Editing Jaco Pastorius (section)

===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>