Jaco Pastorius – Punk Jazz: The Jaco Pastorius Anthology (2003 – Rhino / Wea)

Thankfully, there is finally a definitive Jaco Pastorius anthology that offers an accurate portrait of the breadth and depth of his innovative artistry beyond what his contributions to Weather Report and his own Word of Mouth and Trio of Doom (which many would argue are sufficient in and of themselves) would suggest. This two-CD, 28-track collection ranges across the fretless bass inventor’s earliest recordings, documented by a live appearance with Wayne Cochran’s C.C. Riders and home playing the Cochran standard “Amelia,” to his work with underground R&B act Little Beaver and such artists as Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Joni Mitchell in and out of the studio, Paul Bley, Airto and Flora Purim, Michel Columbier, Brian Melvin, and his diverse projects — including “Birdland” with Weather Report. There are three unreleased cuts — “Amelia,” an unreleased home demo of “The Chicken,” and “Good Morning Annya” from his unfinished steel drum project, Holiday for Pans. Two other cuts, “Foreign Fun” and “Okonkole y Trompa,” are on CD in the United States for the first time. Pastorius fanatics will no doubt already have everything here in one form or another. Casual listeners will be astonished by the sheer multi-dimensional nature of his limitless musicality and vision. Even those well acquainted with Pastorius will be surprised as to how well the sequencing of these tracks offers such a prismatic view of Pastorius’ growth as a bassist — check out the silky funky grooves on Little Beaver’s “I Can Dig It Baby” and the gutbucket greasy R&B of “Amelia,” as they give way to adventurous early fusion of “Batterie” with Metheny, Bley, and Bruce Ditmas. Even in abstraction, Pastorius had a groove. The more pop side of Jaco’s work is highlighted on the first disc with his contributions to Joni Mitchell’s Mingus and Shadows and Light albums, as well as his more exotic, atmospheric work with Airto and Flora. Disc two concentrates on Jaco’s innovative work as a composer for his own bands, as evidenced by “Word of Mouth,” “Liberty City,” “John and Mary,” “Chromatic Fantasy,” and “Blackbird.” Four live tracks with the big band showcase his role as a bandleader and arranger of true authority and vision. The solo “Amerika” offers a more intimate view of Pastorius as a seeker of texture and sonic subtleties. The set closes with him in trios with Mike Stern and Brian Melvin. This is a necessary package for anyone interested in the development of electric jazz in the 1970s and 1980s.
Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracl List:
Disc: 1
1. The Chicken (Home Recording)
2. Amelia
3. I Can Dig It Baby
4. Batterie
5. Continuum
6. Midwestern Nights Dream
7. Foreign Fun
8. Birdland
9. Nativity
10. Las Olas
11. Sunday
12. Layas
13. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
14. The Dry Cleaner from des Moines
15. Punk Jazz

Disc: 2
1. 3 Views of a Secret
2. Liberty City
4. Blackbird
5. Word of Mouth
6. John and Mary
7. Good Morning Anya
8. Invitation
9. Soul Intro/The Chicken
10. Amerika
11. Okonkole y Trompa
12. Mood Swings
13. Out of the Night

Personnel:
Joni Mitchell (Guitar), Joni Mitchell (Vocals), Joni Mitchell, Bob Berg (Sax (Tenor)), Paul Bley (Piano (Electric)),  Michael Brecker (Sax (Tenor)), Michael Brecker (Soloist), , Larry Carlton (Guitar (Electric)), Jack DeJohnette (Drums), Peter Erskine (Drums), Jon Faddis (Trumpet), Herbie Hancock (Piano), Hubert Laws (Flute & Alto Soprano Sax) , Albert Mangelsdorff (Trombone), Brian Melvin (Drums), Pat Metheny (Guitar), Bob Mintzer (Clarinet & Sax (Soprano & Tenor), Bob Moses (Drums), Alphonse Mouzon (Drums), , Bill Reichenbach Jr. (Trombone (Bass)), Wayne Shorter (Sax (Soprano & Tenor), Mike Stern (Guitar), Lenny White (Drums), Alex Foster (Clarinet & Sax Alto, Tenor & Soprano), Timmy Thomas (Keyboards), Emil Richard (Percussion), Don Alias (Conga & Bells), Airto Moreira (Percussion & Drums), Peter Graves (French Horn &Trombone (Bass)), Alex Acuña (Drums), Wayne Andre (Trombone), Joe Zawinul (Synthesizer, Piano & Vocals), Manolo Badrena (Tambourine), Dave Bargeron (Trombone), Dave Bargeron (Tuba), Michael Boddicker (Synthesizer Programming), Neal Bonsanti (Saxophone), Neal Bonsanti (Woodwind), Randy Brecker (Trumpet), Michel Colombier (Synthesizer), Michel Colombier (Piano& Fender Rhodes), Bruce Ditmas (Drums), Manfred Eicher, Randy Emerick (Clarinet), Randy Emerick (Sax (Alto, Baritone & Tenor)), Hugo Fattoruso (Keyboards), Kenneth Faulk (Trumpet), Robert Ferguson (Percussion & Drums), Russ Freeland (Trombone), Robert Gable (Sax (Baritone)), Steve Gadd (Drums), Mike Katz (Trombone), Steve Katz (Mixing), Rodney Lafon (Trumpet), Benny Latimore (Keyboards), Gary Lindsay (Saxophone), Gary Lindsay (Woodwind), Paul McCandless (Horn (English, Oboe & Sax (Tenor)), Othello Molineaux (Drums & Pan Flute), Brett Murphey (Trumpet), Melton Mustafa (Trumpet), Brian O’Flaherty (Trumpet), Jerry Peel (French Horn), Flora Purim (Vocals), Lee Ritenour (Guitar), Allyn Robinson (Drums), Oscar Salas (Percussion), Jerry Solomon (Engineer), Toots Thielemans (Harmonica), Ron Tooley (Trumpet), Brad Warnaar (French Horn), Leroy Williams (Drums (Steel)), Bill Milkowski (Liner Notes), John Brem (Trumpet), Mario Cruz (Clarinet, Flute (Alto, Soprano & Tenor Sax)), lex Darqui (Fender Rhodes), Paul Horn-Muller (Guitar & Drums (Steel)), Gary Mayone  (Marimba), Steve Roitstein (French Horn), Pamela Sessody (Vocals), Bobby Thomas, Jr. (Percussion & Conga), Bobby Thomas, Jr. (Hand Drums), Jon Davis (Piano), Steve Jordan (Drums), Charles “Icarus” Johnson (Guitar), Willie Clarke (Percussion), Mary Pastorius (Vocals)

Original Release Date: April 22, 2003  –  Label: Rhino / Wea
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