Jaco Pastorius
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Jaco Pastorius (born as: John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, December 1, 1951–September 21, 1987) was a jazz bassist who is notable for popularizing the fretless electric bass. He was immensely talented; many(including himself) have gone so far as to say he was the greatest electric bassist ever, and Pastorius's compositions and arrangements are also well regarded.
Pastorius was born in Pennsylvania, but soon moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was raised. He played music throughout his youth, and in 1974, he began playing with his friend Pat Metheny. In 1976, he was invited to join fusion band Weather Report, where he played alongside Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter until 1981. His first solo album was released in 1976. Pastorious's first album, titled Jaco Pastorius, 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. After his stint with Weather Report, he toured with his Word of Mouth Big Band from 1980 to 1984.
Pastorius also recorded some highly regarded albums with singer Joni Mitchell.
In the mid-1980s, Pastorius began to experience mental problems, symptoms of manic depression. These were worsened by heavy drug and alcohol use. There are dozens of anecdotes and stories about his outlandish behavior and eccentricities, though some were just highly exaggerated. His musical performances also suffered as a result. During this time period 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. In 1987, he was beaten into a coma after an altercation with a bouncer at the Midnight Club in Fort Lauderdale. He suffered irreversible brain damage and died on September 21 of that year.
Miles Davis honored the late bassist in his Amandla album with the Marcus Miller composition "Mr. Pastorius."
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)
External links
- Jaco Pastorius (official site) (http://www.jacopastorius.com/)
- Jaco, the Early Years (official site) (http://www.portraitofjaco.com/)
cs:Jaco Pastorius de:Jaco Pastorius fi:Jaco Pastorius fr:Jaco Pastorius it:Jaco Pastorius ja:ジャコ・パストリアス nl:Jaco Pastorius no:Jaco Pastorius pl:Jaco Pastorius ru:Джако Пасториус