Jaco Pastorius

Jaco in 1987 (Wikipedia)

My hero is John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III. Born to John Francis Pastorius II and Stephanie Katherine Haapala Pastorius. He is "the greatest bass player in the world." He is entitled as being both a Composer as well as Musician. His main instrument was the bass (played "Fender Jazz") although he also played the drums, piano and saxophone. His main style played was mainly Jazz Fusion or Funk, but was well known for being able to play any style needed with perfect accuracy and fluency. In his life-time he was signed to three major labels, these being: Epic Records, Warner Bros. Records, and Columbia Records, all quite large labels. Jaco was known as a soft-hearted person, unfortunately with a short temper. This was due to him being conditioned with having manic-depression. Unfortunately, Jaco was also, for a large part of his life, a drug-addict as well as an alcoholic. This did nothing to help his problem, and later in his life fell away from family, friends and fellow musicians as problems grew worse. Today, he is viewed as one of the greatest contributions to jazz in the 21st century.

From his 1975 solo album self-titled

The reason why I would give Jaco the title of "my hero" is because of his daring and impressive achievements as well as his virtuosity and passion as a jazz composer and fret-less bass musician. Jaco is someone who I am able to look up to and therefore he is a hero to me. What makes him great is his audaciousness and capability to consummate his goal to the best of his abilities and as well surpassing the abilities of his peers around him. Jaco would persevere through any challenges he faced to be the best at whatever those provocations may have been. He once swam to the Statue of Liberty and back after three days of sleep deprivation simply for bragging rights. Jaco had also quite an arrogant personality, imposing his brash self-realization of greatness upon others. He often claimed to be "the greatest bass player of all time". Additionally, Jaco should be noted for his arbitrary need for faultlessness. He would spend hours following the recording of a single track to produce it himself. Jaco has provided great inspiration for me as not only a jazz bassist but as well a unique and memorable being and character, and for this he is my hero.

In jazz schools and music conservatories all over the world, his name is spoken by students in the same way reserved for legendary musicians. Although he was unable to make it to 40 years old, the life and music of Jaco Pastorius are renowned. He revolutionized his instrument and left behind an amazing collection of works, which will remain influential for years to come. He had two Grammy Award nominations for his self-titled debut album. In 2006, Pastorius was voted "The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived" by reader submissions in Bass Guitar Magazine. He was inducted into Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988, one of only four bassists to be so honored beside Charles Mingus, Milt Hinton, and Ray Brown and the only electric bassist to receive the distinction. He has played on over 40 renowned artist's albums, such as, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and many other famous jazz personas.

Jaco was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Fort Lauderdale. Jaco and his family continued to live there for many years. When Jaco was older he moved to various places in Florida, such as Miami, Panama City, etc. He did this so as to make himself and his style of playing familiar within the Florida music scene. Where Jaco lived influenced his playing in a considerable way. This is shown especially in a particular song called "Barbary Coast" from the 1976 release of "Black Market." Although the album draws heavily from African influences, the piece composed by Jaco has a slightly different feel from the rest of the album, with a definite Caribbean style present (Jaco would have had many relations and such with people from this region as it is moderately close to his area). "Barbary Coast" opens with the sound of a train roaring along a railroad track, it's horn blasts fading into the distance. This adds to the piece more than just an atmospheric filler, these railroad tracks are those which run along side Dixie Highway in Fort Lauderdale, as a kid Jaco would often wander these tracks for hours. (The same tracks run past his grave site). Later in his life Jaco would move between New York City and Florida for short periods of time, depending on which place showed more opportunity career wise.

Jaco Playing Live (Personal File)

Jaco Pastorius was born December 1, 1951, and died September 21, 1987. Growing up in the time period which Jaco did was very influential upon Jaco's unique style. Influences like Jerry Jemmott, James Jamerson, Paul Chambers, Harvey Brooks and Tommy Cogbill and honing his skills and developing his songwriting adeptness in bands. Jaco also lived in an era when the electric bass was not a popular instrument in the jazz world. To play "real" jazz a bassist back the would have to play a stand-up. Jaco therefore helped to insert his a whole different outlook on the electric bass, successfully giving it a name within the jazz world.