5 comments about Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius.

1. I remember Jaco Pastorius through several great concerts with Weather Report and a sizzling show with Word of Mouth at the Cleveland Agora.
   
   For those who had the chance to appreciate his music live or for so many that are grooving to Jaco many years after his death, the updated biography - with a CD that includes additional material - by Bill Milkowski is the best way to piece together the complicated rise and fall of the brilliant musician.
   
   Milkowski has exhaustive interviews with musicians, family members, media, friends and lovers that are split in chapters to coincide with his years as a musician with a dream, the height of musical achievement and then leaving Weather Report, and the controversial years after leaving the group that found Jaco spiralling out of control personally and musically.
   
   That Jaco was a musical genius cannot be denied. The book will leave you wondering why Jaco - as with too many artists - took his gift and tossed it into the abyss of "what could have been."



2. This book reads at times like a hagiography of Jaco. Yeah, Jaco's flaws are enumerated, but there is an obvious worship of Jaco by the author. Having said that, it is still a good book. It is a very thorough biography. It is a little different, in that it helps to have a knowledge of the intricacies of music, e.g., specific chord changes are mentioned. Yo, I took piano, so I don't know a D chord from a G chord on a guitar. Still, I enjoyed the book and learned a lot.
   
   The 40 minute CD that comes with the book, is a real nice bonus by the author. Thanks.



3. This book is a well done biography worth reading. Unfortunately it focuses mostly on the sensationalism of Jaco's life. Looking back what you remember is story after story of his out of control behavior, and attempts to explain it by blaming the negative people in his life. I would have liked to have heard more of his successes. It is an excellent book for musicians, but even better for anyone in the field of mental health.
   
   This extrodinary man had serious mental health problems. It seems the only time he had a chance was when he was arrested and put in Bellevue psychiatric hospital. Unfortunately he always convinced friends to get him out. Even the author admits to this mistake.
   
   This without a doubt one of the saddest books I have ever read especially since I know and love his music and talent. But also because had he lasted another 10 years, new drugs may have helped.
   
   However there were too many hangers on and bad influences. It reminds me of the old Rodney Dangerfield joke in which he states,"I appeal to people who can do me absolutely no good."
   
   In this book there is plenty of blame to go around.



4. First off, the title is great. There is no doubt that Jaco is one of the most (if not the most) gifted bass players of all time. The book documents his life as a young boy who picked up the bass (after he could not play drums any longer because he broke his arm), his career and his later years when he suffered from mental illness and died at 33. I bring up the question of accuracy as it has been raised by others as well.
   
   One criticism about the book has been that it sensationalizes Jaco's destructive behaviour and takes away from his legacy. This is a point made by Metheny (who was a friend and a fellow musician) in the liner notes of Jaco's debut album. Also I have asked the opinion of (via a short e-mail) Jaco's second wife. Her website that details some minor inaccuracies that exist in the first edition.
   
   That being said the book is well written and gives insight into Jaco's life. Milkowski (who is a music journalist) portrays Jaco as an extremely gifted, hard working and narcisisstic man who self destructs at the end due to bipolar disease. The clues to Jaco's illness are evident from his early years. He plays tirelessly and at times seldom sleeps. At the end of his life he self destructs due to a number of reasons including refusal comply with treatment for his illness,drugs and drinking.
   One has to wonder what it says about our society that no one helped Jaco when he was clearly suffering towards the end. I posted the same question to Jaco's wife and her answer was that one has to be willing to accept help.
   
   Mental illness is still misunderstood my most of the world. People who suffer from it can be hard to deal with and be around. I hope that if the same scenario plays out today, with better understanding of mental illness, the outcome would be different. But I am not an optimist.



5. I really enjoyed this in depth look into the life of my favourite bass player.
   
   I've learned so much more about a guy I thought I had a pretty decent knowledge of anyway! The author, Bill Milkowski, really knows his stuff. He had a personal relationship with Jaco and writes in a way I found intriguing, I really could not put this book down.
   
   To any musician - not just bass players - this book is a must. giving a detailed account of Jaco's genius in writing, composition, arrangement and whole approach to music which at the time really made the man stand out from the crowd.
   
   Filled with interviews taken at the time and more up to date accounts of Jaco's antics the book makes you laugh out loud and at times shed a tear at what this remarkable man could have achieved had his life not been so tragically cut short.
   
   The chronological approach of the author made it very easy to follow Jaco's life from his birth, through childhood, his rights of passage on the music scene to the point where he truly sat on top as the world's greatest bass player, all the way to his sad demise, fall from grace and that fateful night and what truly happened.

5 comments about Reggae Bass (Bass Builders).

1. If you are just getting into Jamaican music or know somebody who is you have to purchase this book. It will teach you how to play ska, rocksteady, dub and reggae. It's great for either novices or experts. I wish I had this way back when I first started playing The Police. It comes with a CD and you can jam along or create your own bass lines after you have learned the basic idea. Seeing both the notation and the tab written out helps in learning how these bass lines are born and how they work with each style.



