The mark of an artist's greatness can be measured by the tributes paid to him after his passing. Such legends as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Jimi Hendrix continue to be celebrated with ambitious CD anthologies aimed at new generations of listeners. The legacies of Frank Zappa and Charles Mingus are being kept alive through tribute bands bearing their names. Thelonious Monk not only has an institute named after him but an annual music competition held in his honor. Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, and Bud Powell are still feted in the pages of music magazines. And, of course, Duke Ellington is forever.
Ten years have passed since the tragic death of John Francis Anthony Pastorius III. In that time, many posthumous releases have flooded the market, the quality of which ranges from poorly recorded impromptu jam sessions to some decent documents of his New York years to occasional triumphs that capture the true essence of his genius. Some, like the embarrassing Natural [DIW], were rushed out to capitalize on Jaco's fame--while others were handled with tender loving care and an eye for preserving Jaco's memory in the best light.
PORTRAIT OF JACO
An excellent example of the latter scenario will be Portrait of Jaco: The Early Years, the eagerly awaited upcoming anthology of Jaco's pre-Weather Report playing in South Florida. Culled from the private archives of Jaco's teenage companion and fellow bassist Bob Bobbing, this collection of extremely rare recordings and photographs is certain to fill in the gaps for even the most astute Jacophile. Contrary to myth, Jaco did not spring forth from the head of Zeus in 1976 with the release of his astonishing self-titled debut on Epic Records. The fact is that Jaco arrived at his wholly unique and fully self-realized voice on the electric fretless over time, his progress coming as the result of constant woodshedding with significant epiphanies along the way.
There was a gradual development in Jaco's playing through the late '60s and early '70s. It was a journey of discovery that saw him evolve from a gangly, unfocused teenager to the supremely confident, uncannily gifted, and charismatic Jaco Pastorius who floored us during the heyday of Weather Report and after. Bobbing is documenting all of the phases of that extraordinary development with Portrait of Jaco.
"I had a quality Sony 2-track reel-to-reel tape recorder, which was pretty rare at the time," recalls Bobbing. "Jaco would come over and fool around with it or even borrow it for a couple of days at a time. I would also record his gigs, just so I could listen back to the tapes and try to figure out what he was doing." Those tapes, a virtual treasure trove to Jaco enthusiasts, sat in a closet in Bobbing's home office for two decades before he finally decided to make them available to the public. "They were part of my own history," he says. "They were nostalgic and certainly significant to me, but I was really too close to the situation to know if anyone else would enjoy them as much as I did."
Approved by the Pastorius family, Portrait of Jaco will shed light on Jaco's R&B roots while providing a seamless account of his growth from 1968 to 1975. The current plans are for guitarist Pat Metheny to collaborate on the project with Bobbing, who will release the record on his own Holiday Park label. The anthology will include a booklet with never-before-seen photographs of Jaco from age one through his teenage years in Florida and into his glory years with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, and the Word Of Mouth band. The CD will be released in late '97 or early '98; at press time, the exact lineup of selections was not solidified?but certain cuts are too historically significant to leave out.
One such piece of music is Jaco's very first home recording of "The Chicken." Using Bobbing's Sony tape recorder with sound-on-sound capabilities, a then-16-year-old Jaco played all the instruments?bass, guitar, drums, and saxophone?on this funky Pee Wee Ellis tune, which would later become a Pastorius staple. Jaco can also be heard fingering flatwound strings on a fretted bass in the context of a group called Woodchuck (1969-'70), described by Bobbing as a "white-trash R&B trio." The group was rounded out by Bob Herzog on drums and vocals and Billy Burke on Hammond B-3 organ.
Jaco's irrepressible groove power came into play with Tommy Strand & the Upper Hand (1970-'71), a nine-piece soul group that played the beachside clubs of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Even more important, this band provided Jaco's first opportunities to take solos, some of which are captured on Bobbing's tapes. But it was in the context of the powerful 14-piece horn outfit Wayne Cochran & the C.C. Riders (1971-'72) that Jaco's inimitable voice on the bass coalesced. Many of his trademarks (natural harmonics, chording, slippery yet lyrical phrasing, and that relentless 16th-note pulse) can be readily heard in his innovative playing with the C.C. Riders, a group cited by Bobbing as "the oven for Jaco's genius."
