Jaco Pastorius
Latest about Jaco Pastorius

Jack Bruce’s final encounter with Jaco Pastorius
By Nick Wells published
According to his brother, Rory Pastorius, Jaco was influenced by the late Cream bassist’s midrange sound and aggressive lead style

How Joni Mitchell formed an unlikely partnership with Jaco Pastorius
By Nick Wells published
Although much of his fame stems from his time with Weather Report, Jaco’s recordings with Joni Mitchell yielded some of the finest bass playing of his career

Larry Klein explains how he handled replacing Jaco Pastorius in Joni Mitchell’s band
By E.E. Bradman published
The session ace-turned producer began working with Mitchell in 1981, soon after her last album with the “world’s greatest bass player”

Pat Metheny tells the story of how he met Jaco Pastorius – and their formative years in Miami
By Janelle Borg published
Pastorius notably played on Metheny's debut album, Bright Size Life, and the two even joined Joni Mitchell on her Shadows and Light tour

How Richard Bona found a rare Pastorius tune for his Brazilian-inspired solo album
By Nick Wells published
Bass worshippers will need to listen between the layers to catch the bottom-end brilliance of Bona’s Jaco tribute

How Jaco's 1962 Jazz Bass – the so-called Bass Of Doom – eventually came back to the Pastorius family
By Joel McIver published
Stolen in 1982, the bass vanished from the public eye until 2006 when it resurfaced in a New York music store

The Les Paul behind the iconic solo on Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights is now up for auction
By Janelle Borg published
The late Ian Bairnson’s guitar was used across the first four Kate Bush albums, as well as classic records from the Alan Parsons Project and countless sessions

“He already had his signature tone and touch, and a few of his signature licks, too”: A year before he was discovered, Jaco Pastorius laid down this classic R&B bassline on Little Beaver’s 1974 hit, I Can Dig It Baby
By Nick Wells published
Recorded a year before he was discovered by Blood Sweat and Tears drummer Bobby Colomby, I Can Dig It Baby finds Jaco Pastorius in his prime

“I totally respected Jaco's bass playing, but that 16th-note triplet funk thing – it just wasn't in his repertoire”: Weather Report drummer Chester Thompson on why Jaco Pastorius struggled to swing
By Nick Wells published
In 1975, Jaco Pastorius replaced Alphonso Johnson in Weather Report, but for drummer Chester Thompson, playing with Jaco was “like oil and water”
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