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jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 1018
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 1:16 am:   Edit Post

I just received this new DVD yesterday and I've already watched it through three times. It dates from 1982 so probably recorded just after he left weather report. the rest of the band comprises Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Don Alias, Othello Molineux and Bob Mintzer. It's a very professional recording, the sound quality is excellent as is the picture.
Kicking off with The Chicken, they're obviously having a great time on stage, jaco especially hardly ever standing still. His playing on this is superb but is eclipsed when he kicks into Donna Lee. Bob Mintzer takes a brilliant opening solo with Randy Brecker joining in after a while. The rest of the band lay out for quite some time but when they finally join in, the performance is astonishing. Jaco and brecker play the melody line in perfect unison at breakneck speed (I had to watch donna lee twice in succession it was so good).Jaco's solo spot is a bit hit or miss, there's alot of very good and exciting playing but there's also a few self indulgent moments. They finish off with an extended Fanny Mae with Jaco singing! something I'd never realised he did although on the recent weather report dvd he does provide some background vocal noises.
All in all it's a very good show but as it's just under an hour, it left me desperate for more. let's hope more footage surfaces in what is the 20th anniversary year of his death. I remember around 1988, Channel 4 (UK tv) showed a season of jazz concerts - Charlie parker, Mingus etc, one of which was another Jaco small band gig in Europe. I'd really like to see that one on general release.

Graeme
haddimudd
Intermediate Member
Username: haddimudd

Post Number: 196
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 2:24 am:   Edit Post

Thanks for posting! I didn't know it was available on DVD already. Great to know!

I had burned all these concerts to DVD from some old VHS tapes myself a while ago. I am glad to get them in better quality now.

I also have another "Whether Report" concert that in fact was filmed in Montreaux (not Montreal) with the original "Heavy Weather" setup, earlier than the Offenbach concert. I hope to see it being released officially on DVD some day as well.

Hartmut
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 618
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 7:03 am:   Edit Post

I also found this DVD at CD Universe. It's scheduled for release in February. I can't wait to check it out.

http://www.cduniverse.com/images.asp?pid=7348783&style=movie&image=front&title=Jaco+Pastorius+%2D+In+Concert+DVD

Cool picture too:

jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 1020
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 7:28 am:   Edit Post

this listing suggests it's the same concert that i've just received. Don't understand why there's multiple copies of the film with different titles. You could end up owning the same film twice.

Graeme
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 619
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 1:54 pm:   Edit Post

I also highly recommend "Modern Electric Bass". Jaco's exchanges with Jerry Jemmot are alot of fun and very informative. As well, the performances at the end are just great. A must have for every Bass player.
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 1022
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 1:02 am:   Edit Post

I have that dvd too Rami. It's supposed to be a teaching video but I've just about given up trying to fathom out what jaco does beyond the basics;-) Have you tried following the music booklet that it came with? Aside from the fantastic performances, it's shocking to see just how wasted jaco had become by 1985. i get the impression Kenwood Dennard is pretty stoned during his interview too.

Graeme
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 621
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 6:25 am:   Edit Post

True Kenwood Dennard couldn't seem to find the words describe his experiences with Jaco. I think it's more a case of nervousness in front of the camera than being spaced out. His playing is right on.
I've seen guys trying to play under the influence - not a pretty sight, they get sloppy and lose their timing among other things.

When I first picked up "Modern Electric Bass", it was in the form of a large book and CD. It's alot easier to learn stuff from it than that little booklet that comes with the DVD. I managed to learn most of it, it's actually easier than it looks. It just requires the time and committment to learn.
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 160
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:14 am:   Edit Post

Jacko: is that the video where Jaco is so fowled up that you can't even believe that the producer agreed to do the shoot that day?


OK. Now I have to tell my Jaco story.

During my long tenure with the Evil Empire (Guitar Center), I and another gentleman, were in charge of building Bass Departments in the new stores that were being built.

I was in Hollywood, Florida opening up the first Florida GC store. And it was my first time out on a grand opening too.

Anyway, it's grand opening night. (if you've ever been to one of these you know what I'm about to say here is true)There were about 700 people in the store that night and the ambient noise level was about 110dB. (OSHA would close the place down or at the very least, issue earplugs to all that entered)

Anyway, I was ringing up a guy for a Crate BX-50 bass amp when all of sudden, behind me, amidst the ambient noise of 700 would-be pro guitarist all vying for title of loudest shredder, I hear this sound of fretless bass that I hadheard before. But, could not remember where. I was intrigued to say the least.

I hurredly took the guys money for the amplificator and rushed him out the door and to his car so I could find the source of this strangely, beautiful noise.

I rushed back into the bass department and into the back corner. I found a little kid hunched over a Pedulla Pentabuzz bass. I couldn't see his face because he was just lost in what he was doing and had his face buried in the bass. All I could see was this "rainbow colored beanie" bobbing a little bit to the grooves he was laying down.

I think I said something like: "Wow. How are you doing that. That's amazing" All of a sudden, this kid looked up at me. I think time must have frozen for a moment. It was Felix Pastorius. I was floored. I was amazed. I was honored.

