When he was feeling his oats, Jaco Pastorius would introduce
himself to people as “the greatest bass player in the world.” To listen to the
testimonials of his contemporaries in this DVD biography, it wasn’t too far
from the truth. This video follows a roughly chronological order, beginning
with his youth in south Florida. His absentee father was a Sinatra like
crooner, and his mother did whatever she could to make ends meet. Pastorius’
musical talent became evident early on and soon he was a young man with a wife
and child gigging in territory rhythm and blues bands. After backing up a
particularly brash boast to members of Blood, Sweat and Tears, he was whisked
away to New York City to record his debut album, which ran the gamut from funk
to bebop and opened a lot of ears, including those of keyboardist Joe Zawinul,
of the popular jazz fusion band Weather Report, beginning a rocky relationship
that would last years. He was at his finest at this period in the late 1970’s
and you year this in the interviews: Joni Mitchell felt that he was the only
bassist who could play her music properly, and drummers Peter Erskine and Lenny
White were particularly impressed. But trouble was brewing, Zawinul was unhappy
with Pastorius’ brash out front charisma, and also delivered withering witticism
of his World of Mouth solo LP. He had divorced and remarried, becoming father
of twins but also became more deeply involved with alcohol and drugs, episodes
of homelessness and latent issues of mental illness became more prominent.
Diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, suffering episodes of hypomania and severe
depression, he checked into Bellvue Hospital for treatment. Not too long after,
a vicious beating at the hands of a Fort Lauderdale nightclub bouncer provided
an inglorious end to his life that was filled with so much promise. The film
itself is quite good, filled with a lot of footage of Pastorius playing in a
variety of situations. Interviews with his colleagues are thoughtful and
poignant, especially from Erskine as he saw much of Pastorius’ downfall and did
the best he could to help. Wayne Shorter’s always unique perspective on life
and music is particularly interesting. Also included are interviews with modern
rock musicians like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica’s Robert
Trujillo who co-produced the film.
JACO-The Film - amazon.com
