Jaco 1 PDF
Jaco 1 PDF
Jaco 1 PDF
SLANG
by Jaco Pastorius
A feature of every Weather Report concert was a solo performance by each of the musicians.
“Slang” is a live recording of what many thousands of fans heard Jaco play during his years of
touring. Most, if not all of you are familiar with the classic joke: “Beware when the drums stop –
bass solo!” And that joke isn’t unfounded, so the idea of a solo electric bass performance was
less than appealing to most. What could possibly be played on solo electric bass that could be
considered actual music and keep the audience’s attention for more than five minutes? It turns
out that there is plenty to say and quite a show to see. Enter Jaco Pastorius – part Sid Vicious,
part Jimi Hendrix, part Charlie Parker, and part Wilson Pickett.
The order of events became standardized in a Pastorius bass solo: some high-register melodic
work, often including a variety of musical quotes, followed by a repeating bass loop over which
Jaco often quoted Jim Hendrix, then a feedback-driven explosion of distorted harmonics,
capped off with some more melodic work, and for good measure, a hearty back-flip off of his
amplifier onto his bass. “Slang” would silence all doubters and add another chapter to the
Pastorius revolution.
Jaco begins “Slang” with a melody starting on low F and intersperses harmonics, which sound
out some favorite Pastorius chords: E7#9, Bm7, and Bb13. He then takes off with some blazing,
albeit rough, chromatic lines that are part blues and part bebop. This section ends with a
diminished seventh arpeggio and some phrasing that is reminiscent of his work on “Donna
Lee.”
The next section of the solo is considered to be an innovation on Jaco’s
part, though anecdotal evidence supports that Jaco got the idea from
Alphonso Johnson. Jaco slaps his bass strings with an open palm over the
pickup while engaging a delay pedal that has the ability to repeat infinitely.
This provides the tempo for Jaco’s layered, three-part motif that creates the
harmonic and rhythmic foundation over which he’ll solo. The motif consists
essentially of the extensions of an E9 chord (B-D-F#) and includes their
upper neighbors (C#-E-G#) as well. Once he establishes all of the layering, he
hits the “repeat” function and becomes a one-man-band. He equalizes the
tone of the loop, preparing the next section of his solo.
Jaco plays a handful of licks in the upper register, mixing legato and
staccato statements with the low E string. Most of the lines are mainly
pentatonic and/or bluesy in a funk setting. At this point, he engages the
distortion pedal and flies into a rendition of the Jimi Hendrix classic “Third
Stone from the Sun.” The audience usually responds with shock and
amazement, which ushers them into a new level of engagement with the
solo. The Hendrix section of the solo winds down with a large, deliberate
slide down the bass neck, and Jaco returns to a clean tone, referring back to
the melodic material he presented earlier.
If we stand back and inventory the contents of “Slang,” we get funk, bebop,
Jimi Hendrix, and a dash of Julie Andrews, all combined with the
showmanship that’s part James Brown and part Barnum’s Circus. The playing
itself is enough to convince any listener of Jaco’s enormous skill and talent,
but combine that with the stage presence and the aura that surrounded
him, and it’s easy to understand why Jaco became larger than life. A point
that is often overlooked with Jaco is that it wasn’t only his playing ability
that made him a virtuoso; it was also the virtuosity of his creativity and an
innate ability and desire to entertain. In other words, “Slang” worked because
Jaco made it work.
from Weather Report—8:30
Slang
By Jaco Pastorius
A
Free time
N.C.(F) (C/E) (F) (D5)
w/ vibrato effect
7
0 1 3 5
1 1 3 0 3 1 (1) 0
E7 9 8va
C Bm7 B 13
8va
Harm. 8va
Harm.
Harm.
7 7 5 7 5 7 5
5 7 5
3 2 3 3 1
0 3 0 7 4
*
*slight shake
B
** Fast swing = 180
N.C. (B)
loco ***
3 3
0 X 8
1 1 2 3 2 X 4 6 6 8 X 9 11 11 9
3 X 4 6 X 6 8
** As this is a live solo bass piece without any rhythm *** Deaden strings with plucking hand.
rhythm accompaniment, tempo markings throughout
this section are approximate.
(B ) (A) (A ) (G) (F )
3 3 3 3 3 3
3
7 6 5 4 3
X 8 10 10 8 X 7 9 9 6 8 8 6 5 7 7 5 4 6 6 X
0
Slower = 144
N.C.
11 8 9 6 9 6 6 6 6 5
X X 0 8 6 5 5
X X 6 5 6 6 8
8