the samples of Pastorius' voice, chopped into microbits that carry no meaningful content and seem intended to function as objects of postmodern reflection, if not reverence. All these interruptions accomplish is to remind you that some artists speak most eloquently without words.

:::Review by Robert L. Doerschuk:::

Jaco Pastorius Big Band - Word Of Mouth Revisited (2003)

1. Jaco Speaks (0:07)
2. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Havona (5:20)
Arranged By - Larry Warrilow
Bass - Jimmy Haslip
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius
3. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Teen Town (4:11)
Arranged By - Larry Warrilow
Bass - Victor Wooten
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius
4. Jaco Speaks (0:04)
5. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Punk Jazz (5:04)
Bass - Richard Bona
Saxophone [Tenor] - Mike Scaglione
Written-By, Arranged By - Jaco Pastorius
6. Jaco Speaks (0:05)
7. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Barbary Coast (5:54)
Arranged By - Larry Warrilow
Bass - Gerald Veasley
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius
8. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Killing Me Softly (4:23)
Arranged By - Jaco Pastorius
Bass - Jeff Carswell
Written-By - Charles Fox , Norman Gimbel
9. Jaco Speaks (0:05)
10. Jaco Pastorius Big Band (Used To Be A) Cha Cha (6:54)
Arranged By - Dan Bonsanti
Bass - Victor Bailey
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius
11. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Wiggle Waggle (5:47)
Arranged By - Stan Webb
Bass - Jaco Pastorius
Written-By - Herbie Hancock
12. Jaco Speaks (0:11)
13. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Continuum (3:22)
Bass - Jimmy Haslip
Written-By, Arranged By - Jaco Pastorius
14. Jaco Speaks (0:04)
15. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Elegant People (6:30)
Arranged By - Jaco Pastorius
Bass - Gerald Veasley
Percussion [Hand Drums] - Bobby Thomas Jr.
Written-By - Wayne Shorter
16. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Opus Pocus (5:15)
Arranged By - Larry Warrilow
Bass - David Pastorius
Marimba - Gary Mayone
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius
17. Peter & Jaco Speaks (0:47)
18. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Domingo (6:45)
Bass - Victor Bailey
Written-By, Arranged By - Jaco Pastorius
19. Jaco Pastorius Big Band Forgotten Love (4:02)
Arranged By - Larry Warrilow
Bass - Christian McBride
Flute - Mike Scaglione
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius
20. Jaco Speaks (0:04)
21. Marcus Miller Punk Jazz Revisited (6:35)
Bass, Clarinet [Bass], Drums, Clavinet, Saxophone [Soprano], Scratches - Marcus Miller
Saxophone [Soprano] - Roger Byman
Trumpet - Michael "Patches" Stewart
Written-By - Jaco Pastorius , Marcus Miller

Credits
Conductor - Peter Graves
Drums - Mark Griffith (2)
Guitar, Koto [Synth] - Randy Bernsen
Piano, Keyboards - Michael Levine
Saxophone [Alto, Soprano], Flute, Flute [Piccolo] - Billy Ross
Saxophone [Baritone], Clarinet [Bass], Flute - Mike Brignola
Saxophone [Tenor, Alto], Clarinet, Flute - Gary Keller
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano], Clarinet - Ed Calle
Trombone - Dana Teboe
Trombone [Bass] - Craig Gosnell (tracks: 5, 10, 18) , John Kricker
Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Jason Carder , Jeff Kievit , Ken Faulk