Jaco Pastorius – Jaco Pastorius (1976), A Legendary Jazz Album

‘Jaco Pastorius’ is the self-titled official debut studio album of virtuoso American bassist Jaco Pastorius which was released in 1976 by Epic Records. Jaco’s debut namesake studio album was produced by Bobby Colomby, the drummer and founder of New York-rooted jazz fusion band Blood, Sweat & Tears. The LP was recorded at Camp Colomby Studios, pertaining to Columbia Recording Studios C&B in New York City.

Jaco Pastorius (1976) debut self-titled studio album frontal cover artwork, with a photograph of the legendary and revolutionary innovator of the electric bass himself. Image source: www.emag.ro

Jaco’s debut studio album is a very interesting catchy mixture of jazz fusion, post-bop, and funk. It has a total length of 42 minutes and 9 seconds (the standard edition) and, in the case of the remastered edition, it’s total running time is 55 minutes and 13 seconds. The standard edition of the studio album consists of 9 tracks as follows:

  1. Donna Lee (originally composed by either Charlie Parker or Miles Davis);
  2. Come On, Come Over (composed by Jaco Pastorius and Bob Herzog);
  3. Continuum (composed by Jaco Pastorius);
  4. Kuru/Speak Like A Child (composed by Jaco Pastorius and Herbie Hancock);
  5. Portrait of Tracy (composed by Jaco Pastorius);
  6. Opus Pocus (composed by Jaco Pastorius);
  7. Okonkolé Y Trompa (composed by Jaco Pastorius and Don Alias);
  8. (Used to Be a) Cha-cha (composed by Jaco Pastorius);
  9. Forgotten Love (composed by Jaco Pastorius).

The remastered edition of the album released in 2000 adds two bonus tracks as follows:

  • (Used to Be a) Cha-cha (alternate take, previously unreleased);
  • 6/4 Jam (previously unreleased).

The jazz standard ‘Portrait of Tracy‘, a very fine and delicate song, is a tribute of Jaco to his wife, Tracy Sexton. The debut studio album of Jaco Pastorius has achieved cult status among its devoted fans and also fans of jazz fusion in general. Its musical legacy lives on to this day, still inspiring aspiring and well established bassists worldwide alike.

In terms of critical reception, the album was well to extremely well received and praised by such specialized music publications as AllMusic (which gave it 5 out 5 stars), Sputnikmusic (which only gave it 3 out of 5 stars), The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (which only gave it 3 out of 5 stars), and the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (which gave 3.5 out of 4 stars).

For his debut studio album, Jaco worked with an impressive number of musicians, among others, most notably, Herbie Hancock (frontman of the jazz fusion band Headhunters) as well as Don Alias or fellow Weather Report bandmate Wayne Shorter.

Down below you can integrally listen to all of the constituent tracks of the album via Youtube. Enjoy, all the best, much health, take care, stay safe, many blessings, and great peace your way! God bless you and keep on listening to jazz rock fusion! 😊🙏✌️☮️🤘

Documentation sources and external links:

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