For the next hour plus, the bass department turned into the Jaco Pastorius Bass Consortium. One by one, bass players started realizing what was going on and they would grab a bass, a cord and plug into an unused amp. I'm certain the entire solo library was played by the time we were done.

At some point, I had stopped playing and struck up a converstaion with his mom, Jaco's wife. She was really sweet. She actually asked me if I would consider being Felix's teacher. To this day I never been so flattered. I thanked her and informed her that I lived in Texas. And, if I could afford to, I would fly to Florida every week and take lessons from him myself. She really didn't realize that her 13 year old son already had the ability to set the world on fire. We talked some more that evening. We exchanged numbers and stayed in toiuch for several years after that. I've lost touch with them since I left the "Industry of Bass".

But, there it is, another "Doc Story from the Road".

I guess Felix is probably about 27 now. Anyone know what he's up too? Maybe I'll dig up his mom's number and give her call.
olieoliver
Senior Member
Username: olieoliver

Post Number: 1090
Registered: 2-2006
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:37 am:   Edit Post

That is indeed a cool story Doc!
cozmik_cowboy
Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 90
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:55 am:   Edit Post

Wow. When I worked at GC (95th & Western in Chicago, '83-'84), the closest I got to something like that was free copies of 2 bad (and I don't mean they were "bad", I mean they sucked) blues albums from Jimmy Johnson's brother Syl. (That's neither Flim nor the Muscle Shoals studio cat, but Jimmy Johnson the Chicago bluesman.) Your stories are way cooler.

Peter
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 161
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:14 am:   Edit Post

I've got a really cool Jimmy Johnson story too. Mica was there. It was in Beverly Hills. I'll save it for the appropriate thread.
haddimudd
Intermediate Member
Username: haddimudd

Post Number: 198
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:14 am:   Edit Post

Doc,

If you really want to contact Ingrid Pastorius, an easy way could be sending her an email through her Jaco tribute website:

Ingrid's Jaco Cybernest

I once felt like asking her a specific question about "Three views of a secret" and she was very kind in answering all my emails.

Hartmut
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 162
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:47 am:   Edit Post

Wow. That's cool. I didn't know about that. I will do it today. I'm just curious to knwo how they are doing after 10 plus years.

The last time I saw Felix, I was working for Gallien-Krueger at the time. I was at a fiasco of a trade show in Florida that MARS Music put on. What if you stage a trade show and no one came to it. It's been known in the industry as one of the biggest failures of all time. I think it's right next to opening a bunch of music stores and merchandising them like Disney Stores.

I digress, Felix and Ingrid came to the show where I decided to give Felix an un-official endorsement. The company president(guess his name) wouldn't give him a real endorsement because he had never even heard of Jaco and why would he endorse his son. Who owns a bass amp and doesn't know who Jaco was. Let alone a freakin' bass amp company.

So I said, Screw It. I gave Felix a MB150E bass amp because he said it gave him the "Remark you Made" Tone.
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 622
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:56 am:   Edit Post

Hey doc,

"Modern Electric Bass" is not the video where Jaco is so fowled up that you can't even believe that the producer agreed to do the shoot that day.
I've yet to see a video where he is messed up. I saw him in Montreal and thought he was great. I was around 16 at the time. I think his perfomance with Joni Mitchell was better though.
haddimudd
Intermediate Member
Username: haddimudd

Post Number: 199
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:46 am:   Edit Post

Doc,

What a kind gesture to give away an MB150E. I had one for years and found it to be the best of its kind. I sold it only because I started using the F-1X/SF-2 setup with my Alembic. I still wished to have a similarly compact combo solution with these preamps as I had with the MB150E.

Anyway, drifting way off topic... Felix must have been a very happy kid with such a present. Well done, Doc!
haddimudd
Intermediate Member
Username: haddimudd

Post Number: 200
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 1:01 am:   Edit Post

Doc,

Maybe you already discovered this website:

FELIX XAVIER PASTORIUS

There is some very nice version of "Barbary Coast" in the mp3 section. Felix holds high his father's heritage, very sophisticated.

Hartmut
alembic_doctor
Intermediate Member
Username: alembic_doctor

Post Number: 163
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 3:06 pm:   Edit Post

Haddimudd: Thanks. I've decided to wait until next week when my head is clearer to get back in contact with them. Felix was very happy. Ingrid was happy. I think Julius was pissed. Julius was playing guitar at the time and I don't think anybody paid any attention to him because Felix was playing bass. I think he was jealous of Felix. He was Jaco Jr. But now their laying together. That's cool.

It's kinda weird. I've been a JP fan for many years. My dad got me into him with a Vinyl version (12" record) of Donna Lee. Anyway. I looked at these websites and I have found myself getting emotional about a man I've never even met. It was almost like being at a funeral for a friend. pretty weird huh. I would like to have known him.
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 625
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, February 16, 2007 - 1:14 pm:   Edit Post

Ok, I take it back (that comment about Jaco's performance not being as sharp as with Joni Mitchell). I received my copy of this '82 performance today. What a great old memory. I guess I just didn't appreciate Jaco as much when I was 16 as I do now. Just awesome!!!

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