Invitation in Bloomington, MN

Electric bassist
Jaco Pastorius
'
Word of Mouth
big band made two recordings for
Warner Bros.
during its short life, of which is this is the superior one. The large ensemble (five trumpets including
Randy Brecker
, five reeds with solo space for
Bobby Mintzer
on tenor and soprano, four trombones, two French horns,
Toots Thielemans
on harmonica, drummer
Peter Erskine
, percussionist
Don Alias
, and
Othello
on steel drum) performs a variety of superior material. Although
Pastorius
takes his share of solo space, and the sound of a big band backing a bass soloist is rather unusual, he does not excessively dominate the music.
contributed some of the pieces (most notably
"Liberty City"
), is showcased on
"Amerika,"
and also plays such tunes as
"Invitation,"
"The Chicken,"
"Sophisticated Lady,"
"Giant Steps,"
and
Gil Evans
"Eleven."
~ Scott Yanow