Global Bass Online                                                                                February 2002

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Mode Shapes For Bass
by Andrew Pfaff

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     In 1980 Weather Report released “Night Passage”. It was the band’s 11^th record in as many years and along with “8:30” their live CD, it marked the height of the Jaco/Erskine era for Weather Report. Jaco had decided to leave the band to form his big band called Word of Mouth and he was taking Erskine with him. They would both hang on for one more CD called “Weather Report” before both leaving to pursue other directions. “Night Passage” and especially this track “Port of Entry” have a somewhat brooding, mysterious kind of feel to them. The band actually played with a small live audience in the studio to give it a live feel. You can hear the crowd go crazy when Jaco plays his solo on this tune. I think this solo is Jaco at his technical apex and when he was on nobody could even come close. The solo is just with percussion and bass and it’s basically over Ami7. Jaco uses all kinds of cool pentatonic patterns that go in and out of the key and pulls them off at an unbelievable speed.  Again, some of this has been written in treble clef to avoid excessive ledger lines but it’s good practice to switch back and forth between clefs. As for fingerings, it’s best to come up with your own and use what is most comfortable. There is a goldmine of material in this solo and just by playing through it your technique will improve exponentially. Enjoy.

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