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gabeCalifornia

JACO

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Posts: 3357

(06/11/07 09:00:15)

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This year marks the 20th anniversary of Jaco's passing.

G Gemmer

Jaco Pastorius and Bob Zohn

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Posts: 976

(06/12/07 09:20:39)

It was 40 years ago that I first met Jaco and Bob Zohn. Both died in "87" two months apart. They were good friends. Jaco said of Bob "he was my greatest teacher". In 1969 Bob said of Jaco "hes gotten a lot better", on the bass.

pedroGV

Re: Jaco Pastorius and Bob Zohn

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Posts: 70

(08/13/07 13:24:08)

Never met Jaco despite being of similar ages and living literally minutes away. Imagine that 2 bass players in Ft Lauderdale during the 60-70's and never running into each other.

Finally saw him around 1979 at Park West in Chicago w/ Weather Report. Good thing my bass was home in Ft Lauderdale or I would have thrown it into lake Michigan.

Ray Lenahan

Re: Jaco Pastorius and Bob Zohn

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Posts: 300

(08/15/07 18:49:15)

In the 60s Jaco was just another kid I hung out with at NE high school. He were both drummers at the time. I kept in touch with him up until the Bartoks Mountain Days, after which he became a star. Then one night in the late 70s he pops in to a disco where I was the DJ, and hangs out in the booth all night talking about the old days. He got drunk and I had to drive him home. The street was filled with cars in front of his house in Pompano Beach. He told me it was the people from a record company looking for him because he was supposed to be playing a big show someplace. HA ... he doesn't show for a concert and leaves all the fans high and dry, and I was the only guy who knew where he was. Those guys were very angry at him. He just had that "I've been a bad boy" look on his face, and walked inside. I never saw him again.

G Gemmer

Jaco Pastorius and Ray Lenahan

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Posts: 976

(08/15/07 20:03:38)

Quote:
I kept in touch with him up until the Bartoks Mountain Days

Hi Ray

I'm not quite sure why Bartok's Mountain would be a defining time or criteria for you to lose touch with Jaco, though I do find it interesting. Might you elaborate a little, please?

And THANKS for sharing that story!

Chuck Kirkpatrick

Re: Jaco Pastorius

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Posts: 805

(08/16/07 10:39:11)

I would give almost anything for the answering machine cassette I stupidly erased 25+ years ago with a message from Jaco on it, telling me to come down to Criteria to see him and Othello recording. The invitation was prefaced by what must have been a 5 minute dissertation on how he thought my brother and I were the greatest, and how much he loved our bands in the late 60's. I did go to the studio later that day to watch....and in the studio with him were his infant twins. Groove on JFP....

deebee

Re: Jaco Pastorius

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Posts: 2419

(08/16/07 15:31:58)

I can't play anything at all, but when I first heard Jaco in Weather Report it moved me so that I can still remember it almost 30 years on, and I am not that big of a jazz fan. Some music has such an effect on us and his affected me. Reading the stories you tell of this great innovator from knowing him on a personal level give me good chills.

Tom Whitney

JACO

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Posts: 99

(08/17/07 05:59:47)

I broke out "Punk and Jazz" this week to honor the occasion in some small way...

pedroGV

Re: JACO

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Posts: 70

(08/17/07 07:15:23)

Quote:
a 5 minute dissertation on how he thought my brother and I were the greatest, and how much he loved our bands in the late 60's.

That's quite a compliment Chuck. Jaco had a great set of ears. Man I would've loved to have heard Jaco in one of your bands.

Lightshipclear

Re: JACO

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Posts: 779

(08/19/07 06:36:23)

Here's a great, albeit short, video of Jaco:

Jaco's Bass Juggling

I sent this link to Ray Lenahan and he forwarded it to Jim Godwin. Below is Jim's reply:

Hi ray,
Thanks for the video, a day doesn't go by when I don't think about him. I hung out with Jaco quite a lot in when we both lived in New York, he would always come in to say hello when I worked on 48th St in the music stores. I just wish I would have understood what he was really going through so I could have been part of the solution rather than the problem as so many of us were. I include Joe Zawinul in that group who he looked up to as a father figure. Joe was an incredibly great musical influence for Jaco but I feel he unknowingly got Jaco started with the self medication that ultimately led to his self destruction.

I arrived in NY in 1971 and got to play and record with some great musicians but I always kept telling them about this bass player I knew back in Fla. that was badder than anybody they ever heard, Stanley Clark included, who I did a session with. They all thought I was crazy. It wasn't till I had moved to Denver around 76 or 77 and was teaching guitar that a student asked me if I had heard this cat named Jayko or something. I knew instantly that someone else had finally discovered his incredible talent. I managed to see him soon after that when he came to Denver with Weather Report, he said he thought I was dead after all those years and introduced me to all of the cats in the band as the guy back from the dead. It's ironic to me that the opposite proved to be the case.
That concert was with out a doubt one of the most profound musical experiences I have ever had. Jaco was at his absolute peak and stood his ground with all of the Charlie Parkers and John Coltranes of the world that night.
May he rest in peace.
Sorry to ramble but I thought you would understand.

Chasbo

Jaco

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Posts: 351

(08/20/07 06:05:08)

Fine post, Light. Thanks.

