Word of Mouth

Jaco Pastorius | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KM3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,499 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In 1981, while still with Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius amassed this unremitting, topnotch big band into which he threads anything that appealed to his vast jazz imagination--from the bell-clanging Caribbean to the burning soul of R&B to the jaunty European boulevards. On board are Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Peter Erskine, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker, Don Alias, and others. The result is skirmishing, scurrying, all-in slabs of sound that suddenly give way to fluid quietude with chorus and strings and, most wonderfully weirdly, to harmonica features from Toots Thielemans. Pastorius is always close to the front, a fretless-bass phenom who out-guitared most guitarists. He also wrote and arranged well, taking care not to let vim and pepper do all the talking. --Peter Monaghan

Product Description

Recorded in 1981 at the height of the bassist's career, six years before his untimely death, Word of Mouth showcases Pastorius' compositional skills, as well as a starstudded big band including Jean 'Toots' Thielemans, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, Don Alias and Jack DeJohnette. Remastered. Digipak. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it's thick and busy...but good!, March 20, 2000

By 

rusty keeler (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Word of Mouth (Audio CD)

well...I listen to it and I sadly wish Jaco had lived longer. Then "Word of Mouth" would have been fun to listen to as Jaco trying really really hard - putting as much in an album as he possibly could. Had he lived, I imagine him refining and simplifying his compositions and arrangements. This album is very very big. There are so many things going on that it sometimes sounds cloudy. I love "John and Mary", probably my favorite cut. Funny how it resembles some of the weather report songs from the live 8:30 album... these long, joyful-sounding, hum-along anthems. As a jaco fan I love it, but I'm glad I first got into Jaco from hearing his first solo album and Invitation. Once I loved those albums I could then handle his manic orchestration of Word of Mouth.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just for bass players, March 6, 2002

By 

Feller who likes Old Yeller "bottomline5" (Webster, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Word of Mouth (Audio CD)

Word of Mouth is a collection of inventive, creative tunes and arrangements performed by a diverse collection of talented musicians. It runs the gamut of emotions, from the frenetic to the sublime. The music is always leading us somewhere, never content to stagnate. This is music that you should sit down and listen to, definitely not background music. This is the unique work of a gifted musician and composer.

Oh yeah, and he can play bass too.

This album is about Jaco Pastorius as a composer and a musician. While he does take a few moments to dazzle us with his virtuosity on the electric bass, what really captivates is the sweep of this entire album as a complete work. His bass playing is everywhere, contributing significantly to the musical whole, but is always subservient to the musical task at hand.

This album is not just for bass players. This is a real gem. Go get it!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jaco Emerges as a Composer, November 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Word of Mouth (Audio CD)

Jaco Pastorius sophomore effort, coming 5 years after his solo debut (and after a few albums with Weather Report and Joni Mitchell), demonstrates his compositional talent. On "Three Views of Secret", Jaco restrains his playing and keeps it within the context of the song. This is a beautiful piece, cited by many as the quintessential Pastorius piece. On Bach's "Chromatic Fantasy", he shows off his speed and technical virtuosity, and continues into McCartney and Lennon's "Blackbird", in which he maintains both the bass and part of the melody in a complex bit of fretboard mastery. "Liberty City" highlights his ability to arrange for horns (a talent also shown on Joni Mitchell's "Mingus" album) and again play within the song. "Word of Mouth", by contrast, is a frenzied attack, with Jaco quoting from his own version of "Donna Lee" (the opening cut on his debut) and exhibiting the lightning-quick sixteenth-note playing that astounded all who saw him play. "John and Mary", named after his first two children, is a nice piece that includes what are probably the voices of the children, along with a happy chorus and Jaco's own inimitiable vocals as well. Altogether, a very good album, and worthwhile for anyone attracted to Jaco's "punk jazz".