Jaco Pastorius plays Amerika solo

[jaco5187]

Stephen King said that when Ernest Hemingway was stoned off his ass, he was still a genius. You can say the same about Jaco...

[Onionbass]

86395 views..... WTF.

[locobeis]

0:40, he turns up the crowd volume..., really funny

[neurotyrant]

He looks so stoned in this video. RIP Jaco.

[kinshasaAPP]

The bass didn't survive, did it.

[SquierClassicVibe35]

I love this solo.

[Omeega333]

THE Greatest, guys... the one.

[thereisawizza]

Was really good to see him on what was clearly one of his good days :-)

[22solveigh]

so Jaco was a Jesus nailed on wood, suffering by broken bones -

may I tell you: it was nothing special - but he knew to play JAZZ

[Okonkole237]

@22solveigh nothing special?

[ZappaFan101]

I love Jaco's music. I learned so much from it over the years- and I still am. But this is one of Jaco's worst solos. I'm not saying its garbage, but this does lack the stuff that made Jaco great. I LOVED his earlier playing (70s to early 80s), but this one is hard to watch without feeling a little bummed out. Substance abuse had really taken a toll on him in this video. He plays america twice in a row with very little change inbetween - something I never seen him do. But this guy was a genious.

[aakkoin]

i cannot understand how he can play like he plays... so cynical, wild, ironic, natural, beautiful and full of soul...

[bigbadbeethoven]

Jaco was the greatest bassist ever. Hands down. Blows the mind.

[MyVinylFetish]

Long live Jaco !!!

[jryuwah]

all this stuff you see on youtube was him at 75% he wasnt 100%, that wasnt even all his talent before he died, he had so much more to give but he had to leave so soon

[AleDaino]

Watching his video on youtube you can almost forget he's been the greatest bass player....too bad.

[VictorAWineGuy]

PART FOUR he was sentenced to 22 months in jail and five years probation. HE WAS RELEASED AFTER FOUR MONTHS IN JAIL FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR. Pastorius was buried at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale I will go to Jacos grave and video it for you all, if they will let me, I will bring my bass that Jaco loved.

[22solveigh]

Are you still alive - you can t be from this planet,

you awful someone . greetings from hamburg

[VictorAWineGuy]

PART THREE He was not the first person to get drunk and rowdy in Ft. Lauderdale. A few nights after Jaco was beat to a pulp, the regulars told me what they saw. Even after he was beaten into a coma the bouncer continued to beat Jaco, breaking hundreds of bones. FROM WIKIPEDIA In the wake of Pastorius' death, Luc Havan, a karate expert, was charged with manslaughter but later pled guilty to second degree murder. Because of having no priors and with time served while waiting for the verdict,

[VictorAWineGuy]

PART TWO I felt they were taking advantage of him. I remember saying to him. "But you're the famous Jaco Pastorius". It's easy now, to see the bipolar symptoms. You can not be a good artist if you can not recognize "the genius" in another artist. To me Jaco acted like a puppy, always excited to see you, wanted to kiss your hand. Yes he did get drunk and got up on stage, but most people there were just as smashed as he was and were cheering him on. It was still the Fort Liquordale days.

[jpbass150]

how old was he when he did this show? he looks different.

1:48 - amazing

[ianonfire]

it was from a concert in '84

so he was 32-33

and i was surprised when i saw him without his long hair, or hippy attire, not to mention his beat up philly's hat

[barrett5000]

Dont throw the bass! NOOOOOOOooooooo......

[jjdrummerboy]

has anyone figured out what he plays at 1:48 and 2:53?

ive been trying to learn that riff for weeks! too fast and i dnt have any tools to slow it down.

thx

j

[jsxtal]

check out a program called "transcribe"

there's a website and you can try a free trial for a bit and that should get you through the phrase

[wisesatyr72]

is that the bass of doom that hes playin?

[BaphometsWarrior]

Yes, the fabled Bass of Doom

[BaphometsWarrior]

the bass doesn't break.

it was smashed during a fight a few years before his death. I assume he caught it (he did it at many shows).

The noise at the end was probably the cable snapping out of the input jack or sometihng. If the bass broke you'd KNOW by hearing it.

