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John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III was a bassist, composer and producer. He was known for his work with Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Weather Report, and Joni Mitchell among others. I wrote John Francis shortly after his death when he was 35. We were devastated by his passing and the circumstances that led to
John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III was a bassist, composer and producer. He was known for his work with Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Weather Report, and Joni Mitchell among others. I wrote John Francis shortly after his death when he was 35. We were devastated by his passing and the circumstances that led to it. It was one of those songs that flows out of you. I asked myself, did I create this, or was I a conduit? Reviving it recently and bringing his memory back is a token of our love for Jaco, for what he brought to us during his brief life.
Joy Brooks - Vocals
Fredrick Brooks - Acoustic Guitar
Chris Pezzarello - Drums
Charles James - Bass
Christine Bougie - Electric Guitars
Robbie Grunwald - Keyboards
Produced and Mixed by Robbie Grunwald
Written by Fredrick Brooks
Mastered by Justin Gray
Cover art - Mal Bray mixed media based on Chris Hakkens photo (no downloading, republication, retransmission, reproduction, and all other uses of the licensed image as a standalone file).
John Francis
There could be a chance
For you had the fire
From Des Moines to pork pie hat
The weather was fine
Trashed on the blues
Or manicked by life
I reach out
Only to cry
And where does the wind blow
The baddest of all
Silenced – empty
Divided by loss
For laughter is seldom
On this tired road
Hear me now
On you I’ll call
For laughter is seldom
On this tired road
Hear me now
Jaco’s called home
©Fredrick Brooks
This is a healing song for my elementary school friends who still carry the weight of those days.
After watching interviews with spouses of career military members, one interview inspired me to write the songElijah, about the partner of a soldier. Each night, after the children went to bed, she left a light on above the back porch. She spoke to her husband through this light while he was away on his third tour of duty, expressing her hope for
After watching interviews with spouses of career military members, one interview inspired me to write the song Elijah, about the partner of a soldier. Each night, after the children went to bed, she left a light on above the back porch. She spoke to her husband through this light while he was away on his third tour of duty, expressing her hope for his safety. The home front is often as hard to bear as the war front, as revealed in the chorus: “We are the broken hearts of peace."
Like so many of us who’ve been watching the tragedy in Ukraine, I felt hopeless, ‘How could I help’ - so I listened to everyday Ukrainians that were interviewed, and I decided to write this song with their conversations in mind. One conversation that hit hard was with a 90 year old woman who said, “It was in the silence, the waiting, the calm
Like so many of us who’ve been watching the tragedy in Ukraine, I felt hopeless, ‘How could I help’ - so I listened to everyday Ukrainians that were interviewed, and I decided to write this song with their conversations in mind. One conversation that hit hard was with a 90 year old woman who said, “It was in the silence, the waiting, the calm before the chaos I couldn’t stand.” That would become the genesis of this song. At the end I choose the first section of the Ukrainian national anthem and played them on bells with some intentional dissonance. We recorded In The Silence in our little home studio.
This song was written for a friend who deals with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Winters can be tough and sometimes you think that the sun will never come out... just hold on a little longer.
Influenced by the sounds of Flora Purim and Airto Moreira from Brazil, Fredrick wrote this song about waiting... waiting for a loved one to return home.
Celebration of love.
Medicine Lands CD is available for purchase directly for $10.00. Please email brookfieldnorth@gmail.com if you would like a copy. You can also listen and purchase downloads through our partners - Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple etc. See links below.
Fredrick Brooks - vocals/guitar/piano/keyboards/percussion Joy Brooks - vocals/flute Jeff Brackett -
Medicine Lands CD is available for purchase directly for $10.00. Please email brookfieldnorth@gmail.com if you would like a copy. You can also listen and purchase downloads through our partners - Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple etc. See links below.
Fredrick Brooks - vocals/guitar/piano/keyboards/percussion Joy Brooks - vocals/flute Jeff Brackett - electric and acoustic guitar/mandolin/dobro/harmonies Caroline & Katherine Brooks - harmonies Alex Paris - bass Ray Hickey Jr. - guitar (Anna) /banjo (Oh Marie) Mark Congram - drums Paul LaChappell - bass (Medicine Lands) Mel Kay - bass (Damaeon's Harbour) Chants - Brookfield, Joy Gearing, Jay Olsen, Victor Fuke, Emerson Brooks Recorded and Mastered at Quest Recording All songs composed by Fredrick Brooks (SOCAN)