Customer Reviews

Live in New York 7

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This is the latest in a series of recordings made of Jaco Pastorius in various New York venues which has been released by Big World Records. Now this series has received alot of flack in the press, ranging from the legality of the recordings to the less than hi-fidelity sound. Granted, these recordings were made using a portable DAT recorder and stereo mike by the "producer" Neil Weiss as he sat at one of the tables in the club. Hardly top of the line recording techniques. However I must say, many of my favorite jazz recordings from the 50's and 60's have far inferior sound than this series of cd's. That fact does not keep me from enjoying them. The bottom line is this: these recordings were made for those of us who are already Jaco fans, many of whom never had the opportunity to hear him live in a club setting. If you fall into that category, forget what you've heard. Buy this disc, turn out the lights, close your eyes, turn up the volume, and I'll bet it won't be hard to imagine yourself being right there in the club. And there's no two drink minimum.

This disc is a must (as I'm sure the others in the series are). Forget the less-than-stellar sound. Jaco is loud and clear. Loud enough for me, anyway. The first cut "Bass solo/America" is worth the price of the CD alone. Jaco goes from all out bebop lines, to Star Spangled Banner, into Blackbird, into America, back into be-bop! unreal. It sounds as if he's playing on a fretted bass, which adds a different sound. This disc is more edgy than much of what I've heard of Jaco on the official releases. I love it. Makes me feel as if I were front row at the club it was recorded in. Rock solid funky basslines from the King on every cut.

Although this series came in for some severe scrutiny as bootlegs and bad sound quality, it matters not to me!

I never got the chance to experience Jaco live, and being a player myself, I relish any type of chance to hear him.

For a trio Setting, they don't half fill out the place!

Jaco's kicks off with the usual out of this world bop improvs and legendary scale asscension. 'Teen Town' really smokes, and hearing him sing on one of the tracks is rather upsetting because you can hear the meleancholy in his voice.

My fave here is the not so used 'Straight Life,' which really gives off a groove. These Live in NYC issues are, indeed, history.

This is pure Jaco. He is improvising, quoting some of his trademark licks, playing some remarkable bebop lines, displaying his command of harmonics, cranking the distortion on The Star Spangles Banner (a la Jimi Hendrix), Ripping through his incredible arrangement of The Beatles 'Blackbird', and putting a cap on things with his glorious version of Amerika.
This is just track 1!!!...enter Hiram Bullock, and Victor Lewis for a fascinating representation of Once Upon A Time In New York.
History indeed!

While I own all seven volumes of the Live in New York City series, I have to say that it seems like volumes 6 and 7 were scraping the bottom of the barrel of Neil Weiss's recordings. You would be better served buying Vols. 2, 4 and 5 for a really nice cross-section of Jaco's small club recordings.

Most people really don't understand the words punk jazz. Jaco wasn't just all about expensive recording studios or technical playing. Jaco was about the music, and on this album he is proving it. If you are into jazz, funk, improvisation, or if you just love music, get vol 7, the birthday concert, and vol 5. That is the closest you are ever going to get to Jaco without meeting him in person. Otherwise, you can waste your time looking for one of his albums with the best studio quality, or the most technical playing on it.