[RandomJoeys]

Does anyone even see his bass? Its got so many freaking chunks taken out of it.... he's probably thrown it like that dozens of times before...

[BaphometsWarrior]

too soon

[Hazzard88Mph]

what happens at the end??????????

[ultimabass]

I hate audiences like this... ones that just won't listen to him play!! These kind ruin a good performance.

[RandomJoeys]

same here

[myhandhurts2]

holy crap the audience is going crazy man!

[ultimabass]

Yeah... it's annoying as hell. You can't enjoy Jaco's playing if audience is being stupid like that.

[redhouse7]

Ahhhh what happened to the bass at the end???

[Smoothbassistthatsme]

whatcha think?

[sesspleftocore]

god that ending is so sad

[WallowingGrizzly]

God bless "Jaco the Beautiful"....oh yeah, Americas cool too

please tell me he caught that bass

[HAMACUA]

el mejor bajista de todos los tiempos

[jdrew1130]

Jaco was an American original!

[SrBridges]

so was Jesus for mormonism... ;D whooooooooops... sorry...

Jaco rules because of his talent not becasue of his nationality. Don't ever forget that, y'all people. A DARLE! ;D

[jdrew1130]

I know that, man, you don't have to tell me. Why, did I ever say that he rules because of his nationality? Did I??? What I just meant is that Jaco was someone Americans can be proud of. Get it???

[SrBridges]

Sorry, man. It never meant to be a "personal" comment for you, it was more some kind of "general comment" with some "irony spice".seizeing the opportunity of your comment.

But is good to see you didn't mean what i thought you did mean, really. And as an american too, i should say that i don't feel any pride 'bout it. Let's say that i just LIKE his music.a LOT ;D.

That's all. VIVA LA MÚSICA!

[cfalberg]

did he just do what i think he did? omg he threw his bass in the air! they sure dont make em like they used to.

[jibcraip]

This isn't his best solo...he is so drunk in this video...well that's the late jaco...

[Lebowskin]

I think this is wonderful, i love the late Jaco. It's so full of emotions and passion you cant love it

[strongbadian4747]

The late Jaco was full of emotion because he was suffering. He was an incredible musician, the later part of his life being no exception, but make no mistake, he was in a very dark place those last two years. He desperately needed help which he never recieved. Instead, he was treated like an object, a music producing machine. People got so caught up in how incredible his music was that they forgot all about the suffering of the person behind that music. He deserved much better.

[Lebowskin]

"It's so full of emotions and passion you cant love it", that was a misstake by me, it should say "It's so full of emotions and passion you cant Not love it"... But i see what you mean, except he never accepted ta achive help, he didnt realize he ever was sick, that was the problem. But sure you're right, he deserved better...

[WallowingGrizzly]

preach on brother....people with talent and fame are often elevated to heights of mysticism, immune to the falls of man, pushing them further and further away until we can longer see thier true face...only what we want to see...mabe its

an inflection of our own shortcomings.....ahhhh fuck it.....JACO RULES!!!

[martinfilas]

muy bueno!

[jacobi117]

he certainly wasn'y very kind to his basses, was he? lol ;) RIP Jaco.

[felipbasspato]

alguém aew sabe se esse foi o fim desse baixo::?????????????

[felipbasspato]

mto loko.........

[arielbasses]

master

[edobarto]

GOD...

[PacmansPlayground]

fuck off,

sorry but that was such a fuck off comment. Victor is an amazing bassist but Jaco just had that POWER to his playing.

[Musicman510ee]

If you ever heard Victor speak about Jaco, you would hear nothing but respect and love for him, every bassist who calls themself a bass player knows that Jaco was the true genius, heart and soul of the bass guitar.

[VictorAWineGuy]

Thank you musicman. Every time Jaco would see me, he would bow down and kiss my hands and say, "Victor the greatest bass player ever." It was an obviously exaggeration. But would any other famous musician go through the trouble to make people feel good like that? Do you know how it made me feel, coming from him? I'm surprised he remembered my name. He could have said I'm famous, kiss my ass, but that's not the way he treated people. It seemed like he wanted, maybe needed people to like him

[alexdelarge66]

@Musicman510ee WHERE COULD I SEE THIS?

