Brian Bromberg - Portrait of Jaco (2002)

This is a logical tribute album from one great bassist (Brian Bromberg) to another (Jaco Pastorius). The front of the CD purposely resembles Pastorius' debut recording and the program features six Pastorius songs (including two versions apiece of "Come on, Come Over" and "Teen Town"), Joe Zawinul's "A Remark You Made," the R&B standard "The Chicken," and Bromberg's "Tears." A master at tapping his bass and equally skilled on electric and acoustic basses, Bromberg also has the ability to sound a bit like Pastorius when he wants. This excellent tribute set uses different personnel and instrumentations on each selection and shows off the many sides of Pastorius, both as a bassist and as a composer. Highly recommended. This is a logical tribute album from one great bassist (Brian Bromberg) to another (Jaco Pastorius). The front of the CD purposely resembles Pastorius' debut recording and the program features six Pastorius songs (including two versions apiece of "Come on, Come Over" and "Teen Town"), Joe Zawinul's "A Remark You Made," the R&B standard "The Chicken," and Bromberg's "Tears." A master at tapping his bass and equally skilled on electric and acoustic basses, Bromberg also has the ability to sound a bit like Pastorius when he wants. This excellent tribute set uses different personnel and instrumentations on each selection and shows off the many sides of Pastorius, both as a bassist and as a composer. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow

Personnel: Brian Bromberg (arranger, acoustic & electric basses, programming); Bill Champlain (vocals); Dan Higgins, Larry Williams, Bob Mintzer, Eric Marienthal (saxophone); Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (trumpet); Andy Martin (trombone); USC Symphony Orchestra (strings); Tom Zink (piano, keyboards, programming); Jeff Lorber (electric piano, keyboards, programming); Gregg Mathison (Hammond B-3 organ); Gannin Arnold (guitar); Derrick "D Lok" Walker, Joel Taylor (drums); Chris Wabich (steel drums); Alex Acuna (percussion).