..:: audio-music dot info ::.. |
B i o g r a p h y |
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged for his virtuosity on the bass guitar, as well as his command of varied musical styles. His playing style was noteworthy for containing intricate solos in the higher register. His unique innovations also included the use of harmonics and the "singing" quality of his melodies. In 2006, Pastorius was voted "The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived" by reader submissions in Bass Guitar Magazine. Later in life, Pastorius suffered from mental health problems and substance abuse, both of which contributed to his death.
Early life and education
John Francis Pastorius III was born December 1, 1951 in Norristown,
Pennsylvania to John Francis Pastorius II and Stephanie Katherine
Haapala Pastorius, the first of their three children. Pastorius was of
Finnish, German, and Irish ancestry. Shortly after his birth, his
family moved to Fort Lauderdale. Pastorius went to elementary and
middle school at St. Clement's Catholic School in Wilton Manors, and he
was an altar boy at the adjoining church. In his years at St.
Clement's, the art he was most known for was drawing. Pastorius formed
his first band named The Sonics along with John Caputo and Dean Noel.
He went to high school at Northeast High in Oakland Park. He was a
talented athlete with skills in football, basketball, and baseball, and
he picked up music at an early age. He took the name "Anthony" at his
confirmation. He loved basketball, and often watched basketball with
his father. Pastorius' nickname was influenced by his love of sports
and also by the umpire Jocko Conlan. He changed the spelling from
"Jocko" to "Jaco" after the pianist Alex Darqui sent him a note.
Darqui, who was French, assumed the name was spelled "Jaco"; Pastorius
liked the new spelling. Jaco had a second nickname, given to him by his
younger brother Gregory: "Mowgli," after the wild young boy in Rudyard
Kipling's classic The Jungle Book. Gregory gave him the nickname in
reference to Jaco's seemingly endless energy as a child. Jaco would
later establish his music publishing company as Mowgli Music.
Music career
Pastorius started his musical career as a drummer (following in the
footsteps of his father Jack, a stand-up drummer) but when he was 13,
he injured his wrist while playing football. The break was so severe it
caused calcium to build up in his wrist and required corrective
surgery. After that he was never able to hit a snare drum properly
again. At that time he was in a nine-piece horn band called Las Olas
Brass (which covered popular material of the day by Aretha Franklin,
Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, James Brown and the Tijuana Brass).
Rendered unable to play the drums, he decided to fill in the spot left
open by the recently departed bass player.As Pastorius' interest in
jazz grew, he developed a desire to play the double bass. After saving
money for a considerable length of time for the purchase of a double
bass, he found that the instrument could not stand up to the Florida
humidity. One morning, his double bass was "in like a hundred pieces"
as he put it. Deciding that to replace it would be too expensive, he
instead pried out the frets on his Fender, and filled the fret holes
with wood putty. He continued to play music throughout his youth,
drawing on aforementioned influences like Jerry Jemmott, James
Jamerson, Paul Chambers, Harvey Brooks and Tommy Cogbill and honing his
skills and developing his songwriting prowess in bands like Wayne
Cochran and The C.C. Riders. He also played on various local R&B
and jazz records during that time such as Little Beaver, Ira Sullivan's
Quintet and Woodchuck. In 1974, he began playing with his friend and
later famous jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. They recorded together, first
with Paul Bley as leader and Bruce Ditmas on drums, then with drummer
Bob Moses. Metheny and Jaco recorded a trio album with Bob Moses on the
ECM label, entitled Bright Size Life.
Debut album
In 1975, Pastorius met up with Blood, Sweat and Tears drummer Bobby
Colomby, who had been given the green light by CBS records to find "new
talent" for their jazz division. Pastorius' first album, produced by
Colomby and entitled Jaco Pastorius (1976), was a breakthrough album
for the electric bass. Many consider this to be the finest bass album
ever recorded; when it exploded onto the jazz scene it was instantly
recognized as a classic. The album also boasted a lineup of
heavyweights in the jazz community at the time, who were essentially
his stellar back up band, including Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn,
Lenny White, Don Alias, and Michael Brecker among others. Even
legendary R&B singers Sam & Dave reunited to appear on the
track "Come On, Come Over".