[Vayshen]

Beautiful playing! But I wish the crowd' shut up sometimes :(

[jessicadrisiqueira]

Um grande GENIO,porem esta completamente travado de cocaina,msmo assim !!!!o melhor!

[EventieSpettacoli]

Jaco an artistic genius of all the artists as suffering from schizophrenia also knew Jaco to express what is otherwise.

[slavooooo]

It wasn't schizophrenia. He suffered from bipolar disorder. Still nothing good though. Still an artistic genius.

[slavooooo]

Does anyone know what happens to the bass 2 secs after the clip ends?

[carolinapanthers187]

take a guess

[chunto231]

you can actualy hear it crash down. (the video slows but the audio doesnt)

[02nothing]

the guy who says you can hear the crash is right, I think it's also cool to know that this is the 1968 (69?) J Bass that Jaco pulled the frets out of himself. It was affectionately known as the "Bass of Doom" and he actually never put it in a case, just carried it as is.

[bonfirejovi]

hes a great bassist but this was a really horrible solo. but then again this was near the end of his life wasnt it?

[PacmansPlayground]

This is a great solo, this solo tells a story if listen closely

[Samsgarden]

Man, have you noticed how many people bag Jaco in these clips?

What do we owe the pleasure of such marvelous critiques??

[karrowarro02]

Wow Jaco is stoned out of his fucking head....this performance is somehow pathetic and infinitely beautiful at the same time. What a tragic life...RIP

[eliezeralpr]

Retardation

[Kazbahn1]

Perhaps the longest and most over-rated tuning session i've ever heard. It sounded like that when i went to a gig once and the stage hands were still setting up.

[wysiwyg248]

Kazbahn1

It is just noise for you because you have not walked enough yet. Watch it again in 10 years... oh, and practice some bass walking lines in the meantime.

[axXeZ]

you must be kidding.. seems that you dont really know the "worlds greatest bass player"..

he is a genius.

right, thats not his best solo, but d'you know why? he was totally on blow that time. and at that gig he was probably drunk, too. he got really fucked up later.. a really bad ending for such a genius.

read the biography "the extraordinary and tragic life of jaco pastorius". then you'll understand what i mean.

ah yeah, i dont believe, that you sounded like jaco at a soundcheck..

[chunto231]

fuckin awsome!

[hectorguzmanmontoya]

Just imagine Jaco playing Amerika for the Obama inauguration...

[Mudskippersam]

that would indeed be something!

[racecarjerry]

Just imagine Obama playing Amerika for his own inaugaration.

[jakew1]

ahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha­haha that made my day

[RaldyV]

If only Jaco was frozen in some sort of Ice (at his time of death), Melted from there, and only revived when a Democratic President would be elected...

[LordBoognish]

the two party system is fucked.... How bout we revive Jaco when they elect a Libertarian?

[Mudskippersam]

jesus...it's a bunch of fuckin fanboys in here!

all bass players, except those who are truly terrible, have their own merits. Some are better than others, I would place both Jaco AND Flea AND Wooten, along with Les Claypool, and Mastodon's Troy Sanders in this better category.

[wdsdyln]

i'm just messing with you on this remark, what about billy sheehan, and stu hamm? lol

[Mudskippersam]

yeahhh them too haha, I didn't think to greatly when writing that =p and Mark King also. My friend works at Status Basses, Mark King's sig bass =o

[rouschno1]

Rouschno1(2weeks ago) is a fraud. People, do not pay any attention to this PHONY rouscher as he isn't even man enough to get his own name and identity. This imposter knows absolutely nothing contrary to what he thinks. This moron was caught by the local police for trying to molest a border collie. This chucklehead can't even use quotation marks correctly. Please, do not encourage him and his unethical ways. Someday he will have his own identity and I will finally rest easily. Thanks everyone.

[rouschno1]

Goose, Jaco redefined how the electric bass should be played. You're obviously young or dumb or perhaps both. Listen to 8:30 or land of the midnight sun and tell me there's no groove. Jaco had it all including the all elusive "unique musical voice" we all aspire to own for ourselves. Flea isn't a speck of shit on Jaco's toilet paper. I'll bet Flea would agree. Do some serious research on the instrument and come back when you're all grown up.

[rwlane]

right on man.

[hilttonmoreira]

Louco!

[STEAMWORKER]

Goose

Instead of playing 1000 of hours you should spend more time listening.

