Customer Reviews

Modern Electric Bass, Jaco Pastorius

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's great to see that this important historical document of Jaco Pastorius is now preserved on DVD. The video quality in my opinion could have been cleaned up/sharpened a little bit better, but this is a minor issue. The sound quality is noticeably clearer. This, combined with the random-access ability to go to any section or example make this a great over-all package. It's truly inspirational to watch, and a great learning tool as well. While not exactly for the absolute beginner, it does cover some of the more "basic" elements of playing. I would still encourage any beginner to check this out, as it will definitely keep you inspired! It's pretty much essential viewing for any bass player - or musician for that matter. It's NOT a video of gimmicks, licks, or tricks (and believe me, I've seen enough of those). It's a video about music and possibilities, and THAT'S what it's all about folks. You won't get any "secret short-cuts" or "speed techniques", but what you WILL get is sound, practical, insightful KNOWLEDGE from a true musician and master of his chosen instrument. This video still inspires me after years of viewing the VHS edition. It's great that Warner saw the true value in converting this to digital for future generations to see.

Now for the complaints: If any, I would say that the bonus materials are of no value whatsoever. There is a separate short slapping lesson included (not from Jaco of course), that I feel cheapens the true essence of the video, but hey, you don't have to watch this portion if you don't want to! Also, the biography section is weak in not too in-depth. The last bonus section that is supposed to explain a little bit about Jaco's equipment and set-up is nothing more than an advertisement for Fender Jaco re-issue basses - not really too insightful.

In summary, this is an important release both for its historical and educational value. It is true to the orginal VHS release. I'm glad to see the Jaco video has gone digital - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

"Modern Electric Bass", although featuring all-time great bass player Jaco Pastorius, leaves the viewer somewhat disappointed. The interviewer, fellow bass player Jerry Jemmott, insists on gratuitous flattery while Jaco modestly (and perhaps uncharacteristically) takes all of Jemmott's compliments in stride, almost to the point of ignoring them. The video was shot during a difficult period of Jaco's life, and one can notice a strange demeanor on Jaco's part, as if he were sober and clean but dying for a fix. The lessons consist largely of various scales, harmonics, and bursts of speedy playing, along with several free-form solo, duo, and trio jam sessions. Jaco reveals his attitude toward being a musician and espouses a work ethic that makes little acknowledgement of his own natural genius. He relates the tall tale of an upright bass exploding due to Florida's high humidity, with no apparent contention from Jemmott. The low point of the video has Jaco struggling to play his own brilliant composition, "Portrait of Tracy", forgetting a whole section and commenting "I forget what I do there ..." However, there are moments of inspiring play, as Jaco seems more than eager to show off his considerable chops. He appears most comfortable in playing Ellis' "The Chicken" with guitarist John Scofield and drummer Kenwood Dennard, who also appears in a short interview segment with Jaco and Jemmott. But the video ends with Jaco losing himself on "Amerika" (his arrangement of "America the Beautiful", a idea probably taken from Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner"), changing keys, and ultimately simply deciding to turn up the distortion and launch into a crazed, incoherent solo. Credits run with Jaco playing his composition "Liberty City" on piano. All in all, this is probably only a worthwhile purchase for the most extreme Jacophiles, and of questionable value to those hoping to learn useful bass lessons. Probably conceived as a profit opportunity relying solely on the name recognition of electric bass' greatest innovator, "Modern Electric Bass" misses the boat by at least 5 years, as the Jaco Pastorius of the late 1970s (Weather Report and Joni Mitchell) is obviously long gone.

While this DVD is well worth your couple of hours time, and you're probably going to enjoy watching it more than just once, I wouldn't recommend it to every bass player.

On the bright sides, well, after all, it is Jaco. He does play a couple of cool "Jaco-Sounding" tunes here and there, and you get a nice view of his personality. In addition, Jeremy Jemmott does an excellent job of interviewing Jaco (not surprisingly, since he is a great bass personality of his own).

