Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius was a meteor who blazed on to the scene in the 1970s, only to flame out tragically in the 1980s. With a brilliantly fleet technique and fertile melodic imagination, Pastorius made his fretless electric bass leap out from the depths of the rhythm section into the front line with fluid machine-gun-like passages that demanded attention. He also sported a strutting, dancing, flamboyant performing style and posed a further triple-threat as a talented composer, arranger and producer. He and Stanley Clarke were the towering influences on their instrument in the 1970s.
Born in Pennsylvania, Pastorius grew up in Fort Lauderdale, where he played with visiting R&B and pop acts while still a teenager and built a reputation as a local legend. Everything started to come together for him quickly once he started playing with another rookie fusionmeister, Pat Metheny, around 1974. By 1976, he had been invited to join Weather Report, where he remained until 1981, gradually becoming a third lead voice along with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter. Outside Weather Report, he found himself in constant demand as a sessionman and producer, playing on Joni Mitchell, Blood Sweat and Tears, Paul Bley, Bireli Lagrene and Ira Sullivan albums -- and his first eponymous solo album for Epic in 1976 was hailed as a tour de force. From 1980 to 1984, he toured and recorded with his own band, the innovative Word of Mouth that fluctuated in size from a large combo to a big band.
Alas, Pastorius became overwhelmed by mental problems, exacerbated by drugs and alcohol in the mid-'80s, leading to several embarrassing public incidents (one was a violent crack-up on-stage at the Hollywood Bowl in mid-set at the 1984 Playboy Jazz Festival). Such episodes made him a pariah in the music business and toward the end of his life, he had become a street person, reportedly sighted in drug-infested inner-city hangouts. He died in 1987 from a physical beating sustained while trying to break into the Midnight Club in Fort Lauderdale. Almost totally forgotten at the time of his death, Pastorius was immediately canonized afterward (Marcus Miller wrote the tune "Mr. Pastorius" in his honor, as have many others over the years).
Since Pastorius' death, there have been numerous posthumously released albums featuring previously unheard live and studio recordings. In 2015, the bassist was also the subject of the documentary film Jaco, produced by bassist Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies, Metallica) and Pastorius' oldest son John Pastorius IV
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Jaco Pastorius
Jazz - Released by Epic - Legacy on Aug 1, 1976
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Twins Live In Japan 1982
Jazz - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Jan 25, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
JACO Original Soundtrack
Jazz Fusion & Jazz Rock - Released by Columbia - Legacy on Nov 27, 2015
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Truth, Liberty & Soul (Live in NYC) [The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! Recording] (Live)
Jazz - Released by Resonance Records on Apr 22, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Jaco Pastorius
Pop/Rock - Released by Columbia - Legacy on Jun 22, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Invitation
Jazz - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Dec 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trilogue (Live)
Albert Mangelsdorff, Alphonse Mouzon, Jaco Pastorius
Jazz - Released by MPS on Aug 28, 2014
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Honestly (Solo Live)
Jazz Fusion & Jazz Rock - Released by Jazzpoint Records on Jan 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Word Of Mouth
Jazz - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Dec 1, 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Broadway Blues
Jazz Fusion & Jazz Rock - Released by Jazzpoint Records on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Truth, Liberty & Soul (Live in NYC) [The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! Recording] (Live)
Jazz - Released by Resonance Records on Apr 22, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Modern American Music... Period! The Criteria Sessions
Jazz - Released by Omnivore Recordings on Apr 15, 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Japan 1983 - Remastered
Jazz - Released by Mad Era Music on May 19, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthology: The Warner Bros. Years
Jazz - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Oct 13, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Birthday Concert (Live at Mr. Pip's, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 12/1/81)
Jazz - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on Sep 26, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pastorius / Metheny / Ditmas / Bley (HD Remastered)
Vocal Jazz - Released by Reborn recordings on Jan 1, 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blackbird (HD Remastered)
Vocal Jazz - Released by Reborn recordings on Sep 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo