Jaco Pastorius - Portrait of Tracy - bass performance

[mediatesilent]

great rendition. i think the harmonic at :39 is false, it seems like you play the actual root note.

[ZappaFan101]

Great job! I have always felt that all bass players should learn this, or at least hear the tune. At the time, no one was doing the stuff Jaco did. It's an excellent example of what you can really do beyond the role of traditional bass playing. And yes, that last harmonic chord is a nightmare to pull off. I play it the same way you do - I just play the two higher notes. As a matter of fact, I don't recall anyone on youtube that played it the way Jaco played it. Its the stretch from hell.

[zumazmusic]

@ZappaFan101 - Indeed it is a stretch from hell! Thanks for the great comment. I agree with you, it should be a staple to at least be familiar with it.

[sprintbass]

i think that j84 sounds alot like an aria... ive never come across one of those in real life.. when i play this song i do it on my fretless its just easier for me...i hope that bouncer in florida who killed jaco has a long painful death...it makes me so mad he was taken from us how he was..i heard he (bouncer) got off easy..id love to take a jazz fretless bass and play tennis with his head...terrible loss.

[maazisworld]

Very nice!

[danmo1993]

awesome job man!

check out my cover btw - let me know what you think :P

watch?v=JWUBdyjGpLk

[janethelion]

Wow- I never knew the intro to this could be that funky. Nice job!

[zumazmusic]

@janethelion - Thanks, I really appreciate it.

[basssheasd4]

@zumazmusic Very nice!!!! im really trying to learn this cover !!!i grew up in the funk error .....all thumbs!!!!!!!!!! but im good at it!!!!

[adebicki]

@zumazmusic yeah man, i like your version alot. very clean and rich. i didn't know it was so involved.

[adebicki]

@zumazmusic yeah man, i like your version a lot. very clean and rich. i didn't know it was so involved.

[Skeedaddy91]

hey man great job! Would you take a look at my version and give me tips about the settings? I'm kinda of a bass-newbie so I don't know that much! Yeah your video is absolutely Ok, very rich and clear tone...How did you do? :)

[zumazmusic]

@Skeedaddy91 - I just looked at your version and I think it's great! Keep it up. You are pretty damn good! As to your other question - I record bass seperately in ProTools and then I mix the video in using Sony Vegas. It's a lot more work but I think the sound is worth it when compared to most built-in camera microphones.

[Skeedaddy91]

thanks a lot man!! :) I've really gotta find an easier and better way to record tunes since I'm really tired of using an old and useless USB microphone! XD Keep it up and many thanks again! Jaco's music has that special thing for me :)

[riccaliolio]

Does Jaco really use 90% of the neck pickup for this song? And I think it will be better if you'll just upload a better version than correcting your mistakes via the talk balloons... :)

[tttimmmmmm]

i love how you play it, it sound so perfect. im not sure what im doing wrong

[Pblack476]

I have to agree with your response. Not the deepest tone, a JBass would actually sound more organic than this bass does but yeah, it's not by any chance a bad sound for a bass. I just think that basswood takes a lot of the personality out of the tone. For instance, passive MM pickups in a basswood bass are imo a waste of a good pickup since a lot of it's characteristic sound is in the lower frequencies. Now, a rickenbacker will sound perfect in basswood.

[geniusgza7]

very nice man, check the song pigeon by cannibal ox, it samples the bass nicely

[BassEditor]

Zuma how did you find a J-84 without all the graphics? Did you remove them? cheers

[zumazmusic]

Oh, the graphics are there! They're just hiding in the shadows. They are actually really hard to see on stage or video. They are more subtle than you might think.

[Nobtkable]

Super&Great!

Please,Teach me your bass effecter on playing! Please!!

[zumazmusic]

Thank you. The only effect I used was compression to bring out the harmonics on this one. That's it.

[shooterfinn]

i cant play the ending to this song coz i cant reach. does anyone have any pointers?

cheers.

[bodombeachterror1349]

Good Job man farther than ive ever gotten.

[ultimabass]

The swing feel... It sounded unique. Out of place, but unique. I liked it. Nice work!

[zumazmusic]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback.

[streetniggaman]

dude you rock

[BulldogMOMS]

wow

very good!

[pirrostsakas]

Might not be accurate but u sure got the feeling,

[dennis70s]

great sound, mate!!!!!!!

[amperion1]

i like it :-)

[AtliGimp]

Great job man really great playing, I'm starting to learn to play this song so wish me luck ;)

[IIiiioooiiiII]

great attempt!