BUT, As an instructional, it is a fairly lame video. You do get to check out some of Jaco's technique, but not much more. The DVD comes with an exercise booklet (music written in standard bass clef notation ONLY, not "Tabs") that, ironically, looks very much improvised: Watching the video, it really seems like the producers had picked some arbitrary tunes (or scales) Jaco was playing here and there and labeled them as exercises (adding the text "Exercise X" to the video and writing down the notes in the well-edited booklet).

Apart from that, Jaco isn't playing on his trademark fretless fender in this one, but on a fretted model instead. Also, as some other reviewers had already mentioned, this DVD does not show Jaco at his best (meaning that if you're expecting to see amazing performances you're in for a disappointment).

ON THE BOTTOM LINE, owning this DVD myself and watching it a fair number of times, I'd say IT'S FOR YOU IF:
1) You are a bass player and you've got money to spend.
2) Since almost all bass players are into jaco, I'd say you need to be really deep into jaco to think this DVD is actually worth the money.

And I'd say this DVD is really NOT FOR YOU IF:
1) You're considering buying it mainly because of its so called "instructional" nature.
2) You're considering buying it because you're expecting it's got some amazing Jaco music.

As for Jaco, the world's self-proclaimed greatest bass player, he probably needs no introduction to anyone who is capable of appreciating him in the first place so I won't say any more to newcomers than that he isn't MERELY the greatest bass player ever; he downright revolutionized the instrument with his seldom imitated and never-duplicated sixteenth-note style of jam.

My brother used to take bass lessons and he got this on VHS a long time ago. Although I am a keyboardist, I think I watched this video more than he did, mainly to see the trio's performance of 'The Chicken.'

Jaco Pastorius on bass, John Scofield on electric guitar and Kenwood Dennard on the drums.

This is one of the best musical acts I've ever seen on video.

The music: please, I won't even downgrade it by trying to describe it in words.

The performers: Three jazz gems who are as entertaining to watch as anyone I've ever seen.

Watch John play that guitar; you can't help but feel the funk eating away at you as much as it does him. He looks likes he's about to burst, but listening to him play, it's easy to see why.

Kenwood Dennard is just a MACHINE on the drums. His beats are straight-ahead, but so, so tight and funky. He violently shakes his head from side to side continuously with the same level of entertainment and accuracy executed in his drumming.

And then there's Jaco. If his actual bass playing is outlandish, his stage manner one-ups it. This guy is just so uncommonly funky that his strange and somewhat comical facial expressions can be explained by nothing other than that he even stupefies (is that a word?) himself with his cutting-edge musical fare.

As for the pedagogical value of this video, I don't play bass, so I'm not in the best place to give an educated opinion on this. I did watch some of the instructional portions, and Jaco's riffs seemed difficult (that's no surprise). My two cents: I reckon that purchasing this video with the hopes of sounding anything like Jaco is tantamount to hoping you'll achieve half the wealth of Bill Gates by purchasing Windows XP. Get this video for the inspiration of watching masters at work; your advancement with any instrument is more a function of your talent, desire and persistent hard work than what you get out of ANY video beyond inspiration.

FYI: Although I refer to him in the present, Jaco was murdered in 1987 by a nightclub bouncer who brutally ejected him from the premises and beat him to death. He was even homeless and broke for much of his life. It is unfortunate what this world gave Jaco in return for his genius, but he will never be forgotten by any jazz musician who is worth the instrument he plays on. There a thoroughly excellent biography called 'Jaco' that I read a while back; check this book out if you want to learn more about this incredible musical legend.

The video is great to watch. It's putting a voice to Jaco and amazing to watch him flex his fingers so close for us to see. Rather than simply watching a bass player, it's like watching genius and pure talent speaking and creating through this instrument. The sad part is Jaco himself at this stage of his life. I find myself watching and wishing things had gone differently. He's ruffled and looking very shaggy and doesn't have the spark and fire that he once did, tho he still can still speak intelligently and personably with Jerry. They have some great exchanges and it's fun to see.