Weather Report
During this time, he had also run into keyboardist Josef Zawinul in
Miami, Florida, where his band, Weather Report was playing. According
to Zawinul, Pastorius walked up to him after a concert the previous
night and talked about the performance and how it was "all right" but
he had "expected more". He then went on to tell Zawinul that he was
"The Greatest Bass Player in the World". An unamused Zawinul told him
to "get the fuck outta sight." According to Milkowsky's book on
that same evening, Jaco persisted and, according to Zawinul, reminded
Zawinul of himself when he was a "brash young man" in Cannonball's
band, which made Zawinul admire the young bassist. Zawinul asked for a
demo from Pastorius, and thus began a series of correspondence between
the two. Zawinul and Pastorius struck up a close friendship almost
immediately, as both men were outgoing and energetic, full of life. But
Zawinul was tempered with age; he was in his 40s, with a sense of
life's limits, while Jaco was still in his early 20s. One night before
a gig, Zawinul offered Jaco a drink to loosen up. Jaco had never drunk
before due to his father's own struggles with alcohol, but after two
drinks, Zawinul said he got "strange. He started throwing things. I
knew right away I had made a mistake." Pastorius's drinking grew more
out of control in the ensuing years, with Zawinul so furious during a
Japanese tour in 1980 he was ready to fire Jaco. He called bassist Tony
Levin, but he wasn't available. Before finding a replacement, Jaco
showed up at Zawinul's door apologizing profusely, and Joe once again
forgave him.
Guesting on albums
Also during this time period, Pastorius guested on many albums by other
artists; Joni Mitchell's Hejira album, and a solo album by Al Di Meola
are standouts, both released in 1976. Soon after that, Weather Report
bass player Alphonso Johnson gave notice that he would be leaving to
start his own band. Pastorius was happily invited by Zawinul to join
the band, where he played alongside Joe and Wayne Shorter until 1981.
It is with Weather Report that Pastorius made his indelible mark on
jazz music, being featured on one of the most popular jazz albums of
all time, the Grammy-nominated Heavy Weather. Not only did this album
showcase Jaco's stunning bass playing, but he also received a
co-producing credit with Joe Zawinul and even plays drums on his self
composed Teen Town. During the course of his musical career, Pastorius
played on dozens of recording sessions for other musicians, both in and
out of jazz circles. Some of his most notable are four highly regarded
albums with acclaimed singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell: Hejira (1976),
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977), Mingus (1979) and the live album
Shadows and Light (1980). His influence was most dominant on Hejira,
and many of the songs on that album seem to be composed using the bass
as a melodic source of inspiration. Near the end of his career, he
guested on low-key releases by jazz artists such as guitarist Mike
Stern, gypsy guitarist Biréli Lagrène, and drummer Brian
Melvin. In 1985, he recorded an instructional video, Modern Electric
Bass, hosted by bass legend Jerry Jemmott.
Projects
By the time he and Weather Report parted ways in early 1981, Jaco began
pursuing his interest in creating a Big Band solo project, one that
found its debut aurally on his second solo release, which was
distributed by Warner Brothers, Word of Mouth (which was also the name
of the Big Band). His 1981 album Word of Mouth also boasted guest
appearances by several distinguished jazz musicians; Herbie Hancock
appears again here, as do Weather Report alumni Wayne Shorter and Peter
Erskine, and other legends such as harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans
and Hubert Laws. Word of Mouth allowed Pastorius' songwriting to take
some of the spotlight from his bass performance. It also showcased his
production skills and ultimately, his ability to bring together a
project that was recorded on both coasts of the United States. He
toured in 1982; a swing through Japan was the highlight, and it was at
this time that bizarre tales of Jaco's deteriorating behavior first
surfaced. He shaved his head, painted his face black and threw his bass
into Hiroshima Bay at one point. That tour was released in Japan as
Twins I and Twins II and was condensed for an American release which
was known as Invitation.
Behavior and health problems
In the early to mid-1980s, Pastorius began to experience increasingly
prevalent mental health problems, including symptoms of bipolar
disorder. These were worsened by heavy drug and alcohol use and he was
eventually diagnosed as being manic depressive. Although his on-stage
and off-stage antics were already well-documented, his mental health
and addiction problems exacerbated his unusual and often bizarre
behavior, and his musical performances suffered. During this time he
played in various solo acts in Fort Lauderdale and New York City, and
became an outcast of the musical community due to his health problems.
