page_title: Jaco Pastorius
section_title: Stage presence and bass techniques
hierarchical_section_title: Jaco Pastorius / Stage presence and bass techniques
caption_attribution_description: English: Jaco Pastorius, Jazz at the Opera House, San Francisco CA 2/22/82. Photo: Brian McMillen / brianmcmillen@hotmail.com
context_page_description: John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III was an American jazz bassist who was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He worked with Pat Metheny and Joni Mitchell, and recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader. His bass playing employed funk, lyrical solos, bass chords, and innovative harmonics. As of 2017, he is the only electric bassist of seven bassists inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, and has been lauded as one of the best electric bassists of all time.
  Pastorius suffered from drug addiction and mental health problems throughout his professional life, and despite his widespread acclaim, over the latter part of his life he had problems holding down jobs due to his unreliability. In frequent financial trouble, he was often homeless throughout the mid 1980s. He died in 1987, as a result of injuries sustained in a fight outside of a South Florida music club.
  After his death, his work continued to influence musicians. He was elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the subject of the 2014 documentary film Jaco.
context_section_description: Until about 1970, most jazz bassists played the acoustic, upright bass, also known as the double bass. With the exception of the bass players in the trios Bill Evans led, bassists remained in the background with the drummer, forming the rhythm section, while the saxophonist, trumpeter, or vocalist handled the melody and led the band. Pastorius had other ideas for the bass player.  He played an electric bass from which he had removed the frets. He played fast and loud, sang, and did flips. He spread powder on the stage so he could dance like James Brown. He joked around and talked to the crowd. A self-described Florida beach bum, he often went barefoot and shirtless. He was tall, lean, and strong, and for someone who played sports the nickname "Jocko" fit. His thumbs were "double jointed" and his fingers were long and thin.
  After being taught about artificial harmonics, he added them to his technique and repertoire. (Natural harmonics, also known as open string harmonics, are played by lightly touching the string at a fret without pressing it to the fretboard, resulting in a note that rings somewhat like a bell. Artificial harmonics, also called false harmonics, involve lightly touching a string with one finger, then using another finger to play the note, simultaneously playing and stopping the note.) An often cited example is the introduction to "Birdland".
  He was noted for virtuosic bass lines which combined Afro-Cuban rhythms, inspired by the likes of Cachao Lopez, with R&B to create 16th-note funk lines syncopated with ghost notes. He played these with a "movable anchor" thumb technique on the right hand, anchoring on the bridge pickup while playing on the E and A strings and muting the E string with his thumb while playing on higher strings. Examples include "Come On, Come Over" from the album Jaco Pastorius and "The Chicken" from The Birthday Concert.
caption: Jaco Pastorius, Jazz at the Opera House, San Francisco CA 2/22/82
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