Fannie mae jaco pastorius biography

Electric bassist John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III. was born on December 1, 1951 in Morristown, Pennsylvania.

The son of singer-drummer Jack Pastorius, Jaco started on drums but gave it up after he hurt his wrist playing football when he was 13.

At 17, he started learning acoustic bass but soon switched to bass guitar which he played with local groups including Wayne Cochran and the C.C.

Riders.

A brilliant musician, Jaco attended and then taught bass at the University of Miami in his early twenties, making his recording debut with Paul Bley (as did Pat Metheny on the same album).

Pastorius, who at that point in time called himself “the world’s greatest bass player,” was not far from being accurate as he showed on Metheny’s first album Bright Size Life and on his first album as a leader, the often-stunning Jaco Pastorius from 1976.

He was not only a virtuoso on electric bass but largely liberated the instrument with his instantly recognizable style,