He was homeless, penniless, and secluded from nearly all who once held
him dear. He was left to gig at various nightclubs around town, but
when his behavior became too much, he was banned and would segue to the
next club. His increasingly erratic behavior began to affect his
musical career, and he was eventually dropped by Warner Brothers. He
had to be pulled off stage during the 1982 Playboy Jazz Festival due to
drunkenness, prompting an apology to the crowd by MC Bill Cosby. By
1984, the Word of Mouth Big Band had also splintered. He managed to
record a third solo album, which made it as far as some unpolished demo
tapes, a steelpans-tinged release entitled Holiday for Pans, which once
again showcased him as more of a tunesmith and producer than a bass
player. In fact, Jaco did not play any of the bass parts on the album.
Some years after his death, bass player Kenny Burrell Jr. confessed to
playing the bass parts, although this admission was considered suspect
in light of Burrell's inferior capabilities as a bass player. Jaco
could not find a distributor for the album and the album was never
released; however it has since been widely bootlegged. In 2003, a cut
from Holiday for Pans, entitled "Good Morning Anya", was included on
Rhino Records' anthology Punk Jazz.
Mental illness
By this point, Jaco had been in the throes of mental illness and drug
and alcohol abuse, and had been homeless for a stretch. In a video from
this period, he appears shaky, his playing is uneven, and he admits he
can't play some of his old licks. The video is not structured and tends
to jump around from one subject to the next. It finishes with an
impromptu jam session with Jaco, guitarist John Scofield and drummer
Kenwood Dennard.
Awards
Apart from his career in the influential jazz fusion band Weather
Report, he had two Grammy Award nominations for his self-titled debut
album. He was inducted into Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988, one of
only four bassists to be so honored (the others being Charles Mingus,
Milt Hinton, and Ray Brown), and the only electric bassist to receive
this distinction.
Technique
The "Jaco growl" is obtained by using the bridge pickup exclusively and
plucking the strings close to it. Pastorius used natural and false
harmonics to extend the range of the bass (exemplified in the bass solo
masterpiece Portrait of Tracy from his eponymous album) and could
achieve a horn-like tone through his playing technique.
Basses
Pastorius was most identified by his use of two well-worn Fender Jazz
Basses from the early 1960s: A 1960 fretted, and a 1962 fretless. The
fretless was originally a fretted bass (at the time Fender did not
manufacture fretless instruments) from which he removed the frets and
used wood filler to fill in the grooves where the frets had been, along
with the holes created where chunks of the fretboard had been taken
out. Jaco then sanded down the fingerboard, and applied several coats
of marine epoxy (Petit's Poly-poxy) to prevent the rough Rotosound
RS-66 roundwound bass strings he used from eating into the bare wood.
Even though he played both the fretted and the fretless basses
frequently, he preferred the fretless, because he felt frets were a
hindrance, once calling them "speed bumps." However, he said in the
instructional video that he never practiced with the fretless because
the strings "chew the neck up." Both of his Fender basses were stolen
shortly before he entered Bellevue hospital in 1986. In 1993, one of
the basses resurfaced in a New York City music shop, with the
distinctive letter P written between the two pickups. The store told
Bass Player magazine it was brought in by a "student" of Jaco's, and
the asking price was $35,000. Jaco also had two Jaydee Basses made for
him shortly before he died; a fretted and a fretless.
Amplification and effects
Jaco used the "Variamp" EQ (equalization) controls on his two Acoustic
361 amplifiers (made by the Acoustic Control Corporation of Van Nuys,
California) to boost the midrange frequencies, thus accentuating the
natural growling tone of his fretless passive Fender Jazz Bass and
roundwound string combination. His tone was also colored by the use of
a rackmount MXR digital delay unit that fed a second Acoustic amp rig.
He often used Hartke cabinets because of their characteristic aluminum
speaker cones (as opposed to paper speaker cones). These gave his tone
a bright, clean clarity. Jaco typically used the delay in a chorus-like
mode, providing a stereo doubling effect. He would often use the fuzz
control built in on the Acoustic 361. Another effect he used live was
an octave pedal (which provides a 2nd tone an octave lower). For the
bass solo "Slang" on the 8:30 album, Jaco used the MXR digital delay to
layer and loop a chordal figure and soloed over it.
