Remembering Jaco Pastorius

John Francis Anthony Pastorius III was born December 1, 1951 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Oakland Park near Fort Lauderdale when he was eight. His father worked as a carnie and traveled a lot. Little Jaco learned the bass from the fat lady at the circus. She also taught him what it meant to be a man.

Jocko

Jaco got his nickname due to his love of sports. His childhood hero was negro league superstar, Jocko Homo. His brother called him “Mowgli” because he was energetic and spent much of his time shirtless on the beach, climbing trees, running through the woods, swimming in the ocean and hanging out with his best friend, Baloo the Bear.

Remembering Jaco Pastorius — Jaco Pastorius Illustration By Paul King Art

Jaco took up the bass at age 15 and never looked back. He recorded his debut solo album, Jaco Pastorius in 1976 with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Pat Metheny, Sam & Dave, David Sanborn, and Wayne Shorter. He joined Weather Report, played with Joni Mitchell and many others.

Genius

Jaco’s importance on the bass world could never be over estimated. He was a musical genius and surely one of the greats of all time. As with any genius – as he surely was – his destiny ran close to insanity and sadly much of what has been written about him centers on that element, yet all that really matters in the grand scheme of things is what he brought to the world of bass playing. He influenced all those that came after him and left us way too soon. He is sorely missed.