Word of Mouth - Jaco Pastorius

Mar

14

Word of Mouth - Jaco Pastorius

≡ Category: 1980s, Essential, Free Jazz, Progressive Big Band, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING

Rating:

Word of Mouth underlines the tragedy of Jaco Pastorius’ premature death at the hands of a bouncer in Florida, which occurred while Jaco was stoned and belligerent. Word of Mouth revealed that, had he lived, Jaco’s greatest legacy might have been, not his bass playing, but his composing and arranging, both of which are incredibly original and accomplished. Had it not been for his descent into drug abuse, we might have been looking at the next Duke Ellington. Sadly, it was not to be, but we still have these transcendent tunes and arrangements to remind us of what might have been.

The date starts out with Crisis, a free jazz workout powered by Jaco’s 16th note rhythm underpinnings, with Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, and Hubert Laws blowing like crazy. But a careful listen reveals that Jaco has created an intricate environment for the improvisations with carefully placed horn accents here and there. It’s a tour de force.

Next comes Jaco’s great composition 3 Views of a Secret, given a warm big band treatment here. But Jaco knows when to thin out the arrangements at strategic moments for an intimate feel. Toots Thielmans, on harmonica, shines on this arrangement, as he does on the whole date.

Liberty City is Jaco’s ode to his old neighborhood in Miami and it’s an incredibly happy and buoyant big band chart, with Othello Molineaux providing color accents on the steel drums and Herbie Hancock playing one of the most penetrating piano solos of his career. So far, every track has been a stunner.

Then comes Jaco’s solo feature, Chromatic Fantasy. Classical music purists might be offended by Jaco’s take on this Bach composition (Jaco plays it WAY faster than written), but I find it exhilarating. The tune segues into what has to be the definitive version of the Beatles’ Blackbird, a complete re-imagining of the tune that is 100% successful. Then comes the only weak link on the date, a drum duet with Jaco’s distorted bass, which mostly amounts to aimless noodling, but Jaco recovers with John and Mary, a magical big band chart featuring children’s voices to end the album.

Throughout Word of Mouth, Jaco rarely grandstands with showy bass technique, but rather subordinates himself to the music, which is heavenly. He allows himself to have the last word on John and Mary, a deep bass drone. Not a perfect album, but close enough.