The amazing Jaco Pastorius

**gr_store_feet** · May-24-2006, 9:20am

To make a short story long, I noticed that Jerry Douglas covered "A Remark You Made" on his newest album. So I went back to pull out my Weather Report Heavy Weather CD to revisit the original. As I pulled the booklet out I noticed that Jaco Pastorius plays the mandocello on "Birdland" and "The Juggler".

Fascinating. I couldn't here any mandocello on Birdland but did hear some fills on the Juggler.

As a bad mandolin player and a terrible bass player, I think this is really cool. I wonder how the mandocello is strung. Is it GDAE like the mando and upside down bass?Either way Jaco completely knows his way around a fretboard.

**glauber** · May-24-2006, 9:28am

CGDA - like a mandola, but one octave down. In other words, the lowest note in the mandocello is 2 steps lower than the lowest note in a guitar.

Of course he could have strung it differently.

He was an amazing musician, one of the best ever.

**mandolooter** · May-24-2006, 10:49am

yep, he was amazing...another victim of his/her vices, its sad that the music world has so many...anyone care to guess why thats so prevalent? Music is my big escape from life's problems but my playing still sucks...I read somewhere that Jaco was quite the tortured soul it seems and immeresed himself in music as well as drugs. Time for me to dig out that cd again too!

**glauber** · May-24-2006, 11:31am

Victim of mental disease and of the SOB who beat him dead.

**sunburst** · May-24-2006, 11:52am

Originally Posted by (mandolooter @ May 24 2006, 11:49)

Time for me to dig out that cd again too!

CD?!
If I dig that on out, it'll be on vinyl! (I still have it.)

Correction: I do have a CD copy of it. I just dug it out.

I remember being in Georgetown (Washington DC) many years ago at a little jazz club. The band was playing Birdland, and the bass player (a young college guy) was struggling with the Pastorius bass parts.
What an influential player!
Everyone from that young guy to Victor Wooten.

**SternART** · May-24-2006, 11:59am

I saw Weather Report back in the day....what a band! I remember calling a friend at intermission, trying to convince him he should hurry down for the 2nd set to see this bass player. Jaco really drove that band on bass.....seeing him in person at his peak powers was a treat.

**mandolooter** · May-24-2006, 12:12pm

I stand corrected...my memory IS failing, thanks for the correction, I hate to pass on bad info.
Yep, seeing Jaco live was one of the most awe inspiring moments I've had at a concert!
I have the vinyl as well...lol! Lots of it!

**jmcgann** · May-24-2006, 12:12pm

There is a good (sad) biography of Jaco in print.
Bipolar disorder- drugs didn't help. Early on in his career they say he was totally straightedge.
He was beaten to death by a schmuck bouncer in Florida.
Also saw him w/ Weather Report in early '80's...one of a kind.

**acumando** · May-24-2006, 3:23pm

Originally Posted by (jmcgann @ May 24 2006, 13:12)

There is a good (sad) biography of Jaco in print.
Bipolar disorder- drugs didn't help. Early on in his career they say he was totally straightedge.
He was beaten to death by a schmuck bouncer in Florida.
Also saw him w/ Weather Report in early '80's...one of a kind.

Yeah, he was murdered not far from where i live. #Several people i've jammed with around here knew him before he became famous.

His twin sons, Felix and Julius, play regularly around town.
http://www.jacop.net/wotg_citylink.html

I saw him with Word of Mouth in Chicago at the Park West, had a table right in front of him. #I thought it was a great show, but found out much later that Jaco had pretty much lost his grip on reality during that whole tour. #Very sad.

http://www.jpastorius.net/

**jim simpson** · May-24-2006, 4:40pm

Checkout Jaco on the conert DVD: Shadows & Light - Joni Mitchell. Jaco does a solo that even got my wife and son to take notice.

**glauber** · May-24-2006, 5:07pm

Amazing sites, acumando. I found a [picture of the mandocello] that started this thread, poking around jpastorius.net.

**Jonathan Reinhardt** · May-24-2006, 6:18pm

The Birthday Concert (1981)- a beautiful and special CD with Jaco and friends in Ft. Lauderdale. Produced by Peter Erskine.

rasa
Jonathan Reinhardt

**gr_store_feet** · May-25-2006, 7:38am

Glauber, thanks for finding that pic.

Rasa is speaking the truth, an amazing CD.

Jim Simpson is correct as well, that Shadows and Light DVD is great. Pat Metheny, Don Alias, Micheal Brecker, ...

**jaco** · May-25-2006, 9:10am

I first saw Jaco in Boston playing in a trio with Pat Metheny and Bob Moses at a club called Pooh's Pub. He came to Berklee and did a class with Mike Gibbs. Later I saw Weather Report in Orlando. One of the true innovators of any instrument. A tragic loss to music.

**acumando** · May-25-2006, 12:05pm

Originally Posted by (gr_store_feet @ May 24 2006, 10:20)

I noticed that Jerry Douglas covered "A Remark You Made" on his newest album.

BTW, JD did an amazingly faithful version of "Birdland" on "The Great Dobro Sessions"... with Sam Bush (among others) backing him up.

**sunburst** · May-25-2006, 1:03pm

Originally Posted by (gr_store_feet @ May 24 2006, 10:20)

Fascinating. I couldn't here any mandocello on Birdland but did hear some fills on the Juggler.

I've been listening to the CD as I've been cleaning today, since I dug it out yesterday. The mandocello figures relatively prominently in "The Jugler", but I can't find it in "Birdland" either.
The mix is a lot different, with "Birdland" a little closer to the "walls of sound" thing, sounds like more tracks running. Perhaps it's playing along with the bass/piano unisons(?).

Anyway, it's a cool instrument! Looks like it's in good shape.