2. I just started going through this book an hour ago and guess what? I'm done! It's a really concise and focused introduction to reggae music and reggae bass lines. There's no fluff, just the goods. It gives a little background and history, then presents examples of bass styles for you to play along with. The bass is isolated to the left channel which you can turn down to make up your own bass lines. This also lets you hear how the other instruments are arranged. It's short and sweet, and priced accordingly.



3. It gives good treatment to the whole evolution from early ska to Dub and Dancehall. Many of the important riddims are covered, though more full-song play-alongs on the CD would have been nice.



4. This book has been useful, the examples are tight little songs with well written bass parts. I am enjoying it alot.
   Well-done!



5. I've been playing songs from this book most days all month and i'm real happy to know them. my only complaint is that with cheap headphones the bass notes can be hard to hear. i think it might be better if only bass was recorded on one ear but the rhythm track is there as well and the bass drum competes some etc. but i got the book as a way to ease into learning bass clef. and to get some danceable finger exercises. and there are plenty of songs- 47. i like over 10 so you know for the price that's easily worth it as thats a lot more dancing in my practice and after a month the notes are sinking in. few enough notes are used that you can suffer a few seconds with the tab and memorize it and not mess with notation too. anyway as a tool for me- a beginning bass player with lots of musical skill in the other clef- this has been a fun book set. and given me stuff to do for over a month. and modelled some concepts i will probably use for years.

1 comments about Mel Bay presents Essential Music Theory for Electric Bass.

1. I'm a drummer, beginner bass player and somewhat experienced in music theory via paino lessons in college. This book is hands-down the best instructional book on electric bass I've seen - buy it and you won't be sorry!

1 comments about Mel Bay Bass Guitar Chord Chart.

1. I was very pleased with the service I received on this item. I ordered it and within a few days it was at my house. It arrived in perfect shape as well

5 comments about How to Modify Effect Pedals for guitar and bass: A complete how-to package for the electronics newbie on how to modify guitar and bass effects pedals.

1. This book took me from being afraid to open a pedal to modding, tweaking, building my own, and opened the door to modding amps. I cannot recommend it enough. Has all the basics to get you started from having nothing to what tools to buy, where to get them, components, basic theory, how to tell a resistor from a diode, etc. So many pedals to choose from, you might find yourself buying used pedals just to mod them and see how you can make them sound more to your liking. Most pedal mods have multiple selections for indivudualized tweaking. And most have descriptions of which components change which parts of the sound so you can really get things to your liking. With the discussion forums online all questions not covered by the book are answered. Highly recommended!!



2. I purchased this book through a referral. The author has ripped off ideas from several smart people on the web and combined the ideas in this inadequate book. It has one or two decent recipes that you can get for free online in the forums. DO NOT PURCHASE... search and you will find better information.



3. Think twice if you buy this book, if you can call it a book , it is only a bundle of mods from the net , with a lot of bad english and lousy pictures.
   
   A lot of money , I hope Amazon post my review in front and not the highly rated one in front so they can sell more of this book.



4. If you really want to get the most out of your stock pedals, then you need to modify them. This books tells you exactly what to do, and how to do it right. There is no need to buy $400 boutique pedals, when you can mod your own for a few bucks, and end up with the killer tones you've been looking for. This book is worth every cent!!!



5. My Hubby is starting to make his own pedals and he couldn't put this book down! He said it was worth its money in gold as it gave him a different perspective. Good buy and it was delivered earlier than expected. Thank you.

3 comments about 101 Blues Patterns for Bass Guitar.

1. I was very surprised to find out that no one has reviewed this book on Amazon. I have been using this book to teach blues bass for more than 10 years, and I think I'm on my fourth copy. People, this book will get the job done. It's not that these are the only 101 licks; it's the way they are done. These are what we call riffs. (repeated musical phrases). If you can play all the licks in this book, you can cop a lick from any record in the world in one pass. Remember, if you only get your ideas from one source, that's stealing. If you get them from everybody, that's research. Riff blues bass is the most support you can give a soloist or vocalist. It even helps them keep track of where they are. Give this a try.



2. First I know Larry, so this is somewhat biased-however I know what good teaching material is and what isn't. This is where Larry is successful in that he is a good educator that writes for the beginner and the advanced. This book can be used by both and he will show you how. I am a guitar player that is recently moving over to play bass, so I picked up this book as a reference to some blues bass lines.......Excellent. This gives you more than you'll need and then inspire ideas on top of that. So hey if you need a Blues Bass pattern book and your a beginner or an Advanced player pick it up you will not be sorry. Also comes with a CD. Even better deal. This is like listening to 100 blues songs and writing out ideas.



3. Very surprised that this book is not #1 on beginning bass player's list.
   Excellent blue's riff's that apply to rock as well. Even though written
   in C7, can be played in almost any key. Fantastic.