[groovemak]

Wonderful!!!And so close to the original...( once upon a time I heard to Jaco from live - 1986 live in Mestre/Italy - who play this tune with more mistakes than you, believe me!)

Bravo!

Fabio

[funnyduck]

lucky

[ultimabass]

Yeah it's unfortunate, because by 1986, he was pretty screwed up... I wish Jaco would have been one of those legends that would keep on living...

[zumazmusic]

Thank you very much!

[boxfordbassist]

Extremely well done. Who cares if it isnt exactly as recorded by Jaco, Music is all about putting your own into it and i think it sounds really really great. Very very well done. Beautiful Music.

[rjbassmanatyahoocom]

that was pretty good, its very hard to play like jaco, his style had such virtuosity

[s7l7h]

peaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa­aaaaaaaacee mann!!!

[punkjazz28]

mint! really well played mate.

[Fr3eStyle2]

u made mistakes but it dont matter it was good

[zumazmusic]

Now this is a comment I can live with. Thank You!

[berenkillu]

it's ok but you have many mistakes.. btw each time jaco plays Eb as a harmonic note you need to push your 1st finger on the 2nd fret on the A string and your 4th finger on the 6th fret. start with that ;)

[zumazmusic]

Geez...I hear you but give me some credit...I very specifically point out that I cheated here and there and if you read my description I clearly point out that it's not perfect. Also, the harmonic you describe is discussed about 15 comments up. Thanks for watching.

[diegobiscione]

hey it's not that bad!!! I think you'll have it perfect soon.

[bassprav]

good yes but i don't see any lesson...

[pralibaba]

sounds great. you are almost there

[PhatPhunk]

A very good attempt. Love your tone and recording. Clean and nice. I'm currently learning this song.. Take care..

[j3m1995]

far too fast for a lesson

[jacopotore1]

Wrong intro.

[patx29]

that was great mate but your title say its a lesson uh too fast for me

[zumazmusic]

Sorry man, I've addressed that before...I was just too beat to make a lesson of it. Maybe one day I will do another video with just a proper lesson.

[bassetc]

that was really good

[narcovice]

no portraits were drawn wrong video and tital

[jbgsk]

you had better be joking. If your not...

"portrait of tracy" is the name of the song.

[zumazmusic]

Thank You jbsk! I actually didn't understand what that person was saying so I didn't respond myself.

[infernalhell666]

I know that there is a harmonic used is this song that requires you to place your index finger on the 2nd fret and play a harmonic on the sixth fret with your pinky, but my hands are not near big enough. Did you use a shortcut for that? If so, how did you do it?

[zumazmusic]

Yes, I used "the shortcut" which is pressing the 2nd fret on the A string (B) then plucking out a pinch harmonic with your thumb and middle finger on that same string. Just play with the position of your right hand fingers and you'll get it. The thumb just lightly rests on the string while you pluck with your middle finger.

Listen to "Birdland." That is the mother lode of pinch harmonics.

[iplaybazz]

I'm 13 and I can reach that, just wondering is that pretty cool?

[Fungwabus117]

nope

[Nuckatron]

Any advice or instruction books you could guide me to on how to do harmonics?

I can to the G and D string harmonics okay but my A and E strings refuse.

Maybe it's my equipment or lack there of, though

[TDO234]

I had the same problem for months, thought it was my equipment, bought a doublebuck, still no luck. I always played near the neck - thats the error.

Roll the pickup balance to the bridge and play over the bridge pickup or just behind it, A and E should ring out. Hope this helps and enjoy :)

Nice work zumaz.

[Nuckatron]

I have a Musicman Stingray lookalike, though.

Only one set of pickups and far away from the next. And I can't find a manual or anything for it anywhere so I don't really know what the knobs do (theres three of them)

[zumazmusic]

Whoa...having owned a Stingray and currently owning an OLP I would have to say that it's gonna be tough to get that "Jaco harmonic" sound from a Stingray type humbucker. Get a Jazz type of bass or something with a single coil in the bridge and see what happens.

[Nuckatron]

I'll let you know when I have enough money to afford more strings :(.

Thanks a bunch though.

I meant "neck" not 'next'.

I have an OLP. MM32 or something like that.

Blue with pearl pickguard.

[zumazmusic]

I have that same bass with only one pickup. Look for it in my other videos.

[Squirrell5]

This is a good effort, but you really need to tighten up your playing a bit. The notes are there, you just need to clean it up a bit. Good job though!