Indeed, Jaco carried cassette copies of those C.C. Riders tapes with him during his Weather Report years, playing them to bandmates Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Peter Erskine, the entire road crew, and anyone else who would listen. He held onto these gig tapes for years, even playing them over the phone to old friends during his stint in the psychiatric ward of New York's Bellevue Hospital. As C.C. Riders drummer Allyn Robinson attests, "Jaco would call me in the middle of the night; I'd pick up the phone and hear, 'Robinson! You're the baddest!' Then he'd play one of our old C.C. Riders tapes over the phone. On the one hand, I was flattered he felt that attachment to me?but it also seemed as if he really clung to that period, almost out of desperation. Whenever he was getting to a point where he felt totally alienated, he would give me a call and talk about the old days?how we did this and that, how he couldn't find anyone who could play the way we had, and how nothing could compare to the old days."
The rarest gem among the C.C. Riders tracks in Bobbing's collection is Jaco's first original composition, the never-before-heard "Amelia." Musical director Charlie Brent (in many ways Jaco's mentor, who taught him how to arrange for a large group) recalls the day Jaco brought "Amelia" to the band: "That was also the first thing he orchestrated for a big group, and it was gorgeous?full of these wonderful horn voicings. To think he came up with that chart in just three days is amazing to me. I couldn't believe all of this flowing, moving, meaningful music was coming out of this skinny little kid who didn't know anything except how to play bass. But in actuality, he was way ahead of everybody. He was a raw talent evolving before our eyes."
Another major coup for Bobbing was his acquisition of the demo material for Jaco's self-titled Epic debut. The demo tapes were recorded in the fall of 1974 at Criteria Studios in Miami with drummer Bobby Economou, pianist Alex Darqui, and percussionist Don Alias. Aside from some astounding playing by Jaco, these rare demos are distinguished by the presence of a previously unreleased Pastorius composition, "Balloon Song."
Bobbing also captured Jaco in a loose jamming situation during his three-month stint with Blood, Sweat & Tears. Recorded in the summer of 1975 at a gig in Gainesville, Florida, these smoking tracks feature an inspired Jaco alongside drummer Bobby Columby, guitarist Mike Stern, pianist Larry Willis, and Don Alias just a few months before he went to New York to record his solo debut for Epic.
If all goes as planned, Metheny will be contributing his own archival material featuring Jaco, himself, and drummer Bob Moses, which will provide a look at the roots not only of Jaco but also of Metheny. In reference to these early years of Jaco's career, Bobbing says, "This was a very positive period for Jaco. These were his Garden of Eden days when he was happy and healthy, making music and enjoying life. And you can hear that positive attitude in his playing."
CURTAIN CALL
Another fascinating and well-recorded document is Curtain Call, recently released by Another Hit/FM Records of Oakland, California. Performed in October 1986 at a now-defunct Bay Area waterfront club called the Dock, it features Jaco in especially good form just one month after checking out of Bellevue. With Jon Davis on piano and Brian Melvin on drums, Jaco offers up crisply articulated and soulfully executed renditions of Herbie Hancock's "Speak Like a Child," Bronislaw Kaper's "Invitation," the Lennon-McCartney gem "Blackbird," and several of his own classics, including "Continuum," "John and Mary," and the harmonics showcase "Portrait of Tracy."
Elsewhere, Jaco burns through the challenging Charlie Parker bop anthem "Donna Lee," a tune that tripped him up when he wasn't entirely on top of his game?but on this particular evening, he was right on it. (For a transcription of Jaco's studio version of "Donna Lee," see page 71.) You can hear the crowd of Jaco fans eagerly egging him on during his solo on a frisky, syncopated version of Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," which features a quote from Eddie Harris's "Freedom Jazz Dance," as well as the familiar rampaging riff that opens Joni Mitchell's "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines." (See music, page 75.) The sprawling, inspired jam that results eventually erupts into a spirited, foot-stomping romp with Davis switching to organ on a churchified section at the tag. The band closes on an explosive note with Jaco's urgent reading of his own chops-busting anthem "Teen Town."
LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY: PUNK JAZZ, TRIO, PROMISE LAND, TRIO, RACA
Noted Jacophile Neil Weiss, who launched his Big World Records on the strength of his private stash of gig recordings from the mid '80s, recently released Volume Five of the Live in New York City series. Subtitled Raca, after the Milton Nascimento composition, this one features Jaco in razor-sharp form on a November 1985 gig at the now-defunct Seventh Avenue South with guitarist Mike Stern, alto saxophonist Steve Slagle, and drummer Adam Nussbaum. After Jaco's brilliant opening solo showcase version of "Blackbird," the band slides into a sublime reading of "Continuum," followed by two Stern tunes: the aggressive funk-rocker "Mood Swings," and the ballad "After You," both from the guitarist's 1986 Atlantic recording Upside Downside. Slagle contributes the composition "Sly Shuffle," and the band also turns in spirited renditions of "Raca" and Jaco's blazing "Teen Town." An added treat here is an intimate recording of Jaco on acoustic piano performing two previously unrecorded original compositions: the introspective "Three Women," and the ebullient "Good Morning Anya." Captured before the gig, this casual segment also features some brief spoken-word interludes by Jaco.
Over the course of his five Jaco releases on Big World, Weiss has been contributing a portion of his proceeds to the Pastorius family, and he has also been paying royalties to all of the musicians appearing on the discs. Volume One, subtitled Punk Jazz, includes tracks by the trio of Jaco, guitarist Hiram Bullock, and drummer Kenwood Dennard, as well as an eight-piece version of Word Of Mouth, featuring trumpeter Jerry Gonzalez and saxophonist Alex Foster. Volume Two, Trio, focuses strictly on the Pastorius-Dennard-Bullock trio and includes interesting renditions of such pop tunes as Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe," Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff," the Meters' "Cissy Strut," the Beatles' "Dear Prudence," and the classic garage-band surf tune "Wipeout." Volume Three, subtitled Promise Land, opens with Jaco and Jerry Gonzalez jamming on the harmonics workout "Okonkole y Trompa." The Pastorius-Dennard-Bullock trio, augmented by Gonzalez's trumpet, pulls off a faithful rendition of Jaco's "Continuum." Later, they are joined by three horns on a funky "New York City Groove" before launching into "Teen Town." Other highlights include an intimate duet with pianist-singer Michael Gerber on Burt Bacharach's "Alfie" and an 18 1/2-minute reading of Tadd Dameron's lovely ballad "If You Could See Me Now." Jaco offers some earthy vocals on "Why I Sing the Blues," and Delmar Brown provides some gospel-flavored singing on his dramatic original "Promise Land." The disc ends on an introspective note with Jaco's solo-bass rendition of the John Coltrane ballad "Naima" (unforgivably misspelled here as "Niema").
Volume Four, Trio 2, features Jaco with Bullock and three different drummers? Dennard, Victor Lewis, and Steve Ferrone. This more adventurous disc includes great renditions of Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance," Joe Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," Eddie Harris's "Freedom Jazz Dance," and Coltrane's "Equinox." It ends on a blazing rock note with a medley of Buddy Miles's "Them Changes," Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," and Sly Stone's "Simple Song."
Neil Weiss attended many of Jaco's gigs from '85 and '86 at such New York venues as Seventh Avenue South, the Lone Star Cafe, the Blue Note, the Bottom Line, Five & Dime, and Razzamatazz, and he recorded virtually everything he heard from his seat with a Sony Pro Walkman cassette recorder. "I made no secret that I was recording," he says. "I never sat in the back of the room and hid the tape recorder under the table; I always sat up front and had the microphone in clear view. I was very friendly with Jaco, Hiram Bullock, Delmar Brown, and all the guys, and they all knew I was recording. And the clubowners knew, too; at Seventh Avenue South, they used to reserve the front-row table for me."
NATURAL AND HOLIDAY FOR PANS
Sadly, two travesties exist in the posthumous Jaco discography. The aforementioned Natural is one of the sadder bootlegs, released on Japan's DIW label. Recorded at the Center for the Media Arts in New York City on June 21 and 23, 1985, it is an ill-advised studio jam with Jaco and a group of mediocre musicians. Organized by guitarist Francisco Mondragon Rio, it features reedman Yaco G. Grau and drummer Hugh Peterson on three unfocused, rambling, and wholly uninspired jams. Jaco's presence is minimal here; he drops in a few of his clichv©s along the way?but it's clear from the outset that neither his chops nor his spirit was up for this dull, unwieldy affair that serves merely as a showcase for guitarist Rio's ego. (Note: One composition here attributed to Jaco, "Leap Frog," was actually written by a Jaco disciple from Florida named Ray Peterson, long-time sideman to Eddie Harris.)