(Caron, Wooten ,Manring etc...)And you should find out how much of an influence Jaco is today.

And for Noles 33 Jaco was let go from life support as the result of a fight with a bouncer in a night club in 1987 I think...

[GooseRHCP321]

I am an avid bass player and have thousands of hours experience playing live, but I really think Jaco is over rated. I have yet to hear a Jaco song with any solid groove or structure, its awful random spastic shit! He has perfect technique but no sense of melody.

[sesspleftocore]

you would worship the chili peppers..jaco has more melody in the look of his eye than you do, and if you cant hear the melody in this song, and the way he puts his style into it for the crowd, then i doubt your sense of musicality, not even solely for loving the chili peppers...

YOU BETTER RECOGNIZE THE MAN WHEN YOU SEE HIM!

[bassbiglik0]

lol i think ur right! totallly!.... but... chilly peppers are a gr8 band and they have some good songs. but id rather listern to jaco or mike stern n them cats anyday!!!

search mike stern chromerzone! its new on here and awsome!

[jamomo1371]

O avid bass playing majesty,

I am humbled by your thousands of performance

hours. Where can we look to find such enlightenment and inspiration? Guide us, for you have been blessed with such gifts!

[mikecannbass]

Thousands of hours of playing experience doesn't mean your are all that good either. He revolutionized electric bass. You could only dream about playing with half as much groove or soul in your playing.

[x934w]

u know what gooseRHCP321

maybe because he didnt have no solid groove this is his own style he doesnt copy no1 else.this is wat u call original .. if u think about no offence to these bassest but victor wooten .marcus miller . they are all the same .. grove there groove here .. but with jaco look at him fukin legend

god of the bass world

thank you very much :)

[jesemus33]

ohhh......stand up ladies and gentleman, a true legend talk here....he's name is GooseRHCP3211.........zzzzz...­.zzzzz....zzzz...zzzzz...zzzzz­....Goos.....who cares, just another modal scales player.

go to play your country music hahahahahaha MEDIOCRE!!!!

[jesemus33]

ohhh......stand up ladies and gentleman, a true legend talk here....he's name is GooseRHCP3211.........zzzzz... .zzzzz....zzzz...zzzzz...zzzzz ....Goos.....who cares, just another modal scales player, a lot of scales up and down....boring style!!!

go to play your country music hahahahahaha MEDIOCRE!!!!

[bassbiglik0]

lol flea s an incrediball bass player btw.... no 1 can tell me tht that guy aint got it ALL going on.... i advise u to watch rhcp live off the map.. ull c some awsome arrangments or compositions! RIP jaco! :( And zawinul!)

[zebracrossingJF]

GooseRHCP321 check out Jaco in "I can dig it baby" by little beaver, "come on come over", "the chicken", "continuum", "opus pocus", "used to be cha cha", "portrait of tracy", and Jaco's higher solo. He is the epitome of solid groove and a sense of melody in all these

I know what you're saying though, it would have been sweet if he did more funk grooves than the new age jazz feel. His will to bring things to new heights is why he didn't do this, and why he is the greatest bass player of all time

[GooseRHCP321]

thank you for seeing my opinion, Jaco is amazing but the popular stuff on youtube isnt quite up to par with his skills, you have to dig really deep to see his genius, thanks again for the "redirection"

[noles33]

how did he die??

[PacmansPlayground]

He was a major crack fiend, was denied access into a club & kicked in the glass door, then serial killer, sorry 'bouncer' called Luc Haven tried calming him down with a punch to the face, which put him on life surport, then his family chose to turn off his life surport

What a way to die Jaco!

[tylerc0leman]

It wasn't just a punch to the face, Havan beat the fuck out of Jaco.

Imagine what music would be like today had he lived...

[MCarlson89]

i can't believe he threw up the bass...

[DannyDesperate]

Is it just me but is the guy out of his head here? A few muscularly memorized diddly-diddly licks can not disguise he is in another world. Who allowed him to wander onstage to play in this condition, it's a freak show - he should be in fucking re-hab. He might still be with us, bless his heart he did so many great things this is no epitaph at all but an insult and the crowd are still encouraging him. Sad, very sad.