His jam session gets alittle loose and he appears kind of drunk and showing off to people off camera - Jemont? It ends with Jaco on piano playing Liberty City but it leaves you with the sad truth of how his life unwravelled and ended. Wouldn't it have been great to see a video of him mid 70's? I recommend Joni Mitchell's "Shadows and Light" video with Jaco (and Metheny and Don Alias and Michael Brecker) It rocks and Jaco is still fantastic (with longhair and white surfer pants)

I have seen this video a couple of times and I find it simple yet compelling, seasoned yet fresh, timeless yet new and imaginative yet realistic. The video is truly an inspirational potrait of Jaco as a musical genius which showcases his talent, principles and natural gift as a musician and a unique performer. Jaco explains in the video all the secrets of his very extraordinary bass playing on the principles of arpeggios, harmonics, right-hand muting and scales. His absolute command of the bass is amazing because he can play all types of basses as shown in the video and still can all apply all types of bass playing. The twenty minute jam is a real treat where Jaco, Kenwood Dennard and John Scofield got loose and crazy. The live jam proves the ability of Jaco to incorporate all styles of bass playing in one song.

Every aspiring musician and music lover can benefit in seeing this video as a valuable insight to the beauty of music where Jaco Pastorius has dedicated his life for.

An excellent video that show the world's greatest bass player playing exercises and telling his story. This video is a great way to learn many different exercises and also see Jaco play some astounding improvisation. It makes for an excellent source of influence for any bass player.

I bought this tape when it first came out. As a matter of fact, I bought it when Jaco was still alive, so I may have an original version.

Jerry Jermont interviews Jaco for about forty five minutes about how it came to be known that Jaco Pastorius is probably the most influential bass player in the world. Throughout the entire video Jaco will go off on ripping solos, answering Jerry's questions often times with genuine Jaco humor but mostly with his unique style of bass playing.

Jaco does point out some interesting concepts of learning to play the bass and how important it is for the young bassist to learn to read music. He touches on arpeggios, double stops, etc., goes on to talk about fretless playing and how he mastered the false harmonic style he was famous for.

The video is accompanied by a sheet music (bass clef, not tab) booklet which is quite accurate.

The last fifteen or so minutes there's a 'PBD' set, (Jaco's three piece band at the time - Summer of '86, I think) with a highlighted Jaco solo.

I've noticed its a best seller on other websites, probably because its one of the few examples of Jaco's playing available. I gave it four stars rather than five only because for a sixty minute video, its so pricey. However, Amazon's price is the cheapest I've ever seen it for.

Jaco is probably the best electric bass player that ever was. Many people have said this and I believe this to be true as well. His music is very moving and his bass playing has it all: groove, technique, musicality, etc.. If you play bass and/or are a fan of Jaco's, you should buy this product. While he was struggling w/ drug abuse and it's somewhat apparant in this video, you see what a musical genius this guy really was as you watch him talk and play. He seems like a super cool guy too. Even if he was out of his mind sometimes, you can tell that his sense of humor was great and that he was a nice guy with a serious passion for music. He was the real deal and a one of kind for sure. This is the best bass DVD I own and I own a lot of DVD's of instructional videos and concerts with great bass players. Everytime I go back to this video, I learn some new stuff for the electric bass. Do yourself a favor and buy this product if you play electric bass and want to improve.

As someones already said, this is an historic recording. Its also a bit tragic. At the time of filming, Jaco was in decline, and was apprently (depending on if you believe the biog) sobered up for this video. As it is, Jaco is clearly not at his best (see Joni Mitchell 'Shadows & Light' for him at some of his best) and some of the exercises are making him foul up, but there is a glimpse of what once was.
There is some basic stuff in here, and there's some all out advanced stuff in here. It will certainly make a beginners jaw drop in amazement so for inspiration its a worthy purchase. The live jam is also very interesting, but if you're not into your jazz, you may want to give it a miss.
From a teaching stand point, its alright, but its not very structured. For any Jaco-phile, its essential owning. Jerry Jemmott certainly isn't going to get any awards for his, at times sycophantic, interviewing technique.