Jaco

Although listeners often think of Jaco Pastorius' first solo album as 1976's Jaco on Epic, producer/keyboardist Paul Bley actually gave Pastorius his first official chance at professional recording two years earlier. Coincidentally titled Jaco (originally titled Pastorious/Metheny/Ditmas/Bley), this spontaneous set is also significant for being among guitarist Pat Metheny's first recordings; completing the quartet are Bley on electric piano and drummer Bruce Ditmas. The music consists of three songs by Bley, five from Carla Bley, and "Blood" by Annette Peacock. Pastorius sounds quite powerful, but Metheny's tone is kind of bizarre, very distorted, and not at all distinctive at this point. The recording quality is a bit shaky throughout the electronic set, and the group does not quite live up to its potential, but Pastorius shows that he was already an innovative player, making this an LP of historic interest. ~ Scott Yanow|