Search - Brian Bromberg :: Jaco

Side effects may include nausea, headaches

Seacouch | Seattle, WA USA | 04/14/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"An earlier reviewer used the word "chutzpah". That cover takes a lot of chutzpah. And really, it's indicative of the whole attitude of this recording. Why produce these weak LA fuzak arrangements of such beautiful songs? Trying to make a buck, apparently. Trying to get onto those adult-contemporary playlists. Jaco's original music just wasn't vapid enough; it needed to be dumbed down. Then there's Bromberg's bass playing. It has none of Jaco's soulfulness. He can play really fast, and he knows a buncha licks, but he utterly lacks the kind of strong voice and vision that Jaco possessed. Plus, a lot of his technique and bag of tricks & licks obviously come from upright bass, and don't sound totally at home on the electric. It just doesn't sound right, when he's trying do a Jaco imitation/tribute (and presenting himself, with that cover, as the "second coming" of Jaco). This CD misses the mark, and misses the point of the original music that it's imitating. It's like every element of what made Jaco great has been squeezed out. Anything that might challenge the listener has been carefully removed. FWIW, I don't like writing such negative reviews, but this stuff made me queasy.

To hear a well-done Jaco tribute, check out "The Word Is Out", or "Word of Mouth Revisited" by the Jaco Pastorius Big Band. Or any Marcus Miller version of a Jaco tune. On the Jaco Pastorius Big Band tribute CDs, you get to hear Richard Bona, Victor Wooten, Jimmy Haslip, Marcus Miller and others play Jaco's music. Marcus is really the only one who's able to go beyond bass licks and play this stuff with a voice, and a level of musical sophistication rivaling Jaco's. Of course, he creates that opportunity for himself by arranging and producing his own tracks."

Geeksturbation with a touch of love

Bent Tine | New York, NY USA | 02/08/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"You can tell that Bromberg is a bass lover, a Jaco lover, a music lover even. So why the hell does he (and he's not alone) produce such an endless catalog of drivel. This is garabge. He is a geek. He has no soul. Someone removed it surgically from him a long time ago, assuming he ever had any. And the music he's producing is the soulless output of a man who has no idea what real R&B, real jazz (not the honkified brand of mainstream crap that passes and has passed for the last 20 years), real music is all about. It makes me angry to listen to him butcher these songs. Jaco's seminal first solo release. These were masterpieces, most of them, and he layers synth and noodling solos over his "interpretations" of the Jaco bass lines, thereby totally decimating the integrity of the melodies, harmonies and musicianship of the original. It's just all gone. Well done, Mr. Bromberg. You've done it again. Man, even his name sounds cheesy. Don't buy this record!"