I'd Love to Turn You On #234 - Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius

            Starting your debut album off with a cover is a bold move no matter who you are, especially when it gets flipped completely upside down and becomes a minimalist piece. Jaco Pastorius starts off his first solo effort with a bass guitar rendition of Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee,” which lays down a foundation for a career unlike anything else. Immediately you gravitate to the melody and with only conga drums in the background there is nothing to distract you from how gorgeous and rich just a fretless bass guitar can be. It’s very easy to get distracted by the immense skill that is presented on this album. Jaco made a name for himself being the absolute best, in a different universe from everyone else; he didn’t think of a bass like a bass, it was just an extension of his being. He displays his foundation of strong skills, a sense of melody on a non-melodic instrument, and appreciation for what came before all within the first two and a half minutes.

           After “Donna Lee” graces your ears, they get blown out with the opening horns of “Come On, Come Over” which is more like a standard funk song of the time, except the bass is the star. All the drums and grooves on this album come from a heavy influence of his Florida surroundings and Latin and Cuban music, but the way they tie into the solo bass pieces that are so gentle and have an intensity to them is a lot more human and emotional than any other bass player I’ve heard. Then you get flung right back into the funk side of things with “Kuru/Speak Like a Child.” Herbie Hancock makes an appearance here that is the equivalent to a rap feature, his presence is massive but him and Jaco going back and forth on this song is as exciting as Andre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast trading verses. They play well together, nobody stepping on the other’s feet, and it’s never so much that it detracts from the song as a whole. The pattern of rich and warm ballads, then undeniable funk masterpieces continues with the harmonic “Portrait of Tracy,” which has become one of Jaco’s signature songs, floating through your mind and reminding you of young love like no other instrumental can. “Opus Pocus,” "Okonkolé Y Trompa," and "(Used to Be a) Cha-Cha" take you from this earth into an unknown dimension of groove and funk that I’ve not experienced anywhere else. It’s not quite the same place that bands like Parliament or Sly and the Family Stone were taking you to, this was funk in Jaco’s mind taking place in a space that we are able to visit for a short time.

Jaco has been called the Jimi Hendrix of bass, and this album is his Are You Experienced? The contents of this album opened up a door for bass players around the world - you suddenly didn’t have to be a background instrument that is just there to elevate the guitar, singer, or anybody else. The "Bass of Doom" and Jaco were the stars. He had a spell book that nobody else has been able to get access to since. There are people that can replicate what he does on a technical level, but none of it compares to how he plays. All of the technical stuff is really cool, but none of it really matters if the song doesn’t groove, move, and make you feel like dancing - which is the dynamic of this record, with the tight grooves that are so relaxed. The band is perfectly behind the beat at times where it’s so chill you want to lounge around with a margarita on a summer day. Then they come back around to being as tight and precise as any of the prog guys at the time.

There is so much to dig into on this album; it’s incredibly dense, but incredibly digestible. You don’t need to be a bass expert or know who Charlie Parker is to make this a great listen. This album reveals all of Jaco’s colors, which is appropriate because the cover is a black and white portrait of him looking right into the camera, no smile, nothing, which makes opening it up and hearing how colorful this album is that much more exciting.

-         Max Kafuman

I'd Love To Turn You on #27 - Avishai Cohen – Adama (Stretch/Concord)

Here’s a little-known geo-cultural fact for you:  Over the past twenty or so years, perhaps the principal export from the nation is Israel has not been palm dates or petroleum, but rather high-caliber modern jazz musicians.  For evidence, look no further than the multi-talented New York-based saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen, West Coast piano phenom Tamir Hendelman, or John Zorn’s Radical Jewish Music series.  In fact, the bumper crop of Israeli jazz talent includes not one, but TWO Avishai Cohens: one is a fine trumpeter and brother of Anat.  The second – and our subject at hand – is a bassist-composer-bandleader, and of no relation to the aforementioned Cohens.  Bassist Avishai’s first album under his own name was appropriately titled Adama (like the First Man – clever!), and was released back in ’99 by Chick Corea’s Stretch label (distributed by the mighty Concord Music Group).  To these ears, while Avishai hasn’t yet laid an egg in the recording studio, he has approached – but has yet to exceed – the impact of his album #1…

Arriving in the States following his stint in the Israeli military, Avishai dropped Big Apple jaws as a member of Corea’s Origin group.  For his debut session as a leader, Cohen assembled the core of his band from the nucleus of the Origin group, and the years of intra-personal chemistry these young lions enjoyed become immediately apparent!  From the opening theme on, Adama is infused with myriad influences from the fertile Middle Eastern cultural tapestry.  Spanish-Moorish colorings, Turkish-sounding rhythms and time signatures, Arabic instrumentation (Amos Hoffman is a standout addition on some tracks, playing the oud, an ancient lute-like instrument), and the grand tradition of Klezmer improvisation are all in full effect here.  But the unmistakable pulse of modern American jazz provides the foundation for the program to follow.  As to Avishai Cohen the improviser, he possesses in great quantity the qualities we would demand of a jazz bassist: manual dexterity and strength, a wealth of ideas, and rhythmic propulsion are all well provided for here.  As a soloist, few of the thirty/forty-somethings on the scene can even approach Cohen in terms of his fleet fingered plucking and aggressive thwacking on the big fiddle; it’s worth noting though, that his technique is pretty damned amazing but all in the service of the greater musical whole.  If Avishai is ever tempted to show off for the sake of exhibition, he keeps the urge tightly under his thumb.  But just listen to his wild runs up and down the neck of his bass – it gives me a sympathetic chill through my spinal column every time!  A word now on Cohen the arranger: While a pair of Steves – saxophonist Wilson and trombonist Davis – are the only two horns on the date, Avishai’s slippery lines sound much larger than the sum of its instrumental parts.  It’s a big sound, boy.  Big.  These two well-oiled blowers are more than equipped to spiral about one another in tandem, weaving neat voicings and countermelodies.  In the rhythm section you’ll find two then-ascendant, now firmly-established top cats: sparkling pianist Jason Lindner (pick up any ‘90s or more recent jazz CD in this store and there’s an excellent chance he’s sitting in there somewhere) and the colorful, tuneful drums of Jeff Ballard (formerly of Joshua Redman’s groups and Brad Mehldau’s bellwether trio).  These three in the engine room, plus slick horns, some added percussion and a guest appearance by Mr. Corea himself on Fender Rhodes makes this one an intriguing jazz journey over land and sea, smelling of exotic spices and good old New York cellar jazz rooms.

I’d happily recommend this tasty little disc to the classic jazz fan looking for an accessible bridge into newer expressions, or the world music lover interested in deepening their jazz pedigree.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll enjoy the music…

Signed with love, from Erik Troe.