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."
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