Audio CD review:
Weather Report - This Is Jazz, Vol. 40: The Jaco Years

Weather Report - This Is Jazz, Vol. 40: The Jaco Years

Band: Weather Report Title: This Is Jazz, Vol. 40: The Jaco Years Rating: Release Date: 1998-04-28 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Punk Jazz 2: River People 3: A Remark You Made - Weather Report, Zawinul, Joe 4: Havona 5: Three Views of a Secret 6: Teen Town 7: Speechless - Weather Report, Zawinul, Joe 8: Port of Entry - Weather Report, Shorter, Wayne 9: Barbary Coast 10: Slang

The Bass Master at some of his best. This disc shows why the late-great Pastorius is considered by many as one of the best players to ever live. Hearing so many great things about Jaco Pastorius I thought I'd start with his bass playing days with one of Jazz's great groups, Weather Report. His style changed the way bass was played. Listening to these tracks you'll hear for yourself. The disc ranges from his studio performances along with some live performances with the band. The man could play. It's unbelievable. Pick it up. Jaco His chops are AWESOME. Wow, I just started listening to Jaco. This is a must have CD. You may want to save for Bass lessons also. LOL. Jaco's Norm's I have studied hard. In the history of my educated and very well read musical experience,I have never encountered such an enormous powerhouse of a musician as John Francis Pastorius III. I have studied with the best;including with Pat Metheny's teacher John Elliott in Kansas City(this includes everyone who can play out of KC or anywhere)I don't have Jaco's endless energy for boundlessly transgressing the moment in live musical performance and in everyday life. Might I also mention that I never met Jaco personally. His spirit and life-force spoke to me at a very early age(11)with Pat's release of"BRIGHT SIZE LIFE". Although blistering and somewhat scolding somtimes on the bass chair,Jaco always had this way of bringing out the best in the cats he worked with;especially in the neighborhood of rhythm. Most people speak of fast chops and dynamic harmony in breath about Jaco,which is enormously potent in his work. But the true scope of his underlying roots and humour is undoubtedly found in the gift of connecting and fluxing,waxing and waning and making music fun and auxiliarating to those around him;through time,space and patient listening. What a joy it is to listen to him take a very simple tune and build its nuanses into pertinent,visual inflections of beauty and admiration towards the listener. I can't say much more,other than I continue to listen to those who new this incredible man,his torments,and my fellow listeners. Norman D. Davis 12 /16/2001. Good music, but horrible, horrible mastering - stay away!! But I need to warn the reader - DO NOT BUY THIS CD. I'm gonna make this short and sweet: I'm a huuuge Jaco fan and own at least 8 albums featuring his mindblowingly creative chops. On another site I just nominated this CD as THE WORST SOUNDING CD IN MY ENTIRE COLLECTION. That collection is currently at around 600 cds, so that's saying a lot. Frankly, the mastering on this CD is truly horrible . . almost unlistenable. Someone [messed] up big time and they decided to release this CD anyway. Go buy the original albums . . on vinyl if you can . . you'll thank me for it. And if you do make the mistake of buying this CD ("hey, it's [inexpensive], how can I go wrong?"), don't say I didn't warn you. Some of Jaco's best playing is poorly re-mastered However, the re-mastering pales in comparison to the original recordings. Some of Jaco Pastorius' best playing and compositions are presented here. Buy this CD only if you really like Jaco/Weather Report and cannot find the original recordings or if you just want to complete your collection. You can see a complete list of all Weather Report discography, or go back to the Weather Report tabs