Jaco Pastorius

John Francis "Jaco" Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer.

Pastorius was born December 1, 1951, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the oldest of three boys born to Stephanie Catherine ( Haapala; 1925-2001), who was of Finnish descent, and musician John Francis Pastorius Jr. (1922-2004), a singer and jazz drummer of 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 origins of Pastorius' nickname, "Jaco", is disputed.

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 University of Miami's faculty.

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.

With Paul Bley and Bruce Ditmas, Pastorius and Metheny recorded an untitled album, Jaco in 1974.

He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1976 to 1981.

He also collaborated with numerous artists, including 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.

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, 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.

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.

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 Robert Trujillo 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.

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.