

Clement's Catholic School in Wilton Manors and was an altar boy at St. 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. In 1974, he began spelling it "Jaco" after it was misspelled by his neighbor, pianist Alex Darqui. Pastorius's nickname, "Jaco", became adopted, and was partially influenced by his love for sports as well as the umpire Jocko Conlan. His family moved to Oakland Park near Fort Lauderdale when he was eight. He was the oldest of three boys born to Stephanie, his Finnish mother, and Jack Pastorius, a singer and jazz drummer who spent much of his time on the road.

John Francis Pastorius was born December 1, 1951, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States. He was elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1988 and was the subject of the 2014 documentary film Jaco.īiography Growing up in South Florida Since his death, his work has continued to be widely influential. He died in 1987 as a result of injuries sustained in a fight outside a South Florida after-hours nightclub.

In frequent financial difficulties, he was often homeless in the mid-1980s. Pastorius suffered from drug addiction and mental health issues and, despite his widespread acclaim, over the latter part of his life he had problems holding down jobs due to his unreliability. 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. His bass playing employed funk, lyrical solos, bass chords, and innovative harmonics. He worked with Pat Metheny and Joni Mitchell, and recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader. John Francis Anthony " Jaco" Pastorius III ( / ˈ dʒ ɑː k oʊ p æ ˈ s t ɔːr i ə s/ Decem– September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981.
