I’m working on a great book I recently got, A Portrait of Jaco. It’s a well-written and accurate collection of solos transcribed by Sean Malone that focuses on Jaco’s ability to improvise.

When I was starting to play music in Montreal Jaco was in everyone’s mind. Even if you didn’t like the music he was making, or it wasn’t your style (and half the musicians I was hanging around with were not into Weather Report), he was respected. I heard him with Pat Metheny on Bright Size Life, Joni Mitchell’s Heijira, and his solo record – the one with a closeup of him. All of these records became favorites – not to mention the Weather Report albums.

I had the great fortune to see him play a number of times with Weather Report. He was an incredibly dynamic personality on stage.

Today I found this interview and I thought I’d share it with you.