I had the great pleasure of doing the sheet music arrangement for this song when I was working at Warner Bros. Music in NYC in the 70's. What a challenge! Had to slow it way down to get Jaco's notes accurate, but then, in those pre-digital days, it was so low it was impossible to hear the notes accurately. So then we had to speed it up. What a great album (Mingus).
This might be my favorite performance of anything ever. Jaco dropping the walkingest bass line of all time but not forgetting to mess with Brecker by feeding him harmonic gore to try to solo over. I'm not surprised Michael gave Jaco the cold shoulder afterward but it was iconic so what are you gonna do.
Joni Mitchell must be considered to be amongst the very elite in jazz vocals. Any singer will tell you how difficult it is to sing this; what unbelievable control you have to have. And that bass line...what can one say. Pastorius was at the very top of his profession. Great song, great band. Thanks to all involved.
Jaco was from the planet Pastyourassandwayoveryourhead. Bass God sent from the Heavens. As we say on planet Earth ; RIP Jaco. Truth is Jaco didnt die. He was born a Myth and Legend. It was Destiny. Cheers Brother
@@G8GT364CI if you’re a purist who likes the smell of their own farts a lot, sure it could be an insult. I personally think Jaco played a big role in the progression of popular music in general.
mother fuck Jaco had it there @ 3:38, glad I saw your comment. He used to come into the music store I did Saturdays at. Oakland Park, Fla. Amazing bass player and composer
Yeah, I know what you mean. But it is Joni's music and she had the right to present it the way she wanted. But she must have that live footage you reference someplace in her personal archive. I'd give my right arm to see it.
I’m not sure where this performance took place, but I saw Joni, Jaco, Michael et al perform this number at the UC Berkeley Jazz Festival in May of ‘79. It’s indelibly etched in my brain as is their rendition of Goodbye Porkpie Hat, and Woodstock.
The way Jaco re-imagined the bass is mind-blowing. No one had even imagined doing that kind of stuff with a bass. I don't know of any other musician doing something similar with any other instrument.
This is one of my favourite Joni and Jaco numbers. I bought the DVD about ten years ago. It always annoyed me that they overlaid stock footage over some of the best bass playing Jaco ever did.
I would much rather watch the band perform. Jaco isn't the only brilliant musician on stage here. I did read that Joni Mitchell hired several members of The Weather Report as her backing band at this time so Jaco and his two bandmates are all very accomplished jazz musicians who are very tight and are very experienced at playing with one another. Showing the band without the overlaid Vegas footage would make for a much better visual presentation.
This record is absurdly brilliant: the musicians, the interplay, Joni´s voice, the setlist... Since long ago I´m in love with Joni´s music. I have 120+ Joni´s tracks in my smartphone: superlative, mesmerizing, heart-touching!
Joni sentirla cantare e suonare con Jaco, un jazz fresco, diverso dal genere di Joni è stata proprio una bella idea, con il sassofono che incalza, che bei ricordi!
There is way too much to speak about right here. 2 Legends going back to back. You have watch this clip very closely to see what is going on. I witnessed this show and Joni brought these guys together but besides Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays there were no friends aboard. You can see how Jaco challenges the sax player Michael Brecker. There is no love loss, at the end of the piece Jaco turns back to him in acknowledgement but Brecker turns away from him. PRICELESS
+JackinTheWoods You are correct I noticed that also. It looked like Michael Brecker was upset at the end of the gig with Jaco. Jaco played great, nothing was going to hold him back. It was up to the rest of the band to respond to his playing.
WOW, I only "stumbled" over this one just now, almost 13 years after the upload......and I'm stunned ! What a true musical gem this is. Everything in it is great, it all comes together so well.
I'm down to a roll of dimes I'm stalking the slot that's hot I keep hearing bells all around me Jingling in the lucky jackpot They keep you tantalized They keep you reaching for your wallet Here in fool's paradise I talked to a cat from Des Moines He said he ran a cleaning plant That cat was clanking with coin Well, he must have had a genie in a lamp Cause every time I dropped a dime I blew it He kept ringing bells nothing to it.. He got three oranges, three lemons Three cherries, three plums I'm losing my taste for fruit Watching the dry cleaner do it Like Midas in a polyester suit It's all luck, it's just luck You get a little lucky and you make a little money
I could be wrong..but I've always felt Brecker was kinda pissed with Jaco at the end of the tune..his (mike's) expression is like "man you fuckin' overplay" it's my solo on the outtro..I think Jaco seems to sense this and look's surprised by his (mike's) reaction..
it is said that jaco was extremely egocentric, he intentionally raised the volume of his amplifiers to make the bass sound stand out over other instruments, even his voice, and it was precisely, supposedly, for this reason that he died, when he wanted to go on stage where santana played, to play the bass, he used to turn up and take the bass from the bassists and play for them.
Jaco plays all over everyone else on this tune & right in the frequency range of the singer & sax player. Bad taste & impossible to work with regardless of the genius of the individual.
2:09 I’ve always loved the psychosis of this jam with those familiar blues changes beneath. Untethered but grounded and familiar. Good pipes too, Joni.