Death
After sneaking onstage at a Carlos Santana concert September 11, 1987,
he was ejected from the premises, and he made his way to the Midnight
Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida (which is now The Corner Pocket,
near the intersection of NE 6th Ave and Wilton Drive, in The Shoppes of
Wilton Manors). After reportedly kicking in a glass door after being
refused entrance to the club, he was engaged in a violent confrontation
with the club bouncer, Luc Havan. Pastorius was hospitalized for
multiple facial fractures and damage to his right eye and right arm,
and had sustained irreversible brain damage. He fell into a coma and
was put on life support. There were initially encouraging signs that he
would come out of his coma and recover, but a massive brain hemorrhage
a few days later pointed to brain death. His family decided on a
majority vote to remove him from life support, even though his second
wife Ingrid was against the decision. Pastorius died on September 21,
1987, aged 35, at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale,
his heart continuing to beat for three hours after the life support
machine was disconnected. His final address was at Holiday Park in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. In the wake of Pastorius' death, Havan was charged
with second degree murder, but later pled guilty to manslaughter, for
which he served four months. Jaco is buried at Our Lady Queen of Heaven
Cemetery in North Lauderdale.
Honours and tributes
Miles Davis honored the late bassist on his album Amandla with the
Marcus Miller composition "Mr. Pastorius," as Jaco was an inspiration
to Marcus Miller. Victor Wooten also honored Jaco on his album Soul
Circus on the track "Bass Tribute", thanking Pastorius several times.
He also, in 'Bass Extremes' with Steve Bailey, does a song titled
'Glorius Pastorius,' and also a tribute to Jaco's interpretation of
Charlie Parker's 'Donna Lee' titled 'Madonna Lee'. Pat Metheny Group
also honored Jaco on their album Pat Metheny Group on the track "Jaco",
with whom Metheny had previously played. Note: this tune was not
specifically written for Jaco. Metheny wrote the song and then realized
that the main melody sounded a lot like Jaco's "Come On, Come Over,"
and subsequently decided to name the tune for Pastorius. John
McLaughlin also honored Jaco on his album Industrial Zen with the song
"For Jaco". English keyboard player Rod Argent includes a track titled
"Pastorius Mentioned" on his 1979 Album "Moving Home" Canadian bassist
Alain Caron pays tribute to Pastorius by playing an upright bass
version of "Donna Lee" on Uzeb's "World Tour '90" album, and has
mentioned that Pastorius was his biggest inspiration when it comes to
playing fretless bass.
On November 28, 2007, the Oakland Park City Commission unanimously voted to name the city's new downtown park after Jaco Pastorius. Jaco's hometown celebrated its most famous artist with a tremendous honor: a living memorial with a focus on the arts. A 2-1/2 year grassroots effort by loyal south Florida fans finally came to fruition. Now south Florida residents and Jaco fans worldwide will have a place to reflect upon and enjoy the legacy of this music giant. There are also plans to incorporate Jaco's name and story into the City's various performing arts events. On December 2, 2007, the day after what would have been Jaco's 56th birthday, a concert called "A Tribute to Jaco Pastorius" was held at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, featuring performances by the award-winning Jaco Pastorius Big Band with special guest appearances by Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Bobby Mintzer, David Bargeron, Jimmy Haslip, Gerald Veasley, Jaco's sons John and Julius Pastorius, Jaco's daughter Mary Pastorius, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Thomas, Jr., and Dana Paul. Also shown were exclusive home movies and rare concert footage as well as video appearances by Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, and other luminaries from Jaco's life. Almost 20 years after Jaco's death, Fender released the Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass Fretless from its Artist Series. Rush bassist Geddy Lee was messing around with one of these basses (the Jazz bass has become his bass of choice in recent years) during down time while recording the band's 2007 album Snakes & Arrows, and the improvised riff became the instrumental Malignant Narcissism. Jaco was known for his proficiency and repertoire with pentatonic scales, weaving simple patterns into intricate jazz masterpiece solos.
Biography
In 1995, jazz author Bill Milkowski published "Jaco: The Extraordinary
And Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius. 'The World's Greatest Bass Player'."
The book was filled with interviews with leading jazz musicians, music
executives and Jaco's brother, but Milkowski's first-hand experiences
with Jaco were toward the end of his life, when he had deteriorated
badly. Jaco's second wife Ingrid has taken issue with many of the
claims made in the book, stating that they either did not happen or
happened very differently. Guitarist Pat Metheny, with whom Pastorius
worked on several albums, leveled his own criticism in the liner notes
of the reissue of Jaco's first album, calling it "a horribly
inaccurate, botched biography." When the softcover edition of "Jaco"
was published, one correction was made concerning an incident
supposedly involving Jaco's daughter Mary, but the rest remains
unchanged.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A l b u m s |