Search - Bob Mintzer :: I Remember Jaco

Mintzer's tribute to Jaco

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 10/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I hadn't played this in a while and picked this off the shelf the other day to give it a spin. I had forgotten how good the album actually is and was shocked to see that no one had reviewed it even though it was released back in 1992!



Well, here are my few words: It's a great collection of eight songs, seven of them penned by Mintzer and one, "Three Views of a Secret", by Jaco Pastorious. Mintzer plays tenor sax, EWI and bass clarinet and he's joined by Joey Calderazzo on piano and synthesizer, Jeff Andrews & Michael Formanek on bass and Peter Erskine on drums. Percussionist Frank Malabe also appears on two tracks; "The Visionary" and "The Great Chase".



I love all the songs - that was inevitable, considering the musicians involved - but special mention goes to my favourite tracks; "The Visionary"; "Three Views of a Secret" (this version is my personal favourite of all the versions I've heard so far); "What Might Have Been" (an achingly beautiful ballad); and "A Moment of Peace".



My only query is with the billing on the CD's front cover. I know the album is a tribute to a legendary bass player and so I guess it's fitting that both bass players are mentioned even though one only plays on six of the eight tunes here and the other only on four of the eight, and of course Peter Erskine's name had to appear as obviously did Mintzer's - but how come no Joey Calderazzo? He played on all eight of the songs!



Not fair. I'm sure there's a logical explanation but still.



And after that brief moment of digression, back to the music :) Yes, if you are a Mintzer fan like I am or a fan modern tenor sax or of any of the other musicians featured here, give this a try. You will not regret it."