[vinl207]

great video man but the video said lessons ...where are the lessons

[zumazmusic]

The lesson is just watching my hands I suppose. I don't always have time to expand beyond that. I put "lesson" in the title of every video. Sometimes there is more of a proper lesson, sometimes less. Hope you can still learn a thing or two. Thanks for your comment.

[bigbowlofchili]

Hey. Awesome video. You played it very good. I have a long reach and trust me this song doesn't get much easier. lol Great Job. Oh, what kind of equalizer setting/effects are u using?

[zumazmusic]

Thanks! Really, not much effects but an Alesis NanoCompressor on the way in and some additional ProTools compression with the stock plug-in. Using an Mbox/ProTools recording setup.

[nosoydeladea]

muy boeh!

[ajittffcure]

Wow! That's astounding. There are so many harmonics on this track. You very rightly said in the beginning that it is difficult to play.

[floodland99]

Very sweet.

[cjtoota1]

Sounds great to me!

[Lucho4G]

this song remember one girl :(...

[otherside65]

i cheat on the 2 to 6 stretch by doing a pinch harmonic, i think it sounds just as good

nice playing by the way, your bass sounds great

[nunzioforpresident]

wow,really really good!!!

[JustusFriedolin]

well done, i thought id never play instrument but after ive heard that jaco record, man oh man, that song blew me away so i just bought a yamaha bass and im maybe even gonna learn from your videos, rock on

[zumazmusic]

Right on man! Don't give up. It's hard at first like anything else but if you love it it will give you back so much more.

[dagga36]

May not be spot on, but one of the best versions i've seen on here..you have a gift for teaching as well as playing. many thanks, my friend.

[da1c2345]

it sounds a lil upgraded but still hot..lol

[homicidalaficianado]

well done, im trying to learn but its so technical, it's coming along though

[wellesz31]

Jaco is a real inspiration: particularly since I'm now older than he was when he died. Thanks very much for this, Zuma (sounds gorgeous!).

I actually play the cello, but I stole just about every exercise he plays on the "Modern Electric Bass Player" and, if I can work out how to play "ghost notes" that sound right, I'm thinking of working up the "Jam in E."

[doctor567]

Great job, and nice work man

[waseok]

Very nice sound!!!

And very nice playing :) flawless

[cancerslug101]

why do ppl always give excuses why they think they cant do something if you gotta use excuses you shouldnt post ur vids... u dont need to give excuses u kicked ass! so stop with that lol

[VoodooVideo888]

dude you can get that one harmonic the right way, your good enough

[zumazmusic]

I wish I could! My pinkie won't reach! It kind of reaches on my Factor because of the shorter scale but on a regular 34" scale I fall frustratingly short. I can actually reach it but it puts my hand in a painful twist. Not worth it! Thanks for the comment. I hear ya!

[JOHNTAYLORARIA]

Cheers Zuma! You're bloody brilliant with the harmonics! This is what I listen to before I'm off to bed for the night! Very well ol' chap!

[signalsaber]

What the fu**!

AWESOME!!!!

I reaaly like your harmonics,but I prefer passive basses,maybe harder to do it,btw I don't have to change a 9v battery every month;)

Thanks for the video!!

See ya ZUMA,stay tuned

[zumazmusic]

I agree! This bass (the J-84) IS passive my friend! The only active bass I have is the Ex Factor and the SB1000 and I usually run them in passive mode any way. Batteries suck to deal with!

[ROBOgirlie]

Sounds better the 2nd time

[zumazmusic]

Thanks! Moomoocajoo suggested it so I made the changes. Definitely sounds better. I just applied a bit of eq and some better compression settings, nothing too extreme.

[Lukania]

Hi, I Like Your Bass Lessons! Though They're More Less Demonstrations... Do You Think That While You Play You Could Give Some Type Of A Walkthrough And Then Play It All Through, Or Something? Just Throwing That Out There. BTW, Your Pretty Good, Kudos!

[zumazmusic]

You know, I try to do that with most of my videos (look at my Sound of Thunder video) but quite honestly I am always running low on time. It's a lot of work to go through every part and do the editing, etc. My main goal is to present you the song with LOUD bass so you can hear it well. If you can pick up some fingering then that is cool too. Thanks Lukania!

[mommasoto]

Nice job Zuma. :D

[ROBOgirlie]

I like your shirt!

;)

[zumazmusic]

It's one of those bootleg ones! It's almost disintegrated because it's so old now!

[moomoocajoo]

woo you reuploaded :D

Harmonics sound better in this one I think :)