Scott Kirkpatrick

December 1st

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Posts: 80

(09/03/07 19:57:03)

Has anyone heard about some large gathering dedicated to Jaco which is supposed to be held at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on December 1st of this year? Bob Bobbing told me not to miss it as it is THE all star reunion of greats celebrating Jaco's birthday and 20th year of his passing. I've booked a flight already but cannot find anything anywhere about this event?

stratman

Yo Scott

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Posts: 3918

(09/04/07 06:09:20)

I think I can help you out. Jaco's sons play in a group called "The way of the groove". They play at Alligator Alley on Wednesday nights. A bass player named Kilmo runs the place. I'm out of town but I think if you call there you will get the info you need. Good luck. Pat Maguire

kengemmer

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Posts: 295

(11/20/08 06:20:01)

Jacofest - A Tribute to Jaco Pastorius at Iridium November 20 - 23

New York, NY , November 19, 2008: The late great bassist-composer Jaco Pastorius, an undeniable force on contemporary jazz during the '70s as well as a towering influence on two generations of

musicians, will be feted at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York from November 20 - 23. Included in this all-star gala, produced by impresario Charles Carlini, are Pastorius colleagues and former bandmates like trumpeters Randy Brecker, Miles Evans and Lew Soloff, Saxophonists Alex Foster and Butch Thomas, Trombonist David Bargeron, keyboardist Delmar Brown, guitarist David Gilmore and drummer Kenwood Dennard. Featured bass players are T.M Stephens, Matt Garrison, and Jaco's son, Felix Pastorius. For reservations, please call the box office at (212) 582-2121 or visit www.iridiumjazzclub.com.

Crafted by Musical Director, Kenwood Dennard, this, not-to-be-missed, event, is a heartfelt devotion to his friend and fellow musician Jaco Pastorius, whom Dennard accompanied for many years. It is also an early celebration of what would have been Jaco's Birthday (on December 1, 1951).

Although Jaco Pastorius passed away over 21 years ago (on September 21, 1987), his musical legacy remains as strong today as ever. Jazz artists around the world continue to cover his compositions or offer up personal tributes to the man on their recordings, all attesting to the indelible mark that Jaco made in his relatively short career. Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on December 1, 1951, Pastorius grew up in Fort Lauderdale and as a teenager began playing around the South Florida music scene.

Originally a drummer, he switched to electric bass at age 16 after injuring his wrist in a football game and adapted remarkably well to his new instrument. Within a year, it was clear to everyone on the scene that he possessed special gifts as a bassist. Growing by leaps and bounds, Jaco would quickly develop a wholly new and unprecedented vocabulary on the instrument. After performing in a series of local Florida bands, Pastorius was "discovered" by Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer Bobby Columby, who produced Jaco's landmark self-titled debut for Epic Records in late 1975.

Jaco joined Weather Report, the premier fusion band of the '70s, in April of 1976 and appeared on the band's groundbreaking 1977 Columbia album, Heavy Weather. He remained with Weather Report for six years, appearing on a string of acclaimed recordings including 1978's Mr. Gone, 1979's Grammy Award-winning 8:30, and 1980's Night Passage. Pastorius' second recording as a leader, 1981's Word of Mouth on Warner Bros., introduced such ambitious Jaco compositions as "Liberty City," "John and Mary" and the adventurous title track along with a full big band arrangement of his most famous composition, "Three Views of a Secret." Jaco's 1983 album, Invitation, documented his Word of Mouth Big Band on tour in Japan. He subequently toured in a scaled-down sextet version of Word of Mouth and with the PDB trio-featuring guitarist Hiram Bullock and drummer Kenwood Dennard.

Contact: Charles Carlini
Phone: (212) 714-7722

Last Edited By: kengemmer 11/21/08 20:21:34. Edited 3 times.

Zib

Jaco Fest

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Posts: 595

(11/21/08 04:44:54)

I just talked to Rich Franks last week and he gave me the dates. I wish I could make it down there. So does Rich.

Need bass??
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kengemmer

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Posts: 296

(11/22/08 11:10:53)

Zib wrote:
I just talked to Rich Franks last week and he gave me the dates. I wish I could make it down there. So does Rich.

Oh well, maybe they'll throw some of it up on Youtube.

deebee

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Posts: 2225

(11/30/08 07:49:45)

happened to drive by Jaco's Park in Oakland Park on Saturday. The grand opening is tomorrow. The park is located on Dixie by the tracks between Oakland Park and Commercial Blvds. Per today's Herald, it starts at 4:30 p.m. Monday Dec 1 (tomorrow)and there is a free Jazz concert. I often wonder about what inspires true genius. We too often bandy the term "genius"about when we merely mean "creative" or "intelligent" In Jaco's case, the term was properly applied. That such a world class genius grew here in our backyard and was friends with members of the Lounge leaves me in awe. I hope to be able to make it.

deebee

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Posts: 2227

(12/01/08 18:37:41)

Went to the Jaco Park opening ceremony late this afternoon. It is a nice 7 acre park in Oakland Park. A few hundred showed up. I couldn't stay for the entire show but did get to hear some real nice jazz playing to complement a perfect, cool South Florida breezy December evening. The place had been a parking lot and is now a beautiful park. Since Jaco once played for Joni Mitchell, I guess you could say that the new park is where they unpaved a parking lot and put up a paradise.

Last Edited By: deebee 12/02/08 09:01:06. Edited 1 times.

felix

Jaco in 1975 with wife Tracy, Tom Staley of NRBQ & Bob Zohn of Blue Riddim Band

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