Editing Jaco Pastorius (section)

==Early life and education==
Pastorius was born December 1, 1951, in [[Norristown, Pennsylvania]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/> the oldest of three boys born to Stephanie Catherine ({{nee}} Haapala; 1925–2001), who was of [[Finns|Finnish]] descent, and musician John Francis Pastorius Jr. (1922–2004), a singer and jazz drummer of Italian and German descent, who spent much of his time on the road. His family moved to [[Oakland Park, Florida|Oakland Park]] near [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]] when he was eight.<ref name="Milkowski 2005">{{cite book|last1=Milkowski|first1=Bill|title=Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius, "The World's Greatest Bass Player"|date=1995|publisher=Miller Freeman|location=San Francisco|isbn=0-87930-361-1}}</ref> Early American abolitionist [[Francis Daniel Pastorius]] is his ancestor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestacksreader.com/who-killed-jaco-pastorius/ |title= Who Killed Jaco Pastorius? |access-date=May 17, 2022 |date= 2017}}</ref>

The origin of Pastorius' nickname, "Jaco", is disputed. There is an interview with Jaco's father, Jack Pastorius, that took place in 2001 hosted by Bob Miles. Jack says that he was given the nickname during his service in the Navy. He later began calling Pastorius by this nickname in his early childhood. In the [[Robert Trujillo]] documentary ''[[Jaco (film)|Jaco]]'', Pastorius' brother said that their mother came up with the nickname. It is also believed that the nickname was partially influenced by his love for sports as well as the umpire [[Jocko Conlan]]. In 1974, he began spelling it "Jaco" after it was misspelled by his neighbor, pianist Alex Darqui. His brother called him "[[Mowgli]]" after the wild boy in ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' because he was energetic and spent much of his time shirtless on the beach, climbing trees, running through the woods, and swimming in the ocean. He attended St. Clement's Catholic School in [[Wilton Manors, Florida]], and was an altar boy at St. Clement's Church. His [[confirmation]] name was Anthony. He was intensely competitive and excelled at baseball, basketball, and football. He played drums until he injured his wrist playing football when he was thirteen. The damage was severe enough to warrant corrective surgery and inhibited his ability to play the drums.<ref name="Milkowski 2005"/>

By age 17, Pastorius began appreciating jazz and had saved enough money to buy an [[upright bass]]. Its deep, mellow tone appealed to him, though it strained his finances. He had difficulty maintaining the instrument, which he attributed to the humidity in Florida. When he woke one day to find it had cracked, he traded it for a 1962 [[Fender Jazz Bass]].<ref>Bob Bobbing (2007), Jaco and the upright bass; Jaco Pastorius official website biography.</ref>

During his teens, he played bass guitar for [[Wayne Cochran]] and the C.C. Riders.<ref name="opens">{{cite web |title=Jaco Pastorius Opens Up in His First Guitar World Interview From 1983 |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/jaco-pastorius-opens-his-first-guitar-world-interview-1983 |website=Guitar World |access-date=August 29, 2021 |date=August 28, 2013}}</ref>

In the early 1970s, Pastorius taught bass at the [[University of Miami]], where he befriended jazz guitarist [[Pat Metheny]], who was on the school's faculty. With [[Paul Bley]] and [[Bruce Ditmas]], Pastorius and Metheny recorded an untitled album, ''[[Jaco (album)|Jaco]]'' in 1974.<ref name="With Bley">{{cite web|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|title=Jaco| url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/jaco-mw0000759043| website=AllMusic|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> Pastorius then played on Metheny's debut album, ''[[Bright Size Life]]'' ([[ECM Records|ECM]], 1976).<ref name="Bright">{{cite web|last1=Ginell|first1=Richard S.|title=Bright Size Life|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/bright-size-life-mw0000188524|website=AllMusic|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> He recorded his debut solo album, ''[[Jaco Pastorius (album)|Jaco Pastorius]]'' ([[Epic Records|Epic]], 1976), with  [[Michael Brecker]], [[Randy Brecker]], [[Lenny White]], [[Herbie Hancock]], [[Hubert Laws]], [[Sam & Dave]], [[David Sanborn]], and [[Wayne Shorter]].<ref name="debut credits">{{cite web|title=Jaco Pastorius Credits|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/jaco-pastorius-mw0000188533/credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>