|
| |
Jaco Pastorius Big Band - The Word is Out
- I wonder if Jaco Pastorius had known his impact was going to reverberate these many years later, he would not have fallen so far until death was less of a shock than it was an expectation.
Peter Graves (no, not THAT Peter Graves), originally hired Jaco in 1971 at the naive age of 20 to be a part of his Peter Graves Orchestra to be a part of his rhythm section, and wound up fostering one of the great and most influential Jazz artists of the 20th century.
Over two decades later Peter Graves, the producer and conductor of the Jaco Pastorius Big Band is still trying to keep his name in the public eye. Covering songs Jaco recorded on his solo albums ("Three Views Of A Secret"), or with other collaborative groups like Weather Report ("Cannonball"), the JPBB try to infuse Jaco's originality and verve with funk and intent, and I admire the goal of paying tribute to an in-danger-of-being-forgotten artist, even if they miss the mark a little.
I wasn't born when Jaco was in his prime, and I'm certain in 1987 on the day of his death I was not aware of it, nor would I have cared much beyond the basic loss of life, but coming to his music later after his life was over and mine is starting, I can still appreciate respectively what he was doing at the time as well as the soul of his music.
Jaco's electrified energy, his hyperactive funked-out soul is inimitable, and it's almost a futile effort to try to come close. Some of the tracks on this disc come across as elevator music ("Las Olas")... which is still music no doubt, but not what I think Jaco himself would have wanted, and there lies the problem with using Jaco's name as the name of this band. It invites more comparison than allowing the music to stand on its own.
For big band jazz enthusiasts, much of this is a retread of what came before, and doesn't (for me), shed much light or elaborate on Jaco's talent. Some of the best up and comers in the business try their best to do him justice (Jeff Carswell, Randy Bernsen), but while their talent is unquestionable, it is not of the same soul, and when listening to an album such as this, that's exactly what you would want.
However, what this disc did do for me is make me educate myself on Jaco's music, and that is by no means a bad feat.
Reviewer: David Fallo
new
Reviewer's Rating: 7.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
Added: 15-Mar-2006
Talk to other readers about this story.
|
|
|
|
|
