John “Jaco” Pastorius
December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987
One of the most influential bassists of all time, Jaco Pastorius was arguably the greatest modern jazz bass player of all time. Regarded as a gifted athlete growing up, Pastorius began to focus on his second love, music following a football injury to his wrist at the age of 13. At the time he was playing to drums, but the injury was bad enough that he had to give up the sticks and find another instrument to excel at. It was then that he picked up the bass. As he developed, his interests began to lean toward jazz and R&B. He began playing with then-unknown Pat Metheny, with whom he made his first recordings. He got is break in 1975 when Bobby Colomby, then of Blood, Sweat & Tears helped him get a deal with CBS Records who released his self-titled solo debut in 1976. With a stellar cast that included David Sanborn, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, many consider Jaco Pastorius to be the best bass album ever recorded. Shortly thereafter, Pastorius was invited by Joe Zawunil to join the great fusion band, Weather Report. Though his contributions to Weather Report were undeniable, his tenure with the band was rocky at time due to his increasing abuse of alcohol coupled with his then undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He parted ways with the band in 1981 and continued his downward spiral. Although diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982, and receiving treatment for it, things weren’t getting much better. By mid ’80s he was living on the streets of New York City and in 1986, he moved down to Florida where he continued to be homeless. On September 11, 1987, Pastorius was kicked out of a Santana concert after sneaking up on stage. He found his way to a local club and after being refused entry, he became violent and confrontational with the bouncer. A fight ensued during which Pastorius sustained head injuries severe enough to require a visit to a hospital where he soon fell into a coma. He died ten days later at the age of 35. The bouncer at the club later served eight months in prison for manslaughter.
What You Should Own
I met Jaco Pastorius in 1985. I was on my way to school and he was playing on the streets. When he was finished he looked at me and said “hey man gimme some money”. I gave him like 2 dollars. When i got out of school i went back to see if he was still there. He was gone. I walked home that day because i gave the worlds greatest bass player my last 2 dollars. But man the warm low end of his bass is still resonates. One of the reasons i play today.