PUNK JAZZ

I really understand what a great and important bassist Jaco Pastorius was, and, as a bassist myself, I collected quite a few albums that he appeared on. And I know that a tragic and untimely death can increase the nostalgia for any celebrity. But this collection is just mediocre. Sure there is some exceptional bass playing, but not very much of it.

One problem is that Jaco often joined up with bands that didn't play much music that allowed him to show the fiery side of his playing. Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, even Weather Report didn't play much exciting, fast, bass heavy music. And Toots Thielemans could appear on an Opeth album, and turn it into elevator music.

But there are some good tracks. Especially the songs from his own albums. I happen to love his playins on Invitation and The Chicken (which appears as a home recording and the version from his album "Invitation").

So there is enough good Jaco to make this collection interesting, but not enough to make it great.