Cannon ball (Zawinul) A tribute to zawinul's former boss, julian "cannonball" adderley, who died on august 8, 1975. Zawinul and shorter arranged for jaco To come to los angeles specifically for this recording. It was a kind of audition. In bill milkowski's jaco biography, zawinul explained, "cannonball was from florida too, and i wanted that florida sound on this particular track. Plus, i remembered how much jaco loved Cannonball's music, so i figured he might be the right guy to use. We brought him in, and that was more or less his audition. Wayne and i talked it over, and we both agreed that this kid could play." [jaco] Narada michael walden's recalled the recording of "cannon ball" to brian glasser: "jaco was trying to impress joe in the rehearsal Of the song. He learned the song so quickly, and he was adding all these things, and then joe stopped right in the middle and Said, 'don't play all that shit on my song.' and i saw the look on jaco's face--like, whoah, man!--because nobody ever talks to jaco Like that. But joe was fearless. Jaco had no more than plugged in, learned the song, and half an hour later joe was in his ass! And I don't mean easy. I mean, 'don't you play that fuckin' shit on my song!' jaco was auditioning for the guy; it really shocked him. It Just changed the whole mood of the song. It just made jaco... Whatever he did play, he really meant it, as opposed to playing Because he could. That's why the song is so tender, because joe said, 'you gotta understand, this song is for cannonball. I'm Either going to call it "cannon ball" or "empty chair"...'" Of course, jaco's bass sound is one of the signature characteristics of "cannon ball." Clive williamson asked jaco whether he got That "incredible singing bass sound" on an ordinary guitar, or through the use of special effects. "i don't use anything special," jaco Replied. "i've actually got less on it! I have a fretless bass, so it's virtually like i'm playing a wood bass. In other words, the strings Go into the wood on the neck and then--being that it's a bass guitar--it gets that bright, direct sound. So i'm the first guy to be Using a fretless, is actually what it boils down to, and then more, because i'm the first to really get down and play it, because other Guys cannot play it in tune, y'know? I've been playing the bass guitar for almost 12 years, and i've been playing fretless for about Nine, so i've got quite a bit of mileage in my hands already. I play in tune like a cello player, and use legitimate vibrato. There are No tricks... It's just all in the hands! I just have a standard 1962--i think it is-- fender jazz bass, that i took the frets out of." Williamson asked jaco what amplifier he used. "in the studio i don't use an amp, i just go direct, right into the desk. It's virtually Acoustic is what i'm doing, you see? And then on stage i use an old acoustic 360-- two of those amps, actually--and you get into all Sorts of fun! It's a whole different thing on stage... (laughs) are you comin' to the show tonight? (smiles) you should really come Along, because it's some other stuff completely (laughs). This is some real fun!" Neil tesser's 1977 down beat article described jaco's technique on fretless this way: "it sings," says jaco in explaining the preference for the fretless instrument. "i've been playing it for about six years. It's all in the Hands; in order to get that sound, you have to know exactly where to touch the strings, exactly how much pressure to apply. You Have to learn to feel it. And then it just sings." Jaco's sound has come to embody a sometimes bewildering array of chord clusters, Nearly tangible overtone qualities, swift improvisatory lines that retain a surprising tonal depth and a penchant for using the Instrument's harmonics in both melodic and percussive senses. Quite simply, never has so catholic an imagination been applied to The bass guitar. Still, there is one added dimension to jaco's musical persona, as it is conveyed through the bass guitar: its Uncanny ability to sound, in its sonorous tonality and innovative phrasing, as much like an acoustic bass fiddle as it does a guitar. The nature of the instrument is not always clear to even the most experienced listeners. When weather report's joe zawinul first Heard a tape of "continuum", which appears on jaco's [first] album, he drank in the velvety richness of jaco's bass lead, then turned To the young musician and asked him if he also played the bass guitar. Which, of course, was what joe had been listening to. Jaco Himself can present the clearest analysis of his technique: "i felt that i had never heard anyone clearly outline a tune on the bass. Maybe someone has done it before, i don't know because i don't listen to that many records, but i had never heard it before. I had Never heard someone take a tune like 'donna lee,' and play it on the bass without a piano player so that you always could hear the Changes as well as the melody. It's a question of learning to reflect the original chord in just the line. Players like wayne shorter, Sonny rollins, herbie hancock, ira sullivan can do that. I wanted to be able to do it, too." |