Post #288165 by tiki mick on Sun, Feb 25, 2007 9:01 PM

I would love to hear them!

Jaco, with his attitude seemed more a punker, then a supposedly peaceful hippy. He adopted that Florida look, which kind of looks hippy-ish. But in the end, because of his shenanigans, no one really wanted to work with him.

But regardless of his personality, he wrote a lot of jazz classics-my two favorite "Teen town","Havona" are songs which feature very advanced chords and harmonies. That is not hippy stuff, which anyone can play easily. In fact, it could be argued that at the time they were among the hardest songs ever written for electric bass.

I realize, for example, that Jack Cassady and Phil Lesh are good bass players, but I doubt either of them could play "Havona" perfectly. I know I can't, but I am pretty sure I could play any Phil Lesh or Jack Cassady part note for note if I wanted.

Therefore I feel it's really not on the same level as jazz. Jam bands are improvising, of course-like jazz, but not jazz.

Someone tried to introduce me a while back to Aquarium Rescue Unit. I did not like them, nor Government Mule. Allman brothers is ok, but not my favorite either.

Honestly, I just don't like much rock music anyway. I think there is always at least one song on every rock album I like, but with Jazz it's usually 90% of an album that I end up liking.

I count Exotica and lounge music as being Jazz.

And going back to the idea that most of the stuff I liked was also influenced by drugs of some kind, there could be a point there. I mean, Bitches Brew is really, really spacey. But all of the stuff I like that is exploratory or avante garde in any way is still very hard to play, and takes practice to create. It's not just thrown together. Weather report started out an almost entirely improv band where they just jammed, recorded and later wrote the heads and stuff out. Do hippies like Weather Report? I am honestly asking. There are earlier albums like "tale spinning" ,"mysterious traveler" and "I sing the body electric" that are not only trippy, mysterious and improvisational but are also of a spiritual nature.