John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius ( JAH-koh pass-TOR-ee-əss; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, Pastorius recorded albums as a solo artist, band leader, and as a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He also collaborated with numerous artists, including Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Joni Mitchell.
His bass style was influenced by funk and employed the use of fretless bass, lyrical solos, bass chords and innovative use of harmonics. As of 2017, he was the only one of seven bassists inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame to have been known for their work on the electric bass, and he has been lauded as among the best bassists of all time.
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.
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.
Pastorius was born December 1, 1951, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the oldest of three boys born to Stephanie Catherine (née Haapala; 1925–2001), who was of Finnish descent, and musician John Francis Pastorius Jr. (1922–2004), a singer and jazz drummer of Italian and German descent, who spent much of his time on the road. His family moved to Oakland Park near Fort Lauderdale when he was eight. Early American abolitionist Francis Daniel Pastorius is his ancestor.
The origin of Pastorius' nickname, "Jaco", is disputed. There is an interview with Jaco's father, Jack Pastorius, that took place in 2001 hosted by Bob Miles. Jack says that he was given the nickname during his service in the Navy. He later began calling Pastorius by this nickname in his early childhood. In the documentary Jaco, Pastorius' brother said that their mother came up with the nickname. It is also believed that the nickname 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, Florida, and was an altar boy at St. Clement's Church. His confirmation name was Anthony. He was intensely competitive and excelled at baseball, basketball, and football. 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.
By age 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.
During his teens, he played bass guitar for Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders.
In the early 1970s, Pastorius taught bass at the University of Miami, where he befriended jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who was on the school's faculty. With Paul Bley and Bruce Ditmas, Pastorius and Metheny recorded an untitled album, Jaco in 1974. Pastorius then played on Metheny's debut album, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976). He recorded his debut solo album, Jaco Pastorius (Epic, 1976), with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Lenny White, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Sam & Dave, David Sanborn, and Wayne Shorter.
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." Zawinul admired his brashness and asked for a demo tape. After listening to the tape, Zawinul realized that Pastorius had considerable skill. 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".
During his time with Weather Report, Pastorius began abusing alcohol and illegal drugs, which exacerbated existing mental problems and led to erratic behavior. 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.
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, which consisted of Chuck Findley on trumpet; Howard Johnson on tuba; Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, and Tom Scott on reeds; Toots Thielemans on harmonica; Kenwood Dennard, 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).
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. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in late 1982 after the tour. Pastorius had shown signs of bipolar disorder years before his diagnosis, but these signs were dismissed as eccentricities, character flaws, and by Pastorius himself as a normal part of his freewheeling personality.
Despite attention in the press, Word of Mouth sold poorly. Pastorius and Word of Mouth had finished recording Holiday for Pans by 1982, but while this was intended to be his next solo album, Warner Bros. was unimpressed by the demo tapes and refused to release it. In its place, the label released 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. 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. However, the same year, he gave a much praised concert in Brussels, Belgium with Toots Thielemans.
Stage presence and bass techniques
Until about 1970, most jazz bassists played the 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.