Jaco Pastorius

John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (/ˈdʒɑːkoʊ pæˈstɔːriəs/; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987)[1] was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He also collaborated with other artists, most notably Pat Metheny and Joni Mitchell.[2] His bass playing employed funk, lyrical solos, bass chords, and innovative harmonics. As of 2017 he was the only electric bassist of seven bassists inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame,[3] and he has been lauded as one of the best electric bassists of all time.[4][5]

Jaco Pastorius
Pastorius in Amsterdam, 1980
Background information
Birth nameJohn Francis Anthony Pastorius III
Born(1951-12-01)December 1, 1951
Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 21, 1987(1987-09-21) (aged 35)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
GenresJazz, jazz fusion, post-bop, funk
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • composer
  • producer
Instrument(s)
  • Bass guitar
  • keyboards
  • steel drum
Years active1966–1987
Labels
Websitejacopastorius.com

Pastorius suffered from drug addiction and mental health issues and, despite his widespread acclaim, over the latter part of his life he had problems holding down jobs due to his unreliability. In frequent financial difficulties, he was often homeless in the mid-1980s. He died in 1987 as a result of injuries sustained in a beating outside a South Florida after-hours nightclub. [6]

Since his death in 1987, his work has continued to be widely influential. He was elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1988 and was the subject of the 2014 documentary film Jaco.

Biography
Pastorius playing in Toronto, November 1977
Pastorius playing in San Francisco, February 1982
Pastorius playing (with Jorma Kaukonen behind him) in New York City, March 1986

Early life

John Francis Pastorius was born December 1, 1951, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States.[1] He was the oldest of three boys born to Stephanie, his Finnish mother, and Jack Pastorius, a singer and jazz drummer who spent much of his time on the road. His family moved to Oakland Park near Fort Lauderdale when he was eight.[7] Early American abolitionist Francis Daniel Pastorius is his ancestor.[8]

Pastorius's nickname, "Jaco", became adopted, and was partially influenced by his love for sports as well as the umpire Jocko Conlan. In 1974, he began spelling it "Jaco" after it was misspelled by his neighbor, pianist Alex Darqui. His brother called him "Mowgli" after the wild boy in The Jungle Book because he was energetic and spent much of his time shirtless on the beach, climbing trees, running through the woods, and swimming in the ocean. He attended St. Clement's Catholic School in Wilton Manors and was an altar boy at St. Clement's Church. His confirmation name was Anthony, thus expanding his name to John Francis Anthony Pastorius. He was intensely competitive and excelled at baseball, basketball, and football.[7]

He played drums until he injured his wrist playing football when he was thirteen. The damage was severe enough to warrant corrective surgery and inhibited his ability to play the drums.[7]

By 1968–1969 at age of 17, Pastorius began appreciating jazz and had saved enough money to buy an upright bass. Its deep, mellow tone appealed to him, though it strained his finances. He had difficulty maintaining the instrument, which he attributed to the humidity in Florida. When he woke one day to find it had cracked, he traded it for a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass.[9]

In his teens he played bass guitar for Wayne Cochran and the C.C. (Chitlin Circuit) Riders.[10]

Education

In the early 1970s, Pastorius taught bass at the University of Miami, where he befriended jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who was also on the faculty. With Paul Bley and Bruce Ditmas, Pastorius and Metheny recorded an untitled album, commonly known as Jaco (Improvising Artists, 1974).[11] Pastorius then played on Metheny's debut album, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976).[12] He recorded his debut solo album, Jaco Pastorius (Epic, 1976), with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Sam & Dave, David Sanborn, and Wayne Shorter.[13]

Weather Report

Before recording his debut album, Pastorius attended a concert in Miami by the jazz fusion band Weather Report. After the concert, he approached keyboardist Joe Zawinul, who led the band. As was his habit, he introduced himself by saying, "I'm John Francis Pastorius III. I'm the greatest bass player in the world."[14] Zawinul admired his brashness and asked for a demo tape. After listening to the tape, Zawinul realized that Pastorius had considerable skill.[7] They corresponded, and Pastorius sent Zawinul a rough mix of his solo album.

After bassist Alphonso Johnson left Weather Report, Zawinul asked Pastorius to join the band. Pastorius made his band debut on the album Black Market (Columbia, 1976), in which he shared the bass chair with Johnson. Pastorius was fully established as sole band bass player for the recording of Heavy Weather (Columbia, 1977), which contained the Grammy-nominated hit "Birdland".[10]

During his time with Weather Report, Pastorius began abusing alcohol and illegal drugs,[7] which exacerbated existing mental problems and led to erratic behavior.[15] He left Weather Report in 1982 because of clashes with tour commitments for his other projects, plus a growing dissatisfaction with Zawinul's synthesized and orchestrated approach to the band's music.[7]

Word of Mouth

Warner Bros. signed Pastorius to a favorable contract in the late 1970s based on his groundbreaking skill and his star quality, which they hoped would lead to large sales. He used this contract to set up his Word of Mouth big band,[7] which consisted of Chuck Findley on trumpet, Howard Johnson on tuba, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, and Tom Scott on reeds, Toots Thielemans on harmonica, Peter Erskine and Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Don Alias on percussion. This was the group that recorded his second solo album, Word of Mouth (Warner Bros., 1981).[16]

In 1982, Pastorius toured with Word of Mouth as a 21-piece big band. While in Japan, to the alarm of his band members, he shaved his head, painted his face black, and threw his bass guitar into Hiroshima Bay.[7] He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in late 1982 after the tour.[17][18] Pastorius had shown signs of bipolar disorder before his diagnosis, but these signs were dismissed as eccentricities, character flaws, and by Pastorius himself as a normal part of his freewheeling personality.[19][20]

Despite attention in the press, Word of Mouth sold poorly. Warner Bros. was unimpressed by the demo tapes from Holiday for Pans.[7] Pastorius released a third album, Invitation (1983), a live recording from the Word of Mouth tour of Japan. As alcohol and drug problems dominated his life, he had trouble finding work and wound up becoming homeless.[21] In 1985, while filming an instructional video (Modern Electric Bass), Pastorius told the interviewer, Jerry Jemmott, that although he had been praised often for his ability, he wished that someone would give him a job.[7] However, the same year, he gave a much praised concert in Brussels (Belgium) with Toots Thielemans.[22]

Death

On September 11, 1987, Pastorius snuck onstage at a Santana concert at the Sunrise Musical Theater in Sunrise, Florida. After being ejected from the premises, he made his way to the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors.[23] After reportedly kicking in a glass door, having been refused entrance to the club, he became involved in a violent confrontation with a club employee who was a martial arts expert.[24] Pastorius was hospitalized for multiple facial fractures and injuries to his right eye and left arm, and fell into a coma.[25] There were encouraging signs that he would come out of the coma and recover, but they soon faded. A brain hemorrhage a few days later led to brain death. He was taken off life support and died on September 21, 1987,[1] at the age of 35, at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.[23] Pastorius was buried in Section L, Block 219, Grave 8 at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale, Florida.

The club employee faced a charge of second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty-two months in prison and five years' probation. After serving four months in prison, he was paroled for good behavior.[26]

Stage presence and bass techniques
Pastorius playing Portrait of Tracy.[27]

Until about 1970, most jazz bassists played the acoustic, upright bass, also known as the double bass. At the time, with few exceptions (such as the bass players in the trios Bill Evans led), bassists typically remained in the background with the drummer, forming the rhythm section, while the saxophonist, trumpeter, or vocalist handled the melody and led the band. Pastorius had other ideas for the bass player. He played an electric bass from which he had removed the frets. He played fast and loud, sang, and did flips. He spread powder on the stage so he could dance like James Brown. He joked around and talked to the crowd. A self-described Florida beach bum, he often went barefoot and shirtless. He was tall, lean, and strong, and for someone who played sports the nickname "Jocko" fit. His thumbs were "double jointed" and his fingers were long and thin.[7][14]

