- CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
- Jaco Pastorius "Holiday For Pans" rec. 1980-82, rel. 1993 (USA)
So who was Jaco Pastorius? His rise to fame began when he played on Pat Metheny's early breakout albums in the mid-70's, and was solidified when he joined the popular fusion band Weather Report and did tours and albums with Joni Mitchell. They called him "the Hendrix of electric bass" because of his stunning virtuosity and outrageous showmanship (a beach bum "Florida man" by upbringing, he often performed barefoot and shirtless and did tricks with his bass - pretty unusual in the stuffy world of jazz performance!) He only released two albums as a leader during his short life (more Hendrix parallels).
And why is this album interesting? The description alone lets you know this is going to unlike anything you've heard before: it's jazz fusion featuring the unusual combination of steel pans and electric bass! Pans (often called "steel drums") were pretty much unheard in jazz before Jaco brought his pal Molineux into the studio (he played pans on every Jaco album). The pans are really the star of the show here (hence the title, a play on an old standard called "Holiday For Strings" which they cover on Pans). Jaco's electrified fretless bass recalls the atmospheric vibes of his work with Metheny and Mitchell, and some heavy drumming and dashes of synthesizer give it a futuristic edge as well. But words can only say so much when writing about what music sounds like: Holiday For Pans is a relaxing, mystical soundscape of psychedelicized Carribean sunshine that barely counts as "jazz" but is a "fusion" in the truest sense. It's the most interesting and unique album that this interesting and unique musician ever made, and I sense Jaco was trying so hard to get it released because it was the truest reflection of his Florida roots and who he was as a musician. I think the music contained here meant a lot to him.