Editing Jaco Pastorius (section)

==Career==
===Weather Report===
{{Further|Weather Report}}
Before recording his debut album, Pastorius attended a concert in [[Miami]] by the jazz fusion band [[Weather Report]]. After the concert, he approached keyboardist [[Joe Zawinul]], who led the band. As was his habit, he introduced himself by saying, "I'm John Francis Pastorius III. I'm the greatest bass player in the world."<ref name="DVD">{{cite AV media |people=Trjullo, Robert (Producer) |date=2015 |title=Jaco |medium= DVD|location= Los Angeles|publisher= Slang East/West}}</ref> Zawinul admired his brashness and asked for a demo tape. After listening to the tape, Zawinul realized that Pastorius had considerable skill.<ref name="Milkowski 2005"/> They corresponded, and Pastorius sent Zawinul a rough mix of his solo album.

After bassist [[Alphonso Johnson]] left Weather Report, Zawinul asked Pastorius to join the band. Pastorius made his band debut on the album ''[[Black Market (Weather Report album)|Black Market]]'' ([[Columbia Records|Columbia]], 1976), in which he shared the bass chair with Johnson. Pastorius was fully established as sole band bass player for the recording of ''[[Heavy Weather (album)|Heavy Weather]]'' (Columbia, 1977), which contained the Grammy-nominated hit "[[Birdland (instrumental composition)|Birdland]]".<ref name="opens" />

During his time with Weather Report, Pastorius began abusing alcohol and illegal drugs,<ref name="Milkowski 2005" /> which exacerbated existing mental problems and led to erratic behavior.<ref>Tom Moon 1987</ref> He left Weather Report in 1982 because of clashes with tour commitments for his other projects, plus a growing dissatisfaction with Zawinul's synthesized and orchestrated approach to the band's music.<ref name="Milkowski 2005" />

===Word of Mouth===
{{Further|Word of Mouth (Jaco Pastorius album)}}
Warner Bros. signed Pastorius to a favorable contract in the late 1970s based on his groundbreaking skill and his star quality, which they hoped would lead to large sales. He used this contract to set up his Word of Mouth big band,<ref name="Milkowski 2005" /> which consisted of [[Chuck Findley]] on trumpet; [[Howard Johnson (jazz musician)|Howard Johnson]] on tuba; [[Wayne Shorter]], [[Michael Brecker]], and [[Tom Scott (saxophonist)|Tom Scott]] on reeds; [[Toots Thielemans]] on harmonica; [[Kenwood Dennard]], [[Peter Erskine]] and [[Jack DeJohnette]] on drums; and [[Don Alias]] on percussion. This was the group that recorded his second solo album, ''[[Word of Mouth (Jaco Pastorius album)|Word of Mouth]]'' ([[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], 1981).<ref name="Yanow">{{cite web | last1 = Yanow | first1=Scott|title = Word of Mouth|url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/word-of-mouth-mw0000197695| website = AllMusic |access-date =1 June 2017}}</ref>

In 1982, Pastorius toured with Word of Mouth as a 21-piece big band. While in Japan, to the alarm of his band members, he shaved his head, painted his face black, and threw his bass guitar into [[Hiroshima Bay]].<ref name="Milkowski 2005" /> He was diagnosed with [[bipolar disorder]] in late 1982 after the tour.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/28/arts/music/review-jaco-a-documentary-about-the-jazz-musician-jaco-pastorius.html|title='Jaco,' a Documentary About the Jazz Musician Jaco Pastorius|work=The New York Times |date=November 27, 2015 |access-date=September 22, 2018|last1=Chinen |first1=Nate }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/11/28/457384082/metallicas-robert-trujillo-on-his-hero-jaco-pastorius|title=Metallica's Robert Trujillo On His Hero, Jaco Pastorius|website=Npr.org|access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref>  Pastorius had shown signs of bipolar disorder before his diagnosis, but these signs were dismissed as eccentricities, character flaws, and by Pastorius himself as a normal part of his freewheeling personality.<ref>Milkowski 2005</ref><ref>Grayson, 2003</ref>

