Jaco Instructional DVD

[Jabinski]

Hi

 

I have been binging on bass instructional DVDs of late and one of the gems I picked up is entitled 'Jaco Pastorious, Modern Electric Bass'.

 

I really didn't know such a thing existed and it features a very interesting hour wathing him explain and demonstrate his technique, with exercises and examples. It's really very enlightening and has a fantastic jam with John Scofield and his ultra cheesy but excellent ex Weather Report drummer Kenwood Dennard.

 

The bass he plays is very strange to me. It's a Jazz bass body with a P neck! He explains his use of this on the show as being so as to make his left hand stronger for when he gigs with his jazz. Now I've just never heard of anyone doing such a thing. I though of practicing in wet cement so that when I play live without the cement it would be so much easier in comparisson. Thoughts please.

 

Regarding the DVD i'd love to firstly recommend it and secondly ask peeps opinions.

 

Since it's the first time I've heard him talk for more than a sentence it was really eye opening to me. I also got Victor Wooten's bass day 98 and I really got the feeling (as with every time i hear Vic talk) that he's a totally sorted person holistically. I bet he has a really sorted and sane life.

 

Jaco came accross as a little insecure and obsessional. Not to say I dind't like him or anything, he just seemed much more awkward in interlocution.

 

Anyway...

 

Thanks and regards.

[LLroomtempJ]

Yeah...i'm planning on using the jaco dvd to learn some of the scales/exercises that he outlines. I watched it just to pick up on bass history...but it's going to defintely be a useful tool in my growth as a musician.

 

jason

[Tony Renaud 05]

The dark cloud in Jaco's personal history is that he suffered from a medically diagnosed bipolar disorder towards the end of his short life. This was only made worse by the fact that he had severe substance abuse problems at the time as well. The video was taped during his turbulent years in NYC, which preceded his return to Ft. Lauderdale. It was in nearby Wilton Manors that he was beaten to death by a bouncer at an after-hours club. I think it's important to note that Jaco was agressively clean and sober for the first 25+ years of his life. However, the behavior he exhibits in the video is fairly standard for a person with a dual-diagnosis mental disorder. It's a testimony to Jaco's raw talent that he played as well as he did, given the crosses he had to bear at the time. According to the Bill Milkowski Jaco biography, they sequestered Jaco in a hotel for a few days to sober him up.

 

As for the unusual instrument Jaco chose to play, it's likely that it was the only instrument he owned at the time. He was basically a homeless person during his NYC days, and usually declined any chance to play fretless anyway - his appearance with Jerry Jemmott's fretless bass was an exception, not a rule. Jaco's famed "Bass of Doom" fretless had been stolen quite some time before the taping, IIRC.

 

The content of the DVD is pure gold. It's really a peek into the way Jaco helped manage to make the electric bass a viable lead voice. Essentially, a good deal of what he presents is actually based on exercises that horn players work with to develop facilty.

[Jabinski]

Though psychiatric diagnoses makes me shudder with cynicism (especially from the 80s and before), from what I see he did have a range of lifestyle and psychological problems.

 

I guess he typified the stereotype of artists who die young and spend most of the time on their own planet.

 

 

I agree that there are many things to be learened from the tape, it's really very rich in terms of arpegio and scale excercises, with the emphasis on making them musical. Great stuff. And the jam is wicked and stylie.

[Jabinski]

Do you know why it is that he didn't like to play fretless often? The only reason he gives in the DVD is that he didn't like the way the strings would eat the frets. But this doens't sound like the same background as you are hinting at.

[jonnie u]

Back in the day I was walking to a rehearsal at Westbeth theater in downtown NY, I was strolling along Washington square park when i noticed and stumbling Jaco with a glass of beer in hand,

 

i said ,ey what is the greatest bass player in the world doing walking around like this,..he said ,,aarrgg f- off,.....i said yo Jaco how bout a bass lesson man,...he said oh yeah,. you want a f,n bass come on i,ll give you a f,n lesson

 

so i followed him thru the west village, as i strolled along with him, i couldnt beleive i was walking along the streets with Jaco with my bass in hand.

 

i said,, yeah man i saw you guys at Const. Hall in D.C ,,he said shut the f up ,.thats the problem with cats like you ,you talk to f,n much,,....

