Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Born Under A Bad Sign

In 1967 while recording tracks for a new album at Stax records, Albert King needed one more song for the project. Stax R&B singer and songwriter William Bell had a song that he had intended to release himself. With additional music arranged by Stax musical director Booker T. Jones the result was "Born Under A Bad Sign". The song entered the R&B charts for Albert King in 1968 reaching number 49. Later the same year, the song was covered by the British blues/rock band Cream on their third album "Wheels of Fire". William Bell released his own version on Stax records in 1969. "Born Under A Bad Sign" has since become a blues classic and is a standard in every blues player's repertoire. In 2016, William Bell revisited his classic composition at the studios of Fordham University's WFUV. Accompanied on guitar by producer John Leventhal, William Bell presents a unique rendition of his blues classic.

William Bell and John Leventhal 2016


Albert King 1967

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Jaco



“My name is Jaco Pastorius and I’m the greatest bass player in the world.” This was how Jaco Pastorious introduced himself to Joe Zawinul, leader of the jazz fusion group Weather Report. There was a lot of truth in that statement and when there was an opening for a new bass player in Weather Report, Jaco got the job.

During his five years with Weather Report and during his collaborations with Pat Methany and recording and touring with Joni Mitchell, Jaco transformed the roll of the electric bass in popular music. Playing a fretless electric bass, Jaco combined melodic lines and false harmonics to create a whole new sound that put the bass out in front of the music. Jaco's career included several solo albums and grammy nominations.

Over the years, Jaco gained a reputation for erratic behavior and alcohol and substance abuse. He was killed by a bar bouncer in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale Florida in September 1987 after alleedly causeing a disturbance and refusing to leave.

Jaco solo during Joni Mitchel tour


Jaco composition "Teen Town" with Weather Report