2 comments about Teach Yourself VISUALLY Bass Guitar (Teach Yourself Visually).

1. Exceptional book. Extremely easy to follow and is very methodical in explaining all the facet (to include reading the bass clef staff and scales) of learning to play the bass guitar.



2. I bought this book to teach myself the bass guitar. So far so good! The book is very visual, bright coloured pictures to support the theory and practical exercises. This is very helpful in playing the right way!
   
   My only hang up is that I found the book could have been sorted a bit better, in terms of the topics. But this is not a problem since each chapter can be read alone, due to the way it is seperated by topics. This is very uselful for people who may already have some experience, they can skip to areas they need.
   
   Overall the book is excellent and has helped me a lot as a beginner. I can easily recommend it!

5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Bass Guitar.

1. Out of the 15 or so books I have bought about guitar and bass, this is the best by far.



2. This introduction to the bass guitar rushes the reader through the basics without spending enough time actually helping you learn the basics. The bass lines are dull too. However the "play along" tracks on the accompanyting CD are great and probably worth the price of the book.



3. The book is great the shipping was great. I am learning to play the bass guitar and the idiot's guide is just what I need!



4. This is a great book. You will learn not only to play the instrument but also to learn how to be a real bassist. You can also learn plenty of stuff about music. You may already see what other reviewers liked about the book. Some people complained that this book contained too much stuff on music, but I believe that you should know far more than that to be a bass player.
   
   However, there is one big missing thing I hope the author add to the next edition. The book does not contain any left hand fingerings at all. You are totally on your own when play the examples. This will be quite a job for a beginner. In addition, I hope the author would take more time to explain left hand techniques such as muting using 3-fret stretching.
   
   Even without details about the left hand stuff, this book is sure far bettern than the majority of other methods book. Overall I recommend this book to anyone.



5. THE BOOK IS GREAT. BUT THE CD THAT I GOT WITH IT IS NOT GOOD IT WILL NOT WORK. IT IS VERY SCRATCHY AND YOU CAN'T HARDLY HEAR IT . AND IT WAS NEW NOT USED.

5 comments about Mel Bay J. S. Bach for Bass.

1. After hearing Jack Bruce, Phil Lesh and many other greats talk about the bass lines of Bach, this book became an obvious buy. Only learned a song or 2 as of yet, and it is plenty challenging for this 6 year 4 -stringer. I can easily say i've never played anything as beautiful on a bass as what this book has shown me.



2. These arrangements are simply beautiful. Challenging, but very rewarding. Great for personal enjoyment or private study. As a teacher, this is one of the materials I use with my students in their private lessons.



3. Any bassist, or any musician for that matter should take the time to study J.S. Bach. These studies help improve left hand dexterity and open your eyes to a whole world of runs you might have not thought about before. A must for a beginner, great challange for intermediate, great maintenance for experts.



4. Pretty Sweet book. If you are looking to breathe some fresh air into your repertoire, or perhaps step outside styles. This may be the book for you. I found it gave a different perspective on an instrument I've played for twenty+ years. Classical style music may not be your cup of tea, but given a chance, Bach's compositions transcend styles and time. Simply good music, that is both fun and challenging.
   Comes with both Standard notation and tab. As with all tab, you'll have had to have heard the piece beforehand to make sense of it. Highly recommended



5. This stuff is challenging, but not impossible, and Bach was such a genius and his music flows so naturally (don't know how else to explain it) that it's fun to improvise after getting the patterns down. The tab, along with standard notation, is handy for fingering.

5 comments about Bass Bible.

1. Just when you think you know it all, flip through this book!



2. The bass bible is intimidating when you first open it up. there is alot of info. But i have thoroughly enjoyed learning the bass lines and progressions



3. If you're interested in bass, and not a pro yet, this is one of the few worth buying. If you read my other reviews you'll know I don't give out unearned compliments. If the book is a farce I will say so. There is no worthless drivel in this book, but 250 pages of bass lines showing different techniques.



4. i have just started reading this book and i'm already learning something. the quality of the recordings on the CD's is top notch and the font size is great(i only wish the book was spiral-bound). thank you Mr. Westwood for an invaluable source of inspiration. :)



5. Westwood's book is really quite the handy resource to have. If you have a question as to a musical style and how to play it on the bass, this is what to use. Having the standard notation, tabs, and audio to learn from will be helpful for beginners through more advanced players.
   
   One caveat I would bring to the potential buyer is that this is by no means a book on theory, it is a huge collection of examples. There is a small introduction describing techniques at the beginning of the book as well as a paragraph to a page or so introducing each various style, but even that is in more of a historical context. At the point that i bought this book, I really just wanted to find really cool stuff to play and I couldn't have cared less for any theory, and that indeed I received. Even after 4 years of having this book, I still find the riffs at the end of this book (progressive jazz) to be some of the most challenging and fun to play.
   
   In conclusion, this is a fine reference to have as it attempts to cover the myriad of styles out there...and it does a decent job.