After being taught about artificial harmonics, he added them to his technique and repertoire. (Natural harmonics, also known as open string harmonics, are played by lightly touching the string at a fret while plucking the string, resulting in a note that rings somewhat like a bell. Artificial harmonics, also called false harmonics, involve fretting with the left hand as usual while using a finger or thumb of the right hand at the fret an octave higher,[7] simultaneously playing and stopping the note.[28]) An often cited example is the introduction to "Birdland".

He was noted for virtuosic bass lines which combined Afro-Cuban rhythms, inspired by the likes of Cachao Lopez, with R&B to create 16th-note funk lines syncopated with ghost notes. He played these with a "movable anchor" thumb technique on the right hand, anchoring on the bridge pickup while playing on the E and A strings and muting the E string with his thumb while playing on higher strings. Examples include "Come On, Come Over" from the album Jaco Pastorius and "The Chicken" from The Birthday Concert.

Equipment

Bass of Doom

Pastorius played a number of Fender Jazz Basses over the years, but the most famous was a 1962 Jazz Bass that he called the Bass of Doom. When he was 21, Pastorius acquired the bass, which was modified by removing the frets. It is unclear when the frets were removed, as his recollections varied over the years. One story is that he used a common butter knife to remove the frets, and sealed the fretboard with epoxy resin.[29][30]

In 1986 the bass was repaired by luthiers Kevin Kaufman and Jim Hamilton, after it had been broken into many pieces.[31] After the repair Pastorius recorded a session with Mike Stern, then the bass was stolen from a park bench in Manhattan in 1986. It was found in a guitar shop in 2006, but the shop owner refused to give it up. The Pastorius family enlisted lawyers to help but nearly went bankrupt in 2010. Robert Trujillo, bassist for Metallica, considered Pastorius to be one of his heroes, and he felt that the family ought to have the bass. Trujillo helped pay to have it returned to them, though he has used it live and is the custodian of it.[32][33]

Fender began offering a fretless version of their standard Jazz Bass in the mid-1980s, and in 1999 began offering the "Fender Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass" in their Artist series, and Custom Shop series. These instruments were modelled on the Bass of Doom, with the Custom Shop version featuring a fretboard sealed with epoxy resin.[34] In the 2000s Fender's budget brand Squier offered the "Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz Bass" which was also reminiscent of Jaco's instrument.[35]

Since the 1980s other companies have offered fretless basses similar to, or modelled on, the Bass of Doom, such as Tokai[36] and Edwards.[37]

Amplification and effects

Pastorius used the "Variamp" EQ (equalization) controls on his two Acoustic 360 amplifiers[38] (made by the Acoustic Control Corporation) to boost the midrange frequencies, thus accentuating the natural growling tone of his fretless passive Fender Jazz Bass and roundwound string combination. He also controlled his tone color with a rackmount MXR digital delay unit that fed a second Acoustic amp rig.

During the final three years of his life he used Hartke cabinets because of the character of aluminum speaker cones (as opposed to paper speaker cones). These provided a bright, clear sound. He typically used the delay in a chorus-like mode, providing a shimmering stereo doubling effect. He often used the fuzz control built into the Acoustic 360. For the bass solo "Slang/Third Stone From the Sun" on Weather Report's live album 8:30 (1979), Pastorius used the MXR digital delay to layer and loop a chordal figure and then soloed over it; the same technique, with a looped bass riff, can be heard during his solo on the Joni Mitchell concert video Shadows and Light.

