Profile of Jaco Pastorius on Famous Like Me

Jaco Pastorius (born as: John Francis Pastorius III, December 1, 1951–September 21, 1987) was a jazz bassist and composer who was notable for his amazing technique and virtuoso playing style. His influence on the modern electric bass cannot be overestimated. He is responsible for the popularization of fretless electric bass and introduced a textural approach and harmonic sense to bass playing that became the signature "Jaco" sound. This style of playing is heard everywhere today. Later in his life he had problems with drugs and mental health, leading to his decline. He is undoubtedly one of the few jazz bassists to make an impact not only in jazz music, but in many other genres as well.

Pastorius was born in Pennsylvania, but soon moved to Oakland Park, Florida, where he was raised. He played music throughout his youth, and in 1974, he began playing with his friend Pat Metheny. Pastorius's first album, titled Jaco Pastorius (1976), was a breakthrough album for the electric bass. Many consider this the finest bass album ever recorded, and is compared with Stanley Clarke's School Days for its high quality. Jaco Pastorius exploded onto the musical scene and was instantly considered to be a classic album. Shortly after the release of the album, Pastorius was invited to join fusion band Weather Report, where he played alongside Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter until 1981. After his stint with Weather Report, he toured with his Word of Mouth Big Band from 1980 to 1984.

During the course of his musical career, Pastorius played on dozens of recording sessions for other musicians, both in and out of jazz circles. Some of his most notable are four highly regarded albums with acclaimed singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell: Hejira (1976), Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977), Mingus (1979) and the live album Shadows and Light (1980).

Jaco was most identified by his use of two well-worn Fender Jazz Basses. One was a fretted model, the other was a fretless. Both were from the early 1960's. The fretless was actually a fretted bass the previous owner removed the frets from and had done a bad job of it. Jaco, who had a background in repairing broken instruments, bought the bass and used wood filler to fill in the grooves where the frets had been, sanded down the fingerboard, and applied several coats of marine epoxy to keep the rough Rotosound roundwound bass strings he used from eating into the bare wood. Even though he played both the fretted and the fretless basses frequently, Jaco preferred the fretless, because he felt frets were a hinderance, once calling them "speed bumps."

The famous "Jaco growl" is simply him using the bridge pickup and plucking the strings close to the bridge. Pastorius was a master of using natural and artificial harmonics to extend the range of the bass guitar and could get a nearly horn-like tone simply by changing the tone control and his playing technique. Another technique that Jaco used was to coat his fingertips in chicken grease or coating the strings in Vaseline. This all but eliminated the string squeak associated with roundwound strings. Point of historical fact: Jaco's thumbs were double-jointed.

After Jaco's violent death, his Fender Jazz Basses were presumably stolen and their whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

In the early to mid-1980s, Jaco Pastorius began to experience mental problems, including symptoms of manic depression. These were worsened by heavy drug and alcohol use: while Jaco's on- and off-stage antics early in his career are well-known, these factors would only exacerbate his unusual and often bizarre behaviour. There are dozens of anecdotes and stories about his outlandish behavior and eccentricities, though some were highly exaggerated. His musical performances also suffered as a result. During this time he played in various solo acts and many night clubs in Fort Lauderdale and New York City. He fell out of public favor and became an outcast in the music business. Sadly, his final address while alive was Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. After sneaking onstage at a Santana concert September 11, 1987, he made his way to the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida. There he was brutally beaten into a coma after an altercation with a Vietnamese bouncer trained in martial arts. Coincidentally this location is barely more than a mile from his childhood home. He suffered irreversible brain damage and died on September 21 at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. After life support was removed, his heart continued beating for three hours. He is buried at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale, Florida. The bouncer served only four months in prison.

Miles Davis honored the late bassist on his Amandla album with the Marcus Miller composition "Mr. Pastorius.", as Jaco was a gigantic inspiration to Marcus Miller (to the extent that some have labeled Miller a mere imitator of Pastorius).

There is a yearly birthday party held for Pastorius at various locations in the USA, typically New York City and South Florida where his influence, memory, and life are felt to this day.

Reference

• Bill Milkowski; Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius, "The World's Greatest Bass Player"; Miller Freeman Books, San Francisco; ISBN 0-87930-361-1 (1st edition, hardcover, 1995)

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