Jaco

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Jaco Pastorius, the greatest electric bassist to walk the earth, in my opinion.

As a kid (and aspiring musician) I idolized this guy. He was one of those rare talents that comes along to truly revolutionize his or her art. This guy brought freakishly flawless (as in 'without flaws') technique, musicality for days, and funkiness that will never be matched. A real genius.

It sounds hokey, but from my perspective the guy is still around. You can hear him in the playing of nearly every serious bassist working today.


some solo stuff:


rare footage of Jaco at the piano with Toots Thielemans performing one of my favorite Jaco compositions, Three Views of a Secret. Beautiful stuff: