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So what's the deal about Jaco?


Cliff Fiscal

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It's hard to enjoy a fusion bass player if you're not into fusion.

Same could be said for Steve Di Diorgio, Steve Harris, Charles Mingus, Michael Manring or any other great player in a style out of mainstream.

The thing with Jaco is that he pretty much reinvented bass playing. Hard to understand today though, as Renfield said you had to be there.

 

 

 

Man, I don't know you, but you are seriously mistaken, and out of you depth if you put Steve Harris in with those self edifying wanks.

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If you don't like the stuff he did with Joni Mitchell, then I guess you just don't like him. Personally, I think songs like
Talk to Me
,
Black Crow
,
Edith & the Kingpin
,
Coyote
,
Goodbye Porkpie Hat
, and
Hejira
are some of the best stuff Jaco ever did.


That shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering he was, you know...a
jazz player
:wave:

 

You're a real smart-alec!

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bass is a rhythm instrument.

 

Only if you approach it that way.

 

Some elements of Jaco's playing sound kind of tired these days, but I think that that's as much the result of many people deriving some element of their style from his as anything he accomplished personally. Having listened to a lot of the things he played on, I think that he had a fairly limited musical vocabulary within the context of Weather Report as opposed to many of the other settings he played in, which is a pity, since that's what most people are exposed to when they try to get into his music. His work with Joni Mitchell and Pat Metheny and his own "solo" album are much better examples of what he was capable of, in my opinion.

 

I don't think that there was a player in the 70's who could equal him from a technical standpoint. I think that there are players who were funkier, who had better feel, or were more tasteful, but I think that he set the bar higher as far as what bassists could do, and when players came along who could combine technical ability on that level with what Jaco was missing, I feel that the role of the bassist expanded even further. You don't have to like or get Jaco, but his influence on the direction of the instrument is undeniable.

 

Also, :lol: at the people in this thread using jazz as a slur.

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Also,
:lol:
at the people in this thread using jazz as a slur.

 

Brother, you are welcome to refer to me by name: Brother Mango is using jazz as a slur. Hell-to-the YES! :wave: :wave:

 

I do get where you're coming from. And I definitely appreciate what Jaco brought to the bass, particularly fretless bass. Lots to admire and tip my hat to.

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Only if you approach it that way.


Some elements of Jaco's playing sound kind of tired these days, but I think that that's as much the result of many people deriving some element of their style from his as anything he accomplished personally. Having listened to a lot of the things he played on, I think that he had a fairly limited musical vocabulary within the context of Weather Report as opposed to many of the other settings he played in, which is a pity, since that's what most people are exposed to when they try to get into his music. His work with Joni Mitchell and Pat Metheny and his own "solo" album are much better examples of what he was capable of, in my opinion.


I don't think that there was a player in the 70's who could equal him from a technical standpoint. I think that there are players who were funkier, who had better feel, or were more tasteful, but I think that he set the bar higher as far as what bassists could do, and when players came along who could combine technical ability on that level with what Jaco was missing, I feel that the role of the bassist expanded even further. You don't have to like or get Jaco, but his influence on the direction of the instrument is undeniable.


Also,
:lol:
at the people in this thread using jazz as a slur.

 

Upon more thorough read ...

 

"set the bar higher ..."

 

I don't know about that. I can agree with "expansion of possibilities."

Jaco explored harmonics on bass. He brought the electric fretless into new territory. However, to say that he "set the bar higher" suggests that there's something new to measure up to. Maybe that's the case for bassists who strive to impress bassists.

 

It's nice to hear Les Claypool use harmonics, and Vic uses them in a tasty way. And I've listened to Vic and Les in my car. Jaco? NEVER!

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Upon more thorough read ...


"set the bar higher ..."


I don't know about that. I can agree with "expansion of possibilities."

Jaco explored harmonics on bass. He brought the electric fretless into new territory. However, to say that he "set the bar higher" suggests that there's something new to measure up to.



In retrospect, "set the bar higher" probably wasn't the best way to phrase that, since it implies that music is some sort of competition, a notion which I detest. "Expansion of possibilities" is more what I'm after.

As far as what the dude accomplished...

Harmonics are just one part of the picture, IMO. Sure, Jaco played a lot of them, and did so on a fretless, but what I was really getting at with that post was that before Jaco, no one had really used the electric bass as a melodic voice in a jazz context. Sure, you had some rock players who played accompaniment parts with a melodic quality, but Jaco played bass in the same way that a horn player or vocalist would have played theirs in his solos. Before Jaco, who was doing that?

It's nice to hear Les Claypool use harmonics, and Vic uses them in a tasty way. And I've listened to Vic and Les in my car. Jaco? NEVER!



I think Claypool sounds like whales humping in a scrapyard for the most part, although a lot of the time, that seems to be what he's going for. ;)

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In retrospect, "set the bar higher" probably wasn't the best way to phrase that, since it implies that music is some sort of competition, a notion which I detest. "Expansion of possibilities" is more what I'm after.


As far as what the dude accomplished...


Harmonics are just one part of the picture, IMO. Sure, Jaco played a lot of them, and did so on a fretless, but what I was really getting at with that post was that before Jaco, no one had really used the electric bass as a melodic voice in a jazz context. Sure, you had some rock players who played accompaniment parts with a melodic quality, but Jaco played bass in the same way that a horn player or vocalist would have played theirs in his solos. Before Jaco, who was doing that?




I think Claypool sounds like whales humping in a scrapyard for the most part, although a lot of the time, that seems to be what he's going for.
;)

 

Yes. There's a song on Claypool's latest CD and it sounds like a bunch of random crap clanging around ... very rhythmically, and it sounds awesome!

 

You ask who was playing bass more like a horn player before Jaco? I don't know. Maybe nobody. Maybe Lug.

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Only if you approach it that way.


Some elements of Jaco's playing sound kind of tired these days, but I think that that's as much the result of many people deriving some element of their style from his as anything he accomplished personally. Having listened to a lot of the things he played on, I think that he had a fairly limited musical vocabulary within the context of Weather Report as opposed to many of the other settings he played in, which is a pity, since that's what most people are exposed to when they try to get into his music. His work with Joni Mitchell and Pat Metheny and his own "solo" album are much better examples of what he was capable of, in my opinion.


I don't think that there was a player in the 70's who could equal him from a technical standpoint. I think that there are players who were funkier, who had better feel, or were more tasteful, but I think that he set the bar higher as far as what bassists could do, and when players came along who could combine technical ability on that level with what Jaco was missing, I feel that the role of the bassist expanded even further. You don't have to like or get Jaco, but his influence on the direction of the instrument is undeniable.


Also,
:lol:
at the people in this thread using jazz as a slur.


I love jazz...

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