 

I said "o.k" and quietly followed ,,..as we pass the laundry matt on 3rd street he went in a pulled out a hand full of cloths and handed them to me

 

as we crossed 6th ave. we came upon Jones st. Jaco climbed thru a window on the ground floor apt ,,I followed ,

 

as I entered the apt the first thing i noticed was a destroyed room with the bed and furniture knocked over,,on the wall in lipstick was written JACO IS A A***hole at the same time Jaco came out of a back room with a bass that was not assembled,, neck and body with strings and a screw driver,

 

as JACO noticed that i saw what was written on the wall he held the screw driver up at me as if to throw it like a knife and said"turn the fuck around" i,m 6 '4

 

I said,,.. dude,, i dont care how "bad" your are on the bass, if you throw that screwdriver at me i,m gonna whip your ass,,,

 

he said get the f out of here,..i left thru the door saying ,,,f.off A- hole,,,as i walked down 6th ave. i couldnt beleive i just almost got into a fight with JACO

 

a week later i saw him in Westbeth at scofeilds studio which was across the hall and watched him practise alone thru the vent standing on a crate. my Jaco story by J.U -

 

i also witneesed him playing basketball with a broken arm in cast

rudely interupting big mean looking semi pro and urban "ballers"

 

i literally seen him run out and steal the ball during play only to hear "come on Jaco man" non of the ballers knew he was a wolrd famous musician only the drooling throngs of bassist lined up on the fence - thats west 4th st.

 

shhhh

[Tony Renaud 05]

Originally posted by Jabinski:

Do you know why it is that he didn't like to play fretless often?

I can't say for certain the exact reasons why Jaco didn't play a lot of fretless in those days, but I have some insights.

 

In general, the fretless bass requires a focus and attention that requires all of a player's focus and effort to play in tune - it's very unforgiving and there's little room for error, due to intonation concerns. The instrument really does require diligent practice and a consistent effort to play well.

 

I'll pretty much tell anyone that I've had my problems with drink and drugs in the past, all while playing professionally. When you're in the throes of those addictions, the mental and physical requirements to play fretless properly are not available to you in any way, regardless of whether you're a genius or not. You can, however, get through a gig on fretted while being under the influence.

 

Anyhoo, this could fall under the umbrella of "Jaco Stories" pretty quick. I had always heard he'd decline to play a fretless in his last years if he had a choice - this is just rumor and hearsay sort of stuff. Using empirical knowledge in reference to playing the bass and having suffered from addiction myself, I'd say my theory is probably more right than wrong.

 

FWIW, the reasons I post this stuff regarding Jaco's last years is to drive home the fact that he was a sick person who responded to stimuli in inappropriate ways because of those illnesses. He wasn't a "bad person", a "druggie" or any other sort of negative. He was just suffering from disorders we can't fully deal with or understand medically or as a society yet.

[Jabinski]

I agree totally that we don't understand psychological disorder conceptually as a society yet. The medical model is in itself necessary but inadequate.

 

Anyway, regarding Jaco, it's really amazing how many people there are who die young but burn bright , they often having tremendous difficulty fitting in with 'notmal' life.

 

It's sad but almost archytypical.

 

I have another question for you Tony. I am too an addict (semi recovering ((back to using about to quit again)) and I am a little worried about not enjoying playing bass as much when sober. When I started again a couple of months ago, I can truly say I've made tremendous progress, since being a little high, i've wanted to practice more.

 

I'm being totally honest cos the atmostphere in this place is decent and I'm here to learn.

 

What I am guessing is that it's all about relaxation, and that is what i@ll have to work on when clean again.

 

Anyway, I guess I have at least one thing in common with Jaco!

[Mike Bear]

It was crazy in the book to read that Jaco would just leave his bass lying around outside while he played B-Ball. I have a few friends who ended up drug induced schizo and bi-polar. Some still functional . Some just not the same person, the sad part is, their heart is still there and that's what makes you wanna be close to them still. But it's truly difficult when they do and say random things.

 

My first drummer ended up that way. He didn't even have a chance. 2 other people in his family were that way. So for him to even dabble drugs durring college was like mental sucicide. I couldn't stand to be around him any more. I'd take him to the market once a week though. He'd get moved around so much I lost track of him though.

[Mike Bear]

Oh yeah, the DVD is a very good DVD and helpful. You can tell Jaco is a bit tweeky, but you can still feel his love and enjoyment for the instrument. You could tell he was itching to play as much as possible.

[Jabinski]

One funny moment Mike is when Jerry asks him about his family, saying, 'Your brother's a musician to isn't he',

 

'Yeah he's a drummer' Head down shred shred shred. I guess he didn't come to talk about his childhood ala Victor W.

