Jaco Pastorius - Smoke On The Water (1986)

Estamos en una semana cortita que empezó con todo, y la seguimos en esa onda, ahora con un tremendo aportazo del Mago Alberto, que nos trae otro de sus discazos. Le tocó el turno al gran Jaco, en un registro impactante. Y no tiene mucho sentido seguir hablando demasiado.

Artista: Jaco Pastorius

Álbum: Smoke On The Water
Año: 1986
Género: Jazz rock
Duración: 60:31
Nacionalidad: EEUU

Lista de Temas:
1. Bluma / Smoke On The Water
2. The Medley
- Purple Haze
- The Third Stone From The Sun
- Teen Town
3. Star Spangled Banner
4. Reza
5. Honestly
6. Invitation
7. Broadway Blues

Alineación:
- Jaco Pastorius / bass
- Bireli Lagrene / guitar
- Serge Bringolf / drums

No voy a comentar nada porque es al pedo, aquí los dejo con las palabras del Mago Alberto, que es el responsable de que esto esté aquí...

Otro de los tantos registros que existen de Jaco Pastorius, y del cual da cuenta de esos arranques, impulsos de un músico que apenas empezaba a transitar el camino de músico solista, representativo sin lugar a dudas por su calidad y talento, pero que la vida no dejó que eso trascendiera de manera alguna, y en medio de los excesos de drogas y alcohol lo partió para siempre, y todo ese futuro que suponemos, se quedó trunco, para conformarnos y recordarlo sólo por este tipo de grabaciones.
Si andan deambulando por este blog sin duda ya conocen a Pastorius, este registro lo muestra casi de jam, junto a dos músicos acordes a la bestia mencionada, diálogos entre bajo y guitarra sin el mas mínimo pifie, y un batero que podría acompañarte en algun record Guiness, el track que los muestra en plenitud es Reza, un lujo de polenta pura, que podrías escuchar una y mil veces.
Si es bueno o malo el registro, la verdad, no interesa, ya no está entre nosotros el querido Jaco para revertir algún cuestionamiento, esto es lisa y llanamente una nueva oportunidad de recordarnos que Pastorius fue y será uno de los más grandes bajistas que pasó por este fucking mundo, para mostrarnos que el instrumento de cuatro cuerdas puede ser tan protagonista como la guitarra o los teclados, y no solo un encadenador de tonos de acompañamiento, quizás el bajo lo buscó a Jaco porque era tiempo de dar una vuelta de rosca en ese protagonismo musical.
Para oídos curtidos, ya conocemos a varios cabezones que son de este palo y estoy seguro que se van a poner contentos. Un viaje al más allá de la mano de quien ya esta "alla".

Mago Alberto

Heavy 'n Jazz is the last live Jaco Pastorius performance currently available to the public, and is one of the most truly satisfying of his trio recordings. The album is heavy, as the title suggests, thanks to a powerful trio fronted by guitarist extraordinaire Bireli Lagrene displaying his fiercest rock chops. A fast-paced outing with more rock inflection than usual, the compact disc boasts very good sound quality. The performances contrast nicely with Pastorius' live jazz recordings with the Word of Mouth big band (Invitation, The Birthday Concert), particularly the cooker "Reza," which appears on all three sets in vastly different presentations. Every cut on Heavy 'n Jazz is a gem. Of particular interest are Lagrene's solo piece, "Bluma," and his aggressive guitar work on the exciting, soaring "Medley," featuring "Teen Town." Pastorius' playing on "Star Spangled Banner" is at once terrifying and beautiful, while "Honestly" affords him a chance to play the hits -- a collage of some of his oft-played riffs from well known Pastorius/Weather Report compositions. Heavy 'N Jazz is a must for Jaco-philes, however, jazz purists be warned.

David Ross Smith

Jaco Pastorius was great bassist at his best, but too often his recordings are very chaotic, even hardly accessible. This album is rare case when you can hear his geniality in full.
Heavy'n'Jazz is live album recorded by Jaco Pastorius power trio in Italy. And his last recorded performance. Two other trio members are excellent French musicians Serge Bringolf (drums) and guitarist Biréli Lagrène. Album's music is very different from Jaco's orchestrated or post-bop jazzy recordings. Music there is heavy fusion on it's best.
The very first composition is Coleman's "Broad Way Blues", 12:42 minutes long, full of improvisations and bass and drums soloing. Second song is medley, combined with guitarist Lagrène's composition "Bluma" and rock classic "Smoke On The Water". Amazing guitarist work! And Hendrix's songs medley there as well!
"The Star Spangled Banner" is a Jaco's moment, and he shows his bass abilities in full there. "Reza" is classic Pastorius song, but there it sounds different, more in rock key."Honestly" returns us back in Jaco's Weather Report time. Great jazzy bass line!
"Invitation" is electric guitar driven jazzy tune, but bass improves are important parts of all composition. Album finishes with producer's Jan Jankeje composition "Jaco's Reggae"- melodic pop-jazz tune.
Jaco Pastorius' legacy is great in many moments, but you will hardly find there full album as strong as this one. Excellent entrance to his music as well.

Slava Gliozeris

Well, I won't raise my glass to this, either.
It is of no secret that Jaco had a serious problem with alcohol addiction. That in turn led to his untimely death at the hands of a bouncer at a Fort Lauderdale establishment.
A Jazz-Rock fan, I spent a small fortune on obtaining most of his seriously overpriced live recordings. Most of them were a flop, a disappointment and this one is only marginally better than the rest.
This trio of badly mis-matched musicians lacks cohesion, let alone direction. Pastorius, no matter how intoxicated he may be delivers his flawless bass line as if second nature. The only thing is missing - inspiration. Nothing really wrong with the delivery, it just fails to impress.
Lagrene on the other hand is more into showing off his Heavy-Rock, bordering on Speed- Metal licks , licks that don't really match the compositions. These two cats may share admiration for Hendrix, but their individual approach couldn't be more different. The end result is not very impressive.
The drumming comes across as quite ordinary, just keeping the beat, but nothing much more. Nothing to make me to look out for other recordings with his participation.
I am rather partial to good "jamming", but this performance is one of those that gives "jamming" a bad name. Indulgent and directionless, but still, slightly better than most other live recordings by Jaco.
Can't quite offer it 4 as I couldn't call it excellent, but it's certainly above 3 - if only marginally.

Bora