Newly Uncovered: Jaco Pastorius’ Stunning 1984 Live Set at NYC’s Blue Note

The Jaco Pastorius Archive dropped a recording of Jaco’s residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. This took place in 1984.

The set list:

• 00:00 Three Women (Piano Solo)
• 00:28 Blues for Louise (Piano and Trumpet Duet)
• 04:20 Dania
• 12:19 Bass Solo
• 15:41 Soul Intro / The Chicken
• 25:35 Bass Solo
• 29:39 Invitation
• 45:53 Bass Solo

JPA shared the background:

“Some of my favourite Jaco Pastorius recordings of the mid-1980s come from his five-day residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. While only four separate tape recordings are known to exist, they cover a lot of the February 18 and 19 shows and jam sessions, and feature some of his most imaginative playing of the ’80s.

“I was originally intending to just share one or two bass solos from this tape, but upon listening to the full recording, I realised that it’s better to share the full thing—especially when high-definition photos from the residency are so difficult to find. (This photo was shot by the famed photographer Ebet Roberts on February 14, the first day at Blue Note.) The tape starts during Jaco’s solo piano performance of “Three Women,” a tune he penned in the early 1970s, which evolves into “Blues for Louise,” a duet with trumpetere Jerry González.

“The complete sextet joins Jaco and Jerry for a typical eight-minute rendition of “Dania,” one of Jaco’s staples around this time. Before continuing with yet another typical choice, the “Soul Intro”–”The Chicken” medley, Jaco performs a good four-minute bass solo on top of a heavily layered loop. “Soul Intro” / “The Chicken” is followed by yet another bass solo, which is my favourite on here, and on par with the phenomenal bass solos of the February 19 show. His bass solos from this Blue Note residency are among my favourites of the later years, as both the groove and creativity are often off the charts.

“By far the longest rendition here is that of Bronis?aw Kaper’s “Invitation,” clocking in at 15 minutes. Jaco performs yet another great bass solo (the only accompanied one on this tape) starting at 41:36. It’s fast, yet it swings and isn’t fast for the sake of being fast—and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’ve heard many of Jaco’s performances of this song over the years, but when it comes to energy, this tops most of them.

“The tape ends abruptly at around 46 minutes, but for such a short recording, it’s filled with gold. This iteration of the Word of Mouth Band (or just the Word of Mouth, as it was billed here) consisted of Jaco on bass and vocals, Jerry González on trumpet and percussion, Alex Foster on saxophones, Don Alias on percussion, and Kenwood Dennard on drums.

“Exactly a year later Jaco would be jamming with Chet Baker in Amsterdam during Brian Melvin’s Nightfood’s 1985 tour of Europe. Despite the heights that the tour would occasionally reach, it was very inconsistent on Jaco’s part, and the Chet Baker jam (consisting of “Satin Doll,” “Milestones,” and “Killer Joe”) was among the weaker performances. That tour ended 40 years ago this month and there are some recordings that I’d like to share, so if you’re into that, keep an eye out for it and subscribe to this channel if you haven’t already.”