Guest appearances

Pastorius appeared as a guest on many albums by other artists, including Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople, and recorded a solo on the title track of his album All American Alien Boy in 1976. He can be heard on Airto Moreira's album I'm Fine, How Are You? (1977). His signature sound is prominent on Flora Purim's Everyday Everynight (1978), on which he played the bass melody for a Michel Colombier composition entitled "The Hope", and performed bass and vocals on one of his own compositions, entitled "Las Olas". Other recordings included work on four Joni Mitchell albums between 1976 and 1980 (Hejira; Don Juan's Reckless Daughter; Mingus; and Shadows and Light) and Al Di Meola's Land of the Midnight Sun, released in 1976. Near the end of his career, he worked often with guitarist Mike Stern, guitarist Biréli Lagrène, and drummer Brian Melvin.

Awards and honors

Pastorius received two Grammy Award nominations in 1977 for his self-titled debut album: one for Best Jazz Performance by a Group and one for Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist ("Donna Lee").[39] In 1978, he received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist for his work on Weather Report's album Heavy Weather.[40]

Bass Player magazine gave him second place on a list of the one hundred greatest bass players of all time, behind James Jamerson.[41] After his death in 1987, he was voted, by readers of Down Beat magazine, to its Hall of Fame, joining bassists Jimmy Blanton, Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden, and Milt Hinton.[42]

Marcus Miller said "Jaco's composing was as unique as his playing."[43]

Many musicians have composed songs in his honour, such as Pat Metheny's "Jaco" on the album Pat Metheny Group (1978),[44] "Mr. Pastorius" by Marcus Miller on Miles Davis's album Amandla, and Rod Argent's "Pastorius Mentioned" on his 1978 album Moving Home. Others who have dedicated compositions to him include Randy Brecker, Eliane Elias, Chuck Loeb, John McLaughlin, Bob Moses, Ana Popović, Dave Samuels, and the Yellowjackets.[7]

On December 2, 2007, the day after his birthday, a concert called "20th Anniversary Tribute to Jaco Pastorius" was held at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with performances by the Jaco Pastorius Big Band and appearances by Randy Brecker, Dave Bargeron, Peter Erskine, Jimmy Haslip, Bob Mintzer, Gerald Veasley, Pastorius's sons John and Julius Pastorius, Pastorius's daughter Mary Pastorius, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Thomas Jr., and Dana Paul. Almost twenty years after his death, Fender released the Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass, a fretless instrument in its Artist Series.

He has been called "arguably the most important and ground-breaking electric bassist in history" and "perhaps the most influential electric bassist today".[45][46]

William C. Banfield, director of Africana Studies, Music and Society at Berklee College, described Pastorius as one of the few original American virtuosos who defined a musical movement, in addition to Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Christian, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, and Wes Montgomery.[47]

Discography

Further reading
  • Erskine, Peter. No Beethoven: An Autobiography & Chronicle of Weather Report. 2013, Alfred Music. Autobiography
  • Malone, Sean. A Portrait of Jaco: The Solos Collection. 2002, Hal Leonard. Bass transcriptions
  • Milkowski, Bill. Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius. 1995, Backbeat Books. Biography
  • Pastorius, Jaco. The Essential Jaco Pastorius. 2002, Hal Leonard. Bass transcriptions
  • Seligman, Adam Ward. Requiem for Orpheus. 1996, Echolalia Press. Poetry book
  • Uchiyama, Shigeru. Jaco. 2017, Published in Japan. Photo book

