My favorite overplayer

[Bosendorphen]

>>>

[KuruPrionz]

That's a great concert and a great band and Jaco might have remained "sort of known" if not for Joni putting him on her records and taking him on tour at the height of her own popularity.

 

I've seen this sentiment a few times and I strongly disagree. While Joni may have been a bigger act, not a lot of casual listeners of her music know or even care that Jaco played with her. Weather Report is where he was a center-stage star. Remember Birdland was a HUGE hit for many years. Teen Town is probably his most well known tune. I love Joni and what she did to bring him forward and cross him over to other genres, but it's not like Jaco wasn't already a rock star with WR.

 

You can certainly disagree. Ever hear the term "Big fish in a small pond?".

 

I love jazz but it doesn't get nearly the same attention as popular music. Weather Report had one platinum record, well before Jaco was in the band. Joni? She had one double platinum, 2 platinum and several gold albums. Both Hejira and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, albums where Jaco is featured - went gold.

 

I knew who Weather Report was, vaguely. I remember hearing one of their albums once a long time ago but all I can tell you is they didn't move me to want to listen to them beyond that. Back then I listened to MIles, Trane, Monk, Bird, Mingus etc. mixed with a variety of prog rock, new wave, ethnic music, etc. These days I don't listen to much of anything.

 

I did not know who Jaco was when I got Hejira but noticed his playing immediately and felt it was a great fit with what Joni was into at the time. He tracked some stellar bass parts on Don Juan's Reckless Daughter as well.

I'd go dollars to donuts that more people saw and heard Jaco on tour with Joni than every other gig he ever played combined.

 

OK, not counting "smooth jazz" which is neither, how many real jazz radio stations do you have within range of your car radio? Up here in Bellingham, we have one from Anacortes that plays Jazz and Blues starting at midnight weekdays and 11pm weekends. Since we are fairly close to the Canadian border we have several stations playing popular music including the apparently nationwide "classic rock" station which has been sanitized for your protection.

Jazz clubs, in Whatcom County? There have been attempts to put something together and there are some excellent players up here. Nothing going on anywhere during these Covid times.

The summer series in Sudden Valley was successful enough to run a few years until last summer. Bear in mind that was 5 jazz shows each summer during a time when I was playing 3 gigs a week churning out popular dance music.

I didn't go to any of those shows simply because I was booked elsewhere,

 

A DJ on the college station might play something a bit "jazzy" once in a while. I haven't noticed that this demographic of Jazz still being a bit "underground" changes much from place to place.

 

Feel free to disagree, but i disagree with your disagreement. It's certainly not a matter of musical tastes, just straight up numbers. Cheers, Kuru

[pinkfloydcramer]

So now the discussion is about the commercial viability of jazz vs pop? I'd have thought that by now it would be RE re-harms of Great Balls of Fire!

[stoken6]

I nominate James Jamerson (OT for KC, of course), as the master of playing far more notes than strictly required, with exquisite musical taste.

 

Scott at Scott's Bass Lessons has a good breakdown of a Jamerson track:

 

Cheers, Mike.

[jazzpiano88]

>>>

 

What?!? I liked your playing. I don't think it was overplaying at all for the context.

[area51recording]

[pinkfloydcramer]

>>>

 

 

I didn't get to hear it! Maybe he will pm me with a link

[GRollins]

Weather Report was a little-known flash in the pan band? News to me.

 

Heavy Weather sold over 500,000 copies and was hugely influential. It received enormous airplay in the area I was living in at the time. Zero jazz stations. It was on all the rock stations. Birdland remains a touchstone and has been covered by many others over the years. A Remark You Made. Teen Town. Oof! Yeah, them's some well known tunes.

 

The bass player?

 

Jaco.

 

Grey

[marino]

Sssshhh.

The marvel starts at 1:35.

Long live the overplayers! :D

 

[video:youtube]

[GRollins]

I was in a local music store (Sims Music, Columbia, SC...if you're in central SC and need something, support them, they're a great store and need all the help they can get) and heard a guy noodling on guitar, trying out pedals. He tore off some non-trivial riffs at low volume. I gravitated over to that area and discovered that there were actually two guys, one doing the playing, the other hovering over his shoulder. Once I got closer I realized that the player was just beating scales. Lightning fast, but scales nonetheless. Only scales. I probed as gently as possible, asking if he knew how to play anything other than scales and got a slightly hostile response from the hoverer. The player said nothing, just kept running through his repertoire of scales, modes, etc. I mentioned that I played bass and was looking for...

 

I never even finished the sentence. The hoverer informed me in no uncertain terms that bass players were meant to hold down the low end, playing only minimalist bass lines as a picture frame around the guitarist. That wasn't the way he phrased it; I'm putting it in more poetic terms. I'd like to note for the record that I made no mention of my ideas regarding bass--never got a chance--it was a knee-jerk reaction on his part as soon as he heard me say, "I play bass..."

 

As a filter meant to weed out prospective bass players, it was quite effective. I shrugged and walked away. If the guitarist was that insecure, then I didn't want to play with him anyway...even if he could play something more than scales.

 

I never figured out what the hoverer's function was, other than to be the mouthpiece of the player.

 

Grey

[jazzpiano88]

The Guitar, Pan, Sax and Bass soloing all at the same time doesn't work. Some of it really good though.

 

[video:youtube]

[GRollins]

I find it curious that this thread has somehow turned to Jaco Pastorious. I mean, if you're talking bass and want to bash someone I'd expect Billy Sheehan's name to come up before Jaco's. Victor Wooten. All kinds of guys, given that so many people have the notion that bass players should be seen (but only barely) and not heard. Guitar...Yngwie Malmsteen or even Eddie Van Halen (RIP)...any number of candidates on guitar. Being a keyboard site, it's not a surprise to me that it's string players taking the hits, but...Jaco? This I'm not understanding.

 

Weird.

 

Grey

[pinkfloydcramer]

I wonder if poor ol' Jerry Lee gets this much attention on the bass forum.

[GRollins]

My bet is: No.

 

Grey

[Baldwin Funster]

I dont think even Jaco gets this much discussion on bass talk. I'd bet its geddy lee, will lee. Maybe even bruce lee gets more talk then Jaco.

[EscapeRocks]

[video:youtube]

[TommyRude]

Why does Jaco get attention on this forum? Because he's a keyboard player!

 

[video:youtube]

[SteveCoscia]

This thread got me interested in Jerry Lee Lewis again. Just listened to his 1964 "Live At The Star-Club Hamburg" album. Raw energy and a terrific recording for that era.

[Baldwin Funster]

I'm not sure but I think this must be rare early Jaco video.

[video:youtube]

[area51recording]

That little dude is gonna have a hell of a career, as long as no one tells him that what he is doing is actually difficult!

[GRollins]

Won't happen...someone will get in his face and tell him he's "overplaying." It will destroy his confidence and another promising musical prodigy will be snuffed out...

 

Grey

[TommyRude]

I'm not sure but I think this must be rare early Jaco video.

holy crap!

[GRollins]

Bless his heart, his hands aren't big enough to cover an octave stretch down on the lower part of the finger board where the spacing's wider between notes, but he's giving it his all so I can't fault him for the occasional sour note. Once his hands grow to match his ambition, he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

 

And I give him full marks for use of his pinky finger on his left hand. Many adults don't use their pinky. They act like they only have three fingers, like Mickey Mouse.

 

Grey