Invitation is a live album by Jaco Pastorius, released in December 1983. It was recorded at various venues during a tour of Japan in September 1982, featuring his "Word of Mouth" big band. While his debut album showcased his eclectic and impressive skills on the electric bass, both Invitation and his previous album, Word of Mouth focused more on his ability to arrange for a larger band.
This album features mostly numbers written by other artists. The exceptions are new arrangements of "Continuum", from his debut album, and "Liberty City", from Word of Mouth, as well as "Reza", an original number bookending his version of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps".
The band's all-star cast included Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Toots Thielemans, Peter Erskine, Othello Molineaux, and Don Alias.
Contents
Personnel
Jaco Pastorius – electric bass, vocals (on "Fannie Mae")
Randy Brecker – trumpet
Bob Mintzer – tenor and soprano saxophone
Jean "Toots" Thielemans – harmonica (listed as a "special guest")
Peter Erskine – drums
Othello Molineaux – steel drum
Don Alias – percussion
Additional
Elmer Brown, Forrest Buchtel, Ron Tooley – trumpet
Jon Faddis – trumpet (solo on "Reza")
Wayne Andre – trombone
Dave Bargeron – trombone, tuba
Peter Graves – bass trombone, co-conductor
Bill Reichenbach – bass trombone
Mario Cruz – tenor and soprano saxophone, clarinet, alto flute
Randy Emerick – baritone saxophone, clarinet
Alex Foster – tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, clarinet, piccolo
Paul McCandless – tenor saxophone, oboe, English horn
Peter Gordon, Brad Warnaar – French horn