[Skankingbass]

In his instructional video he says that his chops aren't quite what they used to be. The whole thing is posted on youtube.

[efergarmx]

Where is Luc Havan Now? He mus feels guilty after he knew who was Jaco Pastorius.

[cciemail]

no. he never admitted what he did or showed any remorse.

[ClemenzaKimble]

I'm 24. Why? Because using a swear word would be far more grown up? I'm not lecturing on drugs and I'm not trying to change anything. Even Jaco said on a later video that he can't play some of his earlier riffs as well as he used to. I just don't think his playing is that good on this clip, but he that doesn't stop him from being a big influence on me. I can't see why people think I'm a moron for that.

[ClemenzaKimble]

I have Jaco's albums and I like his music. I just think it's sad that he went so far up his own arse and decided to go down the drugs road and play not as well as he did when he was tee-total. If you can't see the truth in that, you've got to be a blockhead.

[69gizzer]

i swear to god, if luc havan is still alive, i will find the fucker and kill him in jaco's name.

[TAYGUNOV]

i know what you mean, what a shame that such a stupid incident and such a stupid asshole deprived the world from such talent and beauty...

[69gizzer]

I think it comes down to this, luc havan, a bouncer with a black belt, jaco, a scrawny, short coke fiend, who has the upper hand here? A smart blackbelt would restrain jaco and call the cops, and jaco would be with us here today (god willing he would have gotten clean) beating up a man u knew u had the upper hand on and resultin in his death, thats premeditated murder 1, not mutherfucking manslaughter

[TAYGUNOV]

I agree but i believe that this was bound to happen because of his addiction. He was so screwed up in the head from drugs and drinking, it was bound to happen sometime

[TAYGUNOV]

i agree... but jaco is not small lol he was like 6'4

[m30wc0w]

Yeah, Jaco was an athlete for all his life mayne.

[wilko2409]

My heart sinks and my mood deepens every time i see this. Beautiful and sad all in one. there is just no escaping it...

peace

[ronzococo]

yes yes yes!! that's how i feel.

[vanderholt2]

I want to see the full video. Like at the end I want to see if he catches his bass or if it hits the floor

[RAHMYULIS]

i thought he would slip and fall on the drawers that got thrown on the stage. but he didn't, and the song sounded nice too!

[MuLdY85]

Im sorry! but Im a long time fan of Jaco's and yeah I no this is when he was druged up! but can anyone answer me this! was there any bleed? NO! the man plays! druged up or not! the way he plays! And if I could play that good off my tits! Baby I'd be a happy man

[ClemenzaKimble]

Why the hell has my message received thumbs down? Can some people not see that it's true?

[vanderholt2]

i donno but i put a thumbs up. It is true what you say. He is a great player and all but the drugs lead him to the end of his carear

[cciemail]

you're probably getting thumbs down because what you said is ridiculous. "From watching this video, I as a musician, have decided never to do drugs." he,he. what a jackass.

Drugs weren't even the main problem with Jaco. He was diagnosed as bipolar.

His playing is still great on this video anyway. And even on heavy drugs I'm sure he could play better than you.

[ClemenzaKimble]

His playing in this is pretty ramshackle, and the audience certainly don't help matters. From watching this video, I as a musician, have decided never to do drugs. Even cannabis, because I know a bass player who has got talent, but he plays badly because of his addiction too, and he isn't even been in the limelight. I'd rather play really well in front of 10 people than get drugged up and play badly in front of a couple of thousand.

[AndrewMon2008]

good for you

[R0b1zzle137]

Every time I see the end of this, it makes me a little teary eyed. RIP Jaco.

[ronzococo]

i know what you mean dude.. y__y

[GarethMTB]

Jaco was near the end here. This was one of his victory laps, as Springsteen puts it, and everyone knows it. I saw him play 5 times and few musicians can touch him on stage, bass or otherwise. His madness was part of his genius. I have seen countless bass players from Bruce to Bona and Jaco will always be top of the tree.

[drummyonekenobi]

The audience is just stupid and don't listen anything..

Too bad for them..

Music is not the Olympics!

