Word of Mouth (Jaco Pastorius album)

For the method of passing information, see Word of mouth. For other uses, see Word of mouth (disambiguation).

1981 studio album by Jaco Pastorius

Word of Mouth

Studio album by

Jaco Pastorius

Released| July 1981
Recorded| 1980–1981
Genre| Jazz, jazz fusion
Length| 44:02
Label| Warner Bros.
Producer| Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius chronology
| Jaco Pastorius
(1976)  | Word of Mouth
(1981)  | Invitation
(1983)

|
|

Word of Mouth is the second solo studio album by American bassist Jaco Pastorius, released in 1981, while he was still a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report, and also the name of a big band that Pastorius assembled and with which he toured from 1981 to 1983.

## Critical reception

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Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings| [3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide| [2]

Reviewing the album in The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, Cook and Morton favorably assessed the album,[3] they wrote: "A brilliant example of Jaco’s gift for sound (...) A lovely record, full of surprises", while in contrast Swenson saw the album as a troubled follow-up[2] to the previous Jaco Pastorius album.

## Background

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While his debut album showcased his eclectic and impressive skills on electric bass, Word of Mouth focused more on his ability to compose and arrange for a larger band. The album still shows off Pastorius's skill, most notably in the solo opening to "Chromatic Fantasy" by J.S. Bach and the title track. "Crisis" also features a fast, bass pattern looping, which runs under the frantic soloing. Most of the rest of the album's bass is subdued and blends into the band's arrangement. The song "John and Mary" is dedicated to his children from his first marriage to Tracy; he had two other children, twin sons Julius and Felix with his second wife, Ingrid.

The band included Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Peter Erskine, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker, Don Alias, and Toots Thielemans, who is featured on harmonica on many of the songs.

### Crediting controversy

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The first 50,000 copies of the album lacked credits for all participating musicians. As the result of a lawsuit against Warner Bros., CBS forbade the names of a few of the (less well-known) musicians to be mentioned on the sleeve. Pastorius defiantly replied that "if they can't be listed, then nobody will be listed". On later copies of the album, the names were listed.[4]

## Track listing

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All tracks written by Jaco Pastorius except where noted.

1. "Crisis" – 5:17*
2. "Three Views of a Secret" – 6:05
3. "Liberty City" – 11:57
4. "Chromatic Fantasy" (Johann Sebastian Bach) – 3:01
5. "Blackbird" (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:48
6. "Word of Mouth" – 3:53**
7. "John and Mary" – 10:52

*For the original LP, Cassette and CD release, "Crisis" was 5:21. However, for reasons that are unclear, the current MP3 downloads cut the first three seconds of the improvisation. The 1981 Warner Brothers promo disc has the 5:17 listing for "Crisis."
**"Word of Mouth" is listed as being 4:21 in the liner notes, as it begins with the feedback at the end of "Blackbird" and ends with the whispering and giggling at the start of "John and Mary".

## Personnel

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* Jaco Pastorius – electric bass (1-7), double bass, organ, piano (2), synthesizer (1-3), autoharp, koto, percussion, vocals (7)
* Herbie Hancock – keyboards, synthesizers, piano (3)
* Wayne Shorter \- soprano sax (7)
* Michael Brecker, Tom Scott, Mario Cruz – saxophone
* Hubert Laws \- soprano & alto flute (4, 5)
* Chuck Findley – trumpet
* John Clark – French horn
* Howard Johnson – tuba
* Toots Thielemans – harmonica (2-6)
* Don Alias \- percussion (1, 4-6)
* Robert Thomas Jr. – percussion (3, 7)
* Peter Erskine – drums (1, 3-7)
* Jack DeJohnette – drums (2)
* Othello Molineaux and Leroy Williams – steel pans (3, 7)
* John F. Pastorius IV – vocal (7)
* Mary Pastorius IV – vocal (7)

## See also

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* Jaco Pastorius discography

## References

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1. ^ Yanow, Scott (2011). "Word of Mouth - Jaco Pastorius | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
2. ^ a b Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 159\. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
3. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1133\. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
4. ^ Milkowski, Bill (2005). Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius (Anniversary ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 136\. ISBN 978-0-87930-859-9.

## External links

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* Official Jaco Site

* v
* t
* e

Jaco Pastorius

As leader|

* Jaco
* Jaco Pastorius
* Word of Mouth
* Invitation
* Holiday for Pans
* The Birthday Concert
* Trio of Doom

With Weather Report|

* Black Market
* Heavy Weather
* Mr. Gone
* 8:30
* Night Passage
* Weather Report
* Live and Unreleased
* Forecast: Tomorrow
* The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978–1981

with Herbie Hancock|

* Sunlight
* Mr. Hands

with Joni Mitchell|

* Hejira
* Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
* Mingus
* Shadow and Light

With others|

* Cliff Hanger
* Down by Law
* All American Alien Boy
* Land of the Midnight Sun
* Bright Size Life
* I'm Fine, How Are You?
* Upside Downside
* Ira Sullivan

Related|

* Discography
* Jaco (film)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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