Notes
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1918. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. Harrison, Angus (March 6, 2015). "Jaco Pastorius Is the Most Important Musician You Might Have Never Heard Of | NOISEY". Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  3. "DownBeat Archives". downbeat.com. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  4. "Readers Poll: Top 10 Bassists of All Time". Rolling Stone. March 31, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  5. Johnson, David. "The Greatest Bass Player In The World: Jaco Pastorius". Indianapublicmedia.org. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  6. "L.A. Times Archives". L.A. Times. L.A. Times. September 26, 1987. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  7. Milkowski, Bill (1995). Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius, "The World's Greatest Bass Player". San Francisco: Miller Freeman. ISBN 0-87930-361-1.
  8. "Who Killed Jaco Pastorius?". 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  9. Bob Bobbing (2007), Jaco and the upright bass; Jaco Pastorius official website biography
  10. "Jaco Pastorius Opens Up in His First Guitar World Interview From 1983". Guitar World. August 28, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  11. Yanow, Scott. "Jaco". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  12. Ginell, Richard S. "Bright Size Life". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  13. "Jaco Pastorius Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  14. Trjullo, Robert (Producer) (2015). Jaco (DVD). Los Angeles: Slang East/West.
  15. Tom Moon 1987
  16. Yanow, Scott. "Word of Mouth". AllMusic. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  17. "'Jaco,' a Documentary About the Jazz Musician Jaco Pastorius". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  18. "Metallica's Robert Trujillo On His Hero, Jaco Pastorius". Npr.org. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  19. Milkowski 2005
  20. Grayson, 2003
  21. Jaco Pastorius "The lost tapes Documentary" on YouTube
  22. Jaco+Toots - Three Views of a Secret on YouTube
  23. Stanton, Scott (2003). The Tombstone Tourist (2nd ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-6330-7.
  24. Stratton, Jeff (November 30, 2006). "Jaco Incorporated". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  25. Krause, Renee (September 16, 1987). "Noted Musician Listed As Critical After Altercation". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  26. Zimmerman, Lee (December 1, 2011). "Happy Birthday, Jaco Pastorius!". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  27. [video] Portrait of Tracy on YouTube
  28. Stix, John (2000). Bass Secrets: Where Today's Bass Stylists Get to the Bottom Line. Cherry Lane Music Company. pp. 46–. ISBN 978-1-57560-219-6. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  29. "The Life of Jaco". jacopastorius.com. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  30. Duffy, Mike (June 21, 2010). "Metallica's Trujillo Rescues Jaco Pastorius' Bass of Doom". Fender News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  31. "Remembering Jaco Pastorius: A Tribute to His Favorite Gear". reverb.com. September 21, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  32. Johnson, Kevin (May 31, 2010). "Robert Trujillo Helps Pastorius Family Reclaim Jaco's "Bass of Doom"". No Treble. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  33. Bradman, E.E. (January 15, 2016). "Jaco! The Story Behind Robert Trujillo's Intense New Documentary". BassPlayer.com. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  34. Bacon, Tony; Moorhouse, Barry. (2008). The bass book: a complete illustrated history of bass guitars. Hal Leonard Corporation, second edition. p. 101-103. ISBN 0-87930-924-5
  35. "Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz User Reviews | zZounds". Zzounds.com. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  36. "The World of Musical Instruments Brochures - Tokai guitar catalog 1981". Brochures.yokochou.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  37. "2007 Edwards (by ESP) Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass Guitar (Made in Japan) | Mojo Stompboxes | Reverb". Reverb.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  38. "Acoustic 360 amplifiers". Acoustic.homeunix.net. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  39. "Grammy Awards 1977", Awards and Shows, retrieved July 1, 2013
  40. "Grammy Awards 1978", Awards and Shows, retrieved July 1, 2013
  41. "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". BassPlayer.com. February 24, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  42. "DownBeat Hall of Fame", DownBeat, retrieved July 1, 2013
  43. "JacoPastorius.com : Guest Artists : Marcus Miller". March 5, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  44. Metheny, Pat (2000). Pat Metheny Song Book (Songbook ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp. p. 439. ISBN 0-634-00796-3.
  45. Belew, Adrian; Di Meloa, Al; Fripp, Robert; McLaughlin, John (1986). Casabona, Helen (ed.). New directions in modern guitar. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. ISBN 0881884235.
  46. Starr, Eric; Starr, Nelson (2008). Everything Bass Guitar Book. Holbrook, MA: F+W Media. ISBN 9781605502014.
  47. Banfield, William C. (2010). Cultural codes : Makings of a Black Music Philosophy. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 161. ISBN 9780810872868.

References
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