[wilko2409]

damn straight!!

peace

[tobi33258]

jaco was an excellent bass player, had more tricks up his sleeve than any bass player past or present, his song writing ability was fantastic, word of mouth was awesome john and mary, liberty city and yes he did change jazz turned it inside out, on its head genius he wouldve gotten a laugh out of that, gifted a little and then some rest in peace john

[buffalobillyboy]

Not so great for me either. If you gotta do "research" and have an IQ of 120 to appreciate this clip then it's not my idea of what listening to music is all about.

[6y298]

Get a little sad whenever I see this vid - the end was near, and something truly special went with him. Thanks Jaco, you inspire us still.

[thefallenfae]

Thanks for putting this video up. When I got stuck playing bass in a jazz band in high school simply because I owned a bass, I was disappointed at not getting to play guitar and have solos. Then I heard Jaco, and decided to come at the instrument from left field, just as he did. In the end, I got offered a scholarship to Berklee. :) Should've taken it, too. The dumb mistakes of youth...

[BoboBerlinsky]

I don't hear nothing so wonderful in his playing...in this vid. or any other...I've played in a lot of bands, over the years, and I've heard a lot of great bass players...many that would send him walkin' out the club with his dumb-ass head "hangin' low." What's the big deal?

[thefallenfae]

The big deal is this:

Almost all of those bass players you've heard are using techniques that Jaco created. Moreover, while some may be "technically" better, I've heard no one who plays with the soul and love of the instrument that Jaco did. He approached the electric bass with a fresh mind and approach that revolutionized the instrument, and did for bass what Hendrix did for guitar.

Go listen to Jaco's "Chromatic Fantasy," and come back with your head "hangin' low."

[Dmanlamius76]

It's easy and ignorant for people to say stuff like this when they don't understand the evolution of an instrument. If it wasn't for Jaco, we wouldn't have Wooten, Schmidt, Baudin, etc etc these days. In twenty years time the naive will be calling Wooten's technique dated as well. The electric bass is such a young instrument, and we are pushing it and evolving to it daily. Exciting times to be a bass player...;) Jaco was a milestone in our evolution.

[PrimericanIdol]

I played this song in one of the classes @ the company i worked in.

i simply renamed it "Primerika" lol

everyone was amazed.

[Rudreax]

Ok, maybe not every line, but the guy does do something whenever he gets cheered.

[Rudreax]

The only reason the audience cheered so much was because Jaco did a fist pump after every other riff, so don't get mad at them.

Anyway, anyone know when this was? Jaco seems out of it (ar really, really into the music).

[Bluezking]

watching this video I cd feel his passion.Amazing.

[jakaboy]

I WANNA THANK GOD THAT HE GAVE ME HEARS

[orex355]

This is "THE Man". He started it all. Circa- 70' thru 80's. Tragic ending. Died homeless and destitute. A product of alcohol, drug abuse and mental illness(bi-polar). A native of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. but got to travel the whole world as the most sought after jazz/rock/pop bassist that ever lived.

[elgabo77]

jjaajaja

[BassMan1912]

wtf is with the audience...stfu

[izumialexisikedathor]

a sad solo... JACO!

[lpsling]

I love you Jaco wherever you are now...you blessed our lives with this beautiful bass playing....this music is in my heart always!!

[bimwopbarn]

dude the audience really needs to shut up and let the man speak

[giputti]

penso che chiunque ami jaco e la sua musica farebbe volentieri a meno di vederlo in questo stato! se pensate che questo sia il vero jaco vi sbagliate di grosso!!!! questo che vedete è una persona differente....e lo disse qualcuno che lo conosceva bene.

[carale91]

Certo il vero Jaco è quello degli anni 75-82.

[giputti]

bravo....!

[gustovero]

del tutto d'accordo. Che tristezza...

[ericdabass1979]

Absolutely fantastic! Nobody can touch Jaco on bass...

Thanks for putting this up!

[itlnstln171]

AMAZING!... What is this from?

[bassmansim]

It's from a gig with the Gil Evans Orchestra. Must've been a TV broadcast. Got a few of these kind of things knocking about and can't be sure of dates etc... great clip though!

[51362879]

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering why you felt "America" needed to be spelled with a "K".

[bassmansim]

Because Jaco spells it with a "K".

[jakaboy]

ROFL 513628 GOT P W  N E D NOOB !!!11

[alfredismo]

i ld like to do that some day , =)

thanks for upload such great video

greetings from chile=)