How many bass players were featured all by themselves in 1979 on stage? We can’t think of many. But when that bass player is Jaco, he has it covered. A one man band – complete with “drums”, the groove, and some pyrotechnics – Jaco did it all on just one bass.
This performance is from Shadows & Light.
Truly astounding…I still get goosebumps watching these legendary performances that I sadly missed in my youth. Still, being introduced to Jaco’s playing as a budding musician at 14 and hearing his musical wizardry, it opened the floodgates of my mind, and was *much* more than enough to light the fire of passion, to inspire a lifetime of musical pursuit for me! Never before (or since) has the world been blessed to witness such an electric performer, an artist with boundless talent and an elemental understanding of his instrument and the technology he applied to it. Jaco’s beautiful command of melody, harmonic dissonance and percussively energetic soulfulness were unparalleled!. But of course, all of this was secondary, because the spark of pure, unadulterated and limitless genius that was Jaco shined brightest in the joyfully playful way he manipulated sound, danced with it, stroked it like a lover in the heat of passion, which is (fortunately captured for the ages) shown at its height in these videos and in his recorded catalogue. Thank God for giving us Jaco, even if it was only for a short time…he was too good for this world!
Can’t wait to see the film next week at Asbury Park Music In Film Festival. Get well soon Joni
Man, never saw this video till now. OMG! The crazy biz with the harmonics solo. WTF?!?!?!?? No human caqn repeat the things this man has done. They can try. I mean, I can kinda sound like Jaco when I play a few bars of his stuff. But, there will never be another Jaco! RIP, brother!
How badly I wish I could manage to do something like this.
I like the way Jaco would tweak his sound as well. It’s pushing the instrument’s envelope.
Wow a seventies version of Les Claypool. Taking the bass to a whole new level.