Jaco Pastorius | Jaco Pastorius

Tragic genius who reinvented the electric bass guitar, playing complex, long lines and amazing solos at remarkable speeds. 
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AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson  [-]

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").

Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
1976


Jaco Pastorius: electric bass
Herbie Hancock & Alex Darqui: keyboards
Randy Brecker & Ron Tooley: trumpet
Peter Graves: bass trombone
Wayne Shorter: soprano sax
David Sanborn: alto sax
Michael Brecker: tenor sax
Howard Johnson: baritone sax
Lenny White, Narada Michael Walden & Bobby Economou: drums
Don Alias: percussion
Sam Moore & Dave Pratter: vocals
Othello Molineaux & Leroy Williams: steel drums on “Opus Pocus”
Peter Gordon: french horn on “Okonkole Y Trompa”
Hubert Laws: piccolo, flute on “(Used To Be A) Cha-Cha”
+ strings on “Speak Like A Child” & “Forgotten Love”

SIDE A
1. DONNA LEE 00:00
2. COME ON, COME OVER 02:27
3. CONTINUUM 06:21
4. KURU/SPEAK LIKE A CHILD 10:55
5. PORTRAIT OF TRACY 18:38



SIDE B
1. OPUS POCUS 21:01
2. OKONKOLE Y TROMPA 26:31
3. (USED TO BE A) CHA-CHA 30:57
4. FORGOTTEN LOVE 39:54
Bonus Tracks:
1. (Used To Be A) Cha-Cha" – 42:09
2.6/4 Jam" - 50:59

Musicians:
Jaco Pastorius: electric bass
Herbie Hancock & Alex Darqui: keyboards
Randy Brecker & Ron Tooley: trumpet
Peter Graves: bass trombone
Wayne Shorter: soprano sax
David Sanborn: alto sax
Michael Brecker: tenor sax
Howard Johnson: baritone sax
Lenny White, Narada Michael Walden & Bobby Economou: drums
Don Alias: percussion
Sam Moore & Dave Pratter: vocals
Othello Molineaux & Leroy Williams: steel drums on “Opus Pocus”
Peter Gordon: french horn on “Okonkole Y Trompa”
Hubert Laws: piccolo, flute on “(Used To Be A) Cha-Cha”
+ strings on “Speak Like A Child” & “Forgotten Love”