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If You Can Conceive It, You Can Achieve It
When I received the news of the recent death of Joe Zawinul age 75, I was shocked and shaken, to say the least. It had been a long time since Joe and I had spoken. I along with many others had been awe inspired by Joe’s work with Jaco Pastorius and Wayne Shorter in the band, Weather Report.
I always had a singular desire to play with the Weather Report band. But, the opportunity never presented itself. However, I had the distinct pleasure of working with both Joe and Jaco separately and in different venues. I worked with Joe at the World-class Attraction, the Salt Mine of Wieliczka, near Krakow, Poland.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) encourage international peace and universal respect through collaboration of the nations of the world. A concert was held for UNESCO in the unique setting of the subterranean Wieliczka Salt Mine, which had begun to take on water. The participating musicians took time out from their respective tours to participate in a benefit concert for UNESCO, during the summer of 1995. The proceeds of the concert were directed to restorative initiatives in the mine.
This location provided extraordinary acoustics. Imagine that setting coupled with Joe’s outstanding performance. The event evoked a surreal experience for all of those in attendance. When the concert began, Joe was incredible. The awesome display showed his true jazz and jazz fusion chops. He utilized nine keyboards set up with a remote strap-on keyboard, which generated a unique unexpected and exceptional sound.
My colleague, drummer Ernie Adams and recording artist Carlos Johnson were also a part of that remarkable performance. Ernie is currently playing, writing and producing many different styles of music and preparing for a world tour in 2008 with a major Japanese pop artist. His collaborations have included, among many others, Stanley Turrentine, Dianne Reeves, Ramsey Lewis, and most recently 9 years with Al DiMeola. Ernie vividly recalls Joe’s solo that evening. His solo during a groove that was reminiscent of an up-tempo Weather Report piece, was a beautiful and intricate modal barrage of 16th notes. As he and I reminisced, Ernie reflected upon how Joe continuously smiled at me while he executed his amazing solo.
The dreamlike experience was enhanced even more because during the concert I was provided my first opportunity to perform a bass solo. During my solo, I did a fast run down the bass and hit the lowest chord appropriate for that particular piece. This stroke blew out the electricity in the Salt Mine auditorium. Although the lights were out, the drums and percussions continued playing. The only lights that could be seen were the red lights on my Smith Jackson six string bass, and the lights on the miner’s helmets, as they went about the work of getting the electricity restored in the auditorium. Joe Zawinul, the icon, the idol, the star, the role-model graciously gave honor and recognition to all participants in the concert.
I had my first experience with Jaco Pastorius when I attended a performance at the Ivanhoe Theater in Chicago, Illinois. The show presented Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters, featuring Jaco Pastorius on bass. This event was a life changing encounter for me because I had absolutely no understanding of jazz or bass soloing. BMM Editor, Jake Kot was also there that same evening, and we’ve talked many times on how we both walked away knowing things were going to seriously change for the both of us after seeing Jaco for the first time.
It was my privilege to be introduced to Jaco after the show. He was still wearing his bass strapped around his neck when we met. Consumed with curiosity regarding the sounds emitted when he played his instrument, I asked if I might briefly examine his instrument hoping that I might produce similar sounds. Jaco was very congenial and granted my request. My attempt at playing his bass did not, I repeat, did not produce the same sounds that Jaco created. I questioned him regarding the different sounds we generated while playing the exact same instrument. He replied, “It’s all in the hands.”
My second encounter with Jaco occurred in New York City, where I did a Bass Clinic for Harkey Guild. Jaco, bassists Darryl Jones and Jerry Peak, and I participated in the clinic at the Jazz Center. Jaco was in his dressing room with Larry Harkey and Ron Lorman, while I was on stage doing my sound check. Suddenly, Jaco appeared on the stage with me. We performed a spontaneous duet. I played the bass while he played the drums for approximately half an hour. Afterwards, Jaco shared with me that he had never in his life heard bass playing like mine. He then quickly countered, “But, I am still the greatest bass player in the world.” I laughed and agreed with him stating, “You know, you’re right.”
The impact of my experiences with Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius is immeasurable. In reality I never fulfilled my wish to play with the Weather Report band. Instead, through fate and good fortune, I was given the opportunity to join forces and team up with two members of the band who personified the very essence of the jazz phenomenon.
As told to Dr. Yolanda D. Wallace and J.K. Dickens
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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