Despite attention in the press, ''Word of Mouth'' sold poorly. Warner Bros. was unimpressed by the demo tapes from ''Holiday for Pans''.<ref name="Milkowski 2005"/> Pastorius released a third album, ''Invitation'' (1983), a live recording from the Word of Mouth tour of Japan. As alcohol and drug problems dominated his life, he had trouble finding work and wound up becoming homeless.<ref>{{YouTube|TviJ3ccaSXM|Jaco Pastorius "The lost tapes Documentary"}}</ref> In 1985, while filming an instructional video (''Modern Electric Bass''), Pastorius told the interviewer, [[Jerry Jemmott]], that although he had been praised often for his ability, he wished that someone would give him a job.<ref name="Milkowski 2005" /> However, the same year, he gave a much praised concert in [[Brussels]] ([[Belgium]]) with [[Toots Thielemans]].<ref>{{YouTube|yBhoDaS5SKQ|Jaco+Toots - Three Views of a Secret}}</ref>

===Stage presence and bass techniques===
{{Listen image
| main_image         = Portrait of Tracy 1980.jpg
| main_image_caption = Pastorius playing "[[Portrait of Tracy]]"<ref>'''[video]''' {{YouTube|fxG1YUtix_o|Portrait of Tracy}} in 1980</ref>
| main_image_alt     =
| filename           = JacoPastoriusPortraitOfTracySolo.ogg
| title              = Jaco Pastorius, "Portrait of Tracy" from ''Jaco Pastorius'' (1976)
| description        = Sample from "[[Portrait of Tracy]]" with extensive use of harmonics.
}}
Until about 1970, most jazz bassists played the upright bass, also known as the [[double bass]]. At the time, with few exceptions (such as the bass players in the trios [[Bill Evans]] led), bassists typically 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 [[fret]]s. 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 [[Hypermobility (joints)|"double jointed"]] and his fingers were long and thin.<ref name="Milkowski 2005" /><ref name="DVD" />

After being taught about [[artificial harmonic]]s, he added them to his technique and repertoire. Natural [[guitar harmonic|harmonic]]s, also known as open string harmonics, are played by lightly touching the string with the fretting/fingering hand while plucking the string, resulting in a note that rings, somewhat like a bell. Artificial harmonics, also called false harmonics, involve fretting with the left hand as usual while using a finger or thumb of the right hand at the fret an octave higher,<ref name="Milkowski 2005" /> simultaneously playing and stopping the note.<ref name="artif">{{cite book|last=Stix|first=John|title=Bass Secrets: Where Today's Bass Stylists Get to the Bottom Line|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0V1dT3Q4u3AC&pg=PA46|access-date=26 June 2017|year=2000|publisher=Cherry Lane Music Company|isbn=978-1-57560-219-6|pages=46–}}</ref>) An often-cited example is the bass line on the introduction to "Birdland".

He used 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 note]]s. 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 (album)|Jaco Pastorius]]'' and "The Chicken" from ''[[The Birthday Concert]]''.

Another characteristic of Jaco's playing was his use of the octave technique which is very often used with [[Slapping (music)|slap bass]]. Jaco's use of the technique with fingerstyle was revolutionary at the time, since previously it had only really been used on [[Guitar|guitars]].<ref name=":0" /> This technique is demonstrated on the tracks "[[Portrait of Tracy]]" from ''[[Jaco Pastorius (album)|Jaco Pastorius]]'' and on "[[Birdland (Weather Report song)|Birdland]]" from ''[[Heavy Weather (album)|Heavy Weather]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Nicholson |first=Stuart |date=October 28, 2021 |title=Jaco Pastorius: Catch Me If You Can |url=https://www.jazzwise.com/features/article/jaco-pastorius-catch-me-if-you-can |website=December 6, 2022}}</ref> Another aspect of his playing was the heavy use of chromatic runs; these were played with immense speed and precision and became very characteristic of his style.<ref name=":1" /> These can be heard on "[[Jaco Pastorius (album)|Opus Pocus]]" from  ''[[Jaco Pastorius (album)|Jaco Pastorius]]'',  and "[[Night Passage (album)|Port of Entry]]" from ''[[Night Passage (album)|Night Passage]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Brian F. |date=2020-08-27 |title=Jaco Pastorius, the Electric Bass, and the Struggle for Jazz Credibility |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/jpms/article/32/3/121/111538/Jaco-Pastorius-the-Electric-Bass-and-the-Struggle |journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies |language=en |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=121–138 |doi=10.1525/jpms.2020.32.3.121|s2cid=225297422 }}</ref>