Perhaps the most controversial posthumous Jaco release is Holiday for Pans, a bootleg released in 1993 on Japan's Sound Hills label. Originally recorded in 1982 as a showcase for steel-pan virtuoso Othello Molineaux, it was rejected by Warner Bros. because the company executives believed it had no commercial potential. As Ricky Schultz of Warner Bros. recalls, "This happened around the time we were getting ready to shut down our jazz division. They had made quite an investment in Jaco's second project, and he delivered this Holiday for Pans album, which was not what they had anticipated. He was extremely enthusiastic about it; Holiday for Pans was a really forward-thinking record, but it wasn't well received by the company. Frankly, they didn't know what to make of it. They didn't understand how special it was."
Charlie Loury, who was also at Warner Bros. at the time, confirms Schultz's assessment of how the label misunderstood Holiday for Pans. "Jaco was very difficult to work with; his relationship with the company was extremely adversarial from the beginning. His Word of Mouth had gone way overbudget, which didn't sit too well with the pencil-pushers. Personally, I found Holiday for Pans fascinating; I love the chances Jaco took on that record. But the company was expecting another 'Birdland'?something with more commercial appeal. And when Jaco came back with Holiday for Pans, people were walking around shaking their heads, saying, 'What is this?'"
Schultz elaborates, "At that point, the decision was made to release Jaco from his contract, and the company decided to put out the live album, Invitation, as a way of recouping on its investment. Word of Mouth had sold only about 50,000 copies, which was a bit of a letdown?so Warner Bros. wasn't about to gamble on something as esoteric as a steel pans album."
After Holiday for Pans was rejected by Warner Bros., Jaco took possession of the master tapes, although they would remain in storage for four years before he turned his attention to them once again. While in Bellevue Hospital, he began to perceive the nine master tapes from the Holiday for Pans session as his ticket out and back into the limelight. Following a quick mixdown session at a jingle studio on Manhattan's Upper East Side (done on the evening of September 11, 1986, while Jaco was out of Bellevue on a two-hour pass), the master tapes were left in a closet at the studio, entrusted to engineer Ken Jackel. From that point on, Jaco would call Jackel on several occasions, saying, "Hold onto those tapes! Don't give them to anybody except me, not even to my ex-wives or my brothers or my mother. Don't listen to anybody but me."
After Jaco died, Jackel went into hiding with the tapes, in effect holding them hostage until he could collect a handsome ransom from the highest bidder. The engineer moved to Washington, D.C., and emerged a few months later with a lawyer to represent him in dealing with the tapes. Jackel claimed to be the original engineer of the 1982 Holiday for Pans session, even though he hadn't met Jaco face-to-face until the summer of '86.
Jackel had meetings with a Columbia Records executive and several other heavyweights in the industry, but his asking price was way out of line with their budgets, particularly for a steel pans album. To further sully the story, Jackel had brought in a friend to overdub Jaco-style bass parts with the intention of passing them off as the real deal. The bassist who actually laid down these bogus tracks later called me to confess his part in the fraud. True Jacophiles need only give a cursory listen to the CD to realize the phrasing, tone, and note choices may be close, but it is definitely not Jaco.
Jackel eventually turned up with the tapes in Thailand, where he began working at another jingle studio and conducting engineering seminars. He began shopping the tapes to entrepreneurs in Japan and finally found his buyer in Super Stop, a distributor based in Osaka. The head of Super Stop, Hirakazu Sasabe, actually formed Sound Hills Records specifically for this Jaco project and reputedly paid Ken Jackel $160,000 for the Holiday for Pans tapes. The Pastorius estate took legal action to retrieve the master tapes, but to no avail. Holiday for Pans, available through Europe, Asia, and Canada, remains a blight on Jaco's recorded legacy.
JACO TRIBUTE ALBUMS
Meanwhile, the Jaco tributes continue to roll in. Guitarist Scott Henderson recently recast "Continuum" as a kind of mystical Mississippi Delta blues offering (complete with slide guitar) on his latest Mesa/Bluemoon release, Tore Down House. The Doky Brothers (bassist Chris Mihn and pianist Niels Lan) turned in a fabulous version of "Teen Town" on their self-titled 1996 Blue Note debut. And on his latest recording, Phoenix [available only in Spain on Nuevos Medios], Jaco-influenced bassist Carles Benavent includes a medley of "Three Women/Good Morning Anya," which includes pianist Gil Goldstein as well as steel pans virtuoso (and long-time Jaco colleague) Othello Molineaux. Neil Weiss of Big World Music is negotiating to license Phoenix for Stateside release sometime in 1997.