Search - Jaco Pastorius :: The Word Is Out

Word of Mouth Redux - Can We Have it Live?

Michael H. Ricereto | Philly, PA | 07/03/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This Jaco Pastorius Big Band recording is very much a straight-up homage to the Greatest Electric Bassist and his incredible contribution to modern jazz. If you are a fan of Jaco's music and sound, this is almost essential. I am a deep fan of Jaco, Weather Report and all the rest, so to come across this was a nice surprise.



I only rate this record three stars though - what is that all about you ask? Well, in essence, I find this homage to be a little too close to the original recordings by the WoM band, and Weather Report, etc. If you already own Jaco's first solo album, the Word of Mouth record, and perhaps the Invitation record, you have heard the same arrangements already. In the spirit of revival big bands (think Mingus Big Band) the idea is to keep the music alive. For this to happen, it's probably best to hear a band like this live. Some of these selections are so similar to the originals ("Reza", "Kuru/Speak Like a Child", "Three Views of a Secret") that it becomes a bit redundant next to Jaco's original catalog. The record starts out with a bang, but for me loses steam as it chugs towards the end.



Ah, the first few songs. For being a fairly manic Jaco fan, I had never heard either "Dania", "Las Olas" or "Good Morning Anya" before. I thought this would be a good time to jump in. Well, the first two are astounding - you would be well advised to buy this for those two songs alone (or the mp3's, thank you Amazon). These tunes are huge, with fantastic bass playing, horns, rich arrangements, everything. Metheny's "Sirabhorn" has a lovely solo by Mike Stern (it's got to be him - I know the sound), and the arrangement breathes new life into a fabulous little piece of music. I start to lose interest around "Cannonball", song 5. This is not superior to Weather Report's original, and I pity the sax player who had to fill Wayne's shoes on this one (I bought the MP3's so I got no liner notes, natch).



Things really start falling off for me at "Kuru/Speak Like a Child". This is so much like the original - with a fantastic bass pulse that kills it (just like Jaco did) - but I wonder, why just remake this song? Yes, this bassist is amazing, all the soloists are fantastic. It is just too close in concept to the original to get excited about.



The next selection, "Three Views of a Secret", really falls apart. This is a lovely song by Jaco - a very special and well-composed piece. The intro is quite pretty, played on - what is it - a 5-string bass? Lovely. However, once the band kicks in, this arrangement makes me cringe. I don't know who the soprano player is, but oh how do I despise this tone? This is so close to smooth jazz it makes me uncomfortable. There are many interesting arrangements of this fine song, but this one falls very short of the mark.



The next tune, "Blackbird" and then "Good Morning Anya" feature this same reedy, soporific soprano sound. You can just skip "Blackbird" - it's nowhere near the original on WoM and just keeps going and going with the main melody that you want to strangle this horn player. Keep in mind most people associate soprano with smooth jazz these days, but it is not necessarily so. For example, Wayne Shorter's "Alegria" was released the same year as this record. Listen to Wayne on soprano and you will forget WJAZ, Kenny G and all that on the spot.



Remember - under all of this music is a killer bass line executed with precision... but the original is still the one to listen to. The second part of this tune, the "Word of Mouth" part comes far short of Jaco's original fuzz-bass conception.



"Good Morning Anya" is a pretty little tune, but again, that soprano player. It's just too darn close to smooth jazz for me. In the end it just makes me want to seek out an original arrangement, if one exists (I am actually not sure - on the Birthday Album perhaps?).



It ends with "River People" and "Reza". Again, these are so close to the originals, that I am a little disappointed. The bass playing, horn playing, everything is fine, but just not breaking any new ground.



If this band plays live somewhere near me, I would see them in an instant. This recording shows the talent in this band is world-class (mostly), and perhaps the best way to appreciate it is live. If you are interested in the MP3 download, my highlights are the first 4 tunes, and from there at your discretion."

Almost but not quite

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 07/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 2006 Jaco Pastorius Big Band tribute is pretty good and it features some of my favourite people, like bassists Richard Bona, Jimmy Haslip and Will Lee (all of whom were reportedly influenced by Pastorius), drummer Peter Erskine, tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer and guitarist Mike Stern. Even Toots Thielemans makes an appearance as does Pastorius himself 'from the grave' so to speak, as a result of clever technology that blends a bass line he'd previously recorded with new added instrumentation.



All the tunes here are Pastorius compositions except for Pat Metheny's "Sirabhorn", Joe Zawinul's "Cannonball" and the Lennon & McCartney tune "Blackbird". It's an interesting collection, with some really good music (obviously) but the whole affair just comes across to me as a bit too cerebral. It just sounds too intellectual and seems to lack heart or emotion. I'm sure the musicians put their hearts into the project but I don't feel it. To me, it just feels like they were going through the motions; like they were doing a colour by numbers routine.



A case in point: On "River People", Will Lee does this cool 'question and answer' thing with the bass with the former coming out from one speaker and the latter from the other. It sounds really interesting, especially when listened to through a set of headphones but it doesn't really move me.



Other tunes I found interesting were "Las Olas", which featured Toots Thielemans on harmonica; "Cannonball", featuring Richard Bona on bass, Mike Stern on guitar, Mark Levine on piano, Ed Calle on tenor sax and Billy Ross on soprano sax; "Kuru/Speak Like A Child", which featured Jimmy Haslip on bass, Mark Levine on piano and Jason Carder on flugelhorn ("Speak Like A Child" is my favourite Hancock tune ever) and "Three Views Of A Secret", which is always fun to hear and here features Otell Brubridge & Jeff Carswell on bass, Ed Calle on soprano sax and Jason Carder on flugelhorn (I particularly like the intro bass solo by Brubridge).



But to be honest, I don't find any of the tunes here particularly exciting or memorable. Even the version of "Sirabhorn" pales in comparison to the original that Jaco actually played on (on Metheny's Bright Size Life). Maybe it's the production (by Peter Graves & Michael J. Hurzon). Maybe it's the big band conducting (by Peter Graves). Or maybe I just don't like big band. Whatever it is, I rate this 3.5 stars.



PS. It's definitely not a lack of love for Jaco or a lack of understanding of his music, as my next review will hopefully clearly demonstrate...

"

JACOs SONIC STAMP

K. Prousalis | drama GREECE | 04/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A very good tribute to jaco pastorius compositions by big names of jazz like peter erskine , arturo sandoval ,mike stern ,victor wooten ,richard bona ,jimmy haslip etc .OK do not expect the same sonic stamp jaco left behind him but all the artists here are trying really honestly and hard to attribute his spirit and playing as faithfully as they can ."