It starts as a familiar groove, but the moment Joscho Stephan and Biréli Lagrène lean into “The Chicken,” the room realizes this isn’t a polite tribute — it’s about to get wild. Stephan locks into the funk and grins as if to say, “You feel that?”, and Lagrène fires back with a run that sounds like pure mischief. The music stops behaving like a song and turns into a conversation, full of daring pauses, playful jabs, and fearless momentum. You can almost hear Lagrène laughing through his guitar, daring the groove to go further, faster, deeper. By the end, the crowd isn’t just applauding Jaco Pastorius — they’re celebrating the moment his spirit came roaring back, loud, funky, and impossible to ignore.

WHEN TWO GUITAR MAVERICKS TURNED THE CHICKEN INTO A FREAK-FUNK TRIBUTE — THE NIGHT JOSCHO STEPHAN & BIRÉLI LAGRÈNE PAID HOMAGE TO JACO PASTORIUS”

It started with a groove — not just any groove, but one that pulled you in like it knew something big was coming — and before anyone in the room fully realized it, Joscho Stephan and Biréli Lagrène had transformed “The Chicken” into the kind of tribute that doesn’t just honor Jaco Pastorius, it reimagines him. What should’ve been a respectful nod to a bass legend turned into a full-on musical reclamation, where funky rhythm, jaw-dropping technique, and spontaneous interplay collided in a way that felt alive. From the first pluck of the bass-like guitar lines to the roaring syncopation that chased them, it was clear this wasn’t routine — it was an event.

Stephan’s fingers moved like they had a life of their own, serving up rhythms so tight they seemed to redefine funk on the spot, while Lagrène answered back with lines that were both playful and intense, as if he and Stephan were in a secret conversation only they understood — and the audience was lucky enough to overhear. There were moments where the crowd leaned forward, breath held, caught by the sheer boldness of the performance, and others where laughter and cheers broke out mid-phrase because the energy had become so infectious.

One fan later described seeing Lagrène grin mid-solo, eyes locked on Stephan’s rhythm like he was saying, “Let’s take this higher,” and from that point on the performance didn’t just groove — it flew. People didn’t just tap their feet — they bounced, they shouted, they felt the music in their bones, because the tribute wasn’t polite or tame. It was wild, funky, and full-hearted — the way Jaco himself would’ve wanted it.

By the final chord, applause wasn’t just coming from the audience — it was thunderous, sustained, and impossible to ignore, a collective acknowledgment that what had just happened on that stage wasn’t merely entertainment. It was a musical reckoning — a moment where two guitar greats didn’t just remember a legend — they brought his spirit back into the room, louder, funkier, and more vibrant than ever.