I have to agree with the supporters of Jaco here. His playing is thoughtful and well placed. He has good eye contact and synchronization with the skins at the end and plays counterpoint to the vocal very well by playing harmony notes in his walk that are right off the chord and fall in the same structure just about every time.
Sadly, they're all gone, except for Joni, herself. Jaco (bass), of course, was the first to go (1987), followed by Don Alias (drums), in 2006, and Michael Brecker (tenor sax) a year later, in 2007. What an incredible noise all three made together here. RIP all.
Great song. I do wish that they hadn't laid the Vegas footage over the band performance, though. Jaco and the rest of the guys are all masters and I would rather watch them play than watch stock footage of Vegas that I can get almost anywhere. I'm not familiar with any of the musicians in this video aside from Joni and Jaco but the way the bass and the sax intertwine with each other is simply brilliant. Awesome stuff.
That was the mastery of Jaco Pastorius, the greatest bass player that ever walked the planet, his Fender and Joni's voice are married in the heavens for all time.
it's hard to think of any music I like as much as this. All the musical drivers at work here have my highest regard. Mingus, Joni, Jaco, brecker, and don alias. hat's off to them all.
I had the good fortune to know Jaco and jammed with him once, when I moved from NYC to Ft Lauderdale circa 67, to attend Northeast high school. I had been a drummer in a band, and the culture shock of the clash of 2 cultures, (NYC vs 67 Lauderdale,) made me a depressed 15 year old. The first time I met Jaco I thought, this kid here is the definition of free being. I also noticed how straight he was. The rest of us miscreants were smoking cigarettes, ingesting god knows what, and drinking lots of beer. Not Jaco. Very upset at his death, but appreciate having shared his orbit.
V1. "I'm down to a roll" 0:18 V2." I talk to a cat" 0:34 V3. "He got three oranges" 0:48 BREAK V4. " I followed him" BREAK 1:19 V5. "He was stacking the chips" 1:49
it's just air, they take it and toke it, move it and stroke it... trill, still, sing, pop, vibrate & thrill... as long as they live and after die as long as tape and digital sigh we get to know them man oh my. thank YOU Renato Spallucci
I listened to this album for years and dreamed about watching Jaco and Michael play this track as they really went for it. Yet, when my brother bought the DVD the amazing bit with Michael Brecker's solo, with amazing Jaco playing, is obscured by shit video of lights of what appears to be Las Vegas. WANK. Whoever thought of that is a tosser.
jaco was just from another planet ! but i have to ask , at 4.02 min do you think maybe brecker wasnt too happy with jaco ?when he turns around , he seems to be shaking his head and jaco s reaction ?? maybe he was shaking his head in amazement ??
I'm glad you put this video on. I'm a little mad, that I couldn't see Jaco play his parts, while you were showing that "Same ol, Las Vegas strip. Thanks for the post, steevo.
This is how I want to remember Jaco. Although during that time he had just started to do drugs but I still think he was at his peak/very best musically. So creative with his bass lines, still in shape physically and his technique and sound was just amazing. RIP Jaco...
hmmm, a couple points. Greatest blues bass line ever played by an electric bassist!!! We can't judge Jaco for his volume on this performance, his level was the decision of the live sound mixing engineer and the mixing engineer responsible for producing this DVD! I don't think brecker shook his head in disgust, it felt more like 'holy F, we just did that at a folk music concert!' That was Awesome! the way Jaco would let those harmonics ring for bars and then drop into the chord change was beyond!
Gutsy move to start a song acapella and be right on pitch when the instruments come in. But then, it's Joni, so not really too big a surprise, just admiration.
This song reminds me of Novak Djokovich, six time champion of Australian Open tennis match. Nobody can beat him. He's the dry cleaner from Des Moines. He cleans up! Pitching with purpose...... Give it to Joni to describe this type of flamboyant swagger! Money collector...
Like this has always been amazing beyond words so why did the editor decide to put in B roll of people parking at a casino in the build up to what is probably the best ensemble performance in history?
I was just thinking that! I know it's sacrilege, but I don't like the majority of the music Jaco was involved with. I love his debut album, dislike most Weather Report: But his stuff with Joni was unreal. He needed her fantastic songwriting to give him a perfect structure to work with.
3:40 Jaco looking at Brecker like "Hey I am playing the most fuckin perfect on time groovin bass line ever, are you going to play something great or not??"
He also engages in a playful fast triplet counterpoint line at the end to wrap up this intense jam. As a bassist myself, I'd be very interested in what type of bass player you admire AfricanusSc, just to compare and see what you consider an appropriate bassist.
De otro mundo!! No se puede creer cómo Jaco acompaña a Brecker en el solo, es un tema que he escuchado cien veces y me sigue asombrando. Pero el que borró las imágenes de ambos músicos para colocar las de Las Vegas es uno de los peores imbéciles que se han visto, como Joni Mitchell permitió eso, no se puede concebir que hayan cortado ese momento de extraordinaria inspiración.
She did this at the Mississippi River Festival on the Campus of Southern Il U. She blew the grounds out this night. So did the Band. Gawd. I think I was around 22 and I am not anymore...