 

Second funny moment is when ultra cheesy but excellent ex Weather Report drummer Kenwood Dennardis asked what it's like to play with Jaco. He replies something like, 'When Jaco is normal, he's, well, un-normal'. Cracked me up anyway.

[LLroomtempJ]

If anything, I've always hoped that famous people whose lives were ravaged by drugs would provide an example to people of how potent drug use is...but this has consistently failed.

 

So many people turn to drugs amongst other state-altering substances which can soothe in the short term, but destroy in the long term.

 

Having studied addiction, I can only say that you need to see yourself as a bassist who can be relaxed and at ease without drugs. You also have to desire to stop, and see the 'clean you' as much better and more useful than the 'addict you' If you feel as though you NEED those things to relax, then i would say that your feeling are lying to you.

 

jason "not trying to condescend, just angered by drugs and their potential to mess things up" atkins

[Tony Renaud 05]

Originally posted by Jabinski:

 

Anyway, regarding Jaco, it's really amazing how many people there are who die young but burn bright , they often having tremendous difficulty fitting in with 'notmal' life.

 

I have another question for you Tony. I am too an addict (semi recovering ((back to using about to quit again)) and I am a little worried about not enjoying playing bass as much when sober. When I started again a couple of months ago, I can truly say I've made tremendous progress, since being a little high, i've wanted to practice more.

 

I know it sounds like a 12 step program cliche, but I enjoy playing bass now more than ever. To put a point on it, I see, feel, and hear the nuances that I was too f'd up to notice back in the day. I really needed, and continue to need to be sober to fully experience life at it's fullest, music included. Plus, my addiction - free mind is more focused and organized so I can actually pull off what I hear in my head now. At the end of the day, it took getting myself cleaned up to find the joy and peace I was seeking through chronic alcohol and drug use. It's really that simple.

 

In reference to your situation, I'd look closer at the fact that you've made progess. It's prudent to explore the notion that your progress and desire to practice are fed by your successes and discoveries, as opposed to being a little high.

[picker]

Originally posted by jonnie u:

Back in the day I was walking to a rehearsal at Westbeth theater in downtown NY, I was strolling along Washington square park when i noticed and stumbling Jaco with a glass of beer in hand,

 

i said ,ey what is the greatest bass player in the world doing walking around like this,..he said ,,aarrgg f- off,.....i said yo Jaco how bout a bass lesson man,...he said oh yeah,. you want a f,n bass come on i,ll give you a f,n lesson

 

so i followed him thru the west village, as i strolled along with him, i couldnt beleive i was walking along the streets with Jaco with my bass in hand.

 

i said,, yeah man i saw you guys at Const. Hall in D.C ,,he said shut the f up ,.thats the problem with cats like you ,you talk to f,n much,,....

 

I said "o.k" and quietly followed ,,..as we pass the laundry matt on 3rd street he went in a pulled out a hand full of cloths and handed them to me

 

as we crossed 6th ave. we came upon Jones st. Jaco climbed thru a window on the ground floor apt ,,I followed ,

 

as I entered the apt the first thing i noticed was a destroyed room with the bed and furniture knocked over,,on the wall in lipstick was written JACO IS A A***hole at the same time Jaco came out of a back room with a bass that was not assembled,, neck and body with strings and a screw driver,

 

as JACO noticed that i saw what was written on the wall he held the screw driver up at me as if to throw it like a knife and said"turn the fuck around" i,m 6 '4

 

I said,,.. dude,, i dont care how "bad" your are on the bass, if you throw that screwdriver at me i,m gonna whip your ass,,,

 

he said get the f out of here,..i left thru the door saying ,,,f.off A- hole,,,as i walked down 6th ave. i couldnt beleive i just almost got into a fight with JACO

 

a week later i saw him in Westbeth at scofeilds studio which was across the hall and watched him practise alone thru the vent standing on a crate. my Jaco story by J.U -

 

i also witneesed him playing basketball with a broken arm in cast

rudely interupting big mean looking semi pro and urban "ballers"

 

i literally seen him run out and steal the ball during play only to hear "come on Jaco man" non of the ballers knew he was a wolrd famous musician only the drooling throngs of bassist lined up on the fence - thats west 4th st.

 

shhhh

Wow. No wonder he got beaten to death if he talked to people like that. It's amazing he didn't get whacked years before.

[EddiePlaysBass]

Why would you want to practice in wet cement? Just practice more often, and use a bass.

 

Jaco ruled.