ASAD #26 Weather Report "Teen Town" Live in 1977
Jaco Pastorius, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, and Alex Acuña
In the small bass corner of the music world, there might not be a better known jazz/fusion track than Jaco Pastorius’ Teen Town recorded by Weather Report on Heavy Weather.
Having worn that record out as a kid, it has been really interesting to hear many other recordings, most of them live, of that tune and see how it developed over the years.
I’ve personally listened to a lot of live Weather Report with Peter Erskine, so his sound is something I immediately associate with that song when I hear a live version.
Getting to hear Alex Acuña though is a real treat. It’s a completely different approach to Pete, and it’s a period of the band I’m getting back into more and more as I uncover a bunch of bootlegs from the 70’s.
I love the way Joe’s synth sounds, the ones that are doubling Jaco’s bass part, change over time and give the song a completely different vibe even though the notes haven’t changed at all.
Personnel:
Joe Zawinul - Keyboards
Wayne Shorter - Sax
Jaco Pastorius - Bass
Alex Acuña - Drums
Enjoy,
Janek
I would love to hear alive track from the sweetnighter era with Miroslav Vitous and Eric Gravatt. Even though that was before all of the popularity I find it to be much more enjoyable music. I love Peter Erskine but I really don't like his playing with that band. Same is true for Wayne. Something about Joe brought the worst out of those guys lot of the time. Really showy and in your face. I remember the first time I heard 8:30 and I was with a guy who looked at me and said, sounds like cocaine to me.
Jaco has a very special place in a large No. of Bassist's hearts. He was one of the original Bass pioneers that changed the face of Bass playing in music.