Category Jaco Pastorius
Kurt Elling/Yellowjackets Celebrate The Music Of Weather Report @ Cadogan Hall, 15 November 2025
It seems such a logical fit for Yellowjackets (purveyors of quality fusion since 1979 who once counted Felix Pastorius – Jaco’s son – amongst their ranks) to celebrate the music of Weather Report. But throw Kurt Elling into the mix too? Then you remember that he has become legendary for vocalising seemingly impossible tunes in […]
Album Review: Truth, Liberty & Soul by Jaco Pastorius
Even as the streaming revolution sweeps all before it, there are a few aspects of physical music that seem to be thriving: vinyl and the ‘historical discovery’. Bass superstar Jaco is now a worthy recipient of both, courtesy of Truth, Liberty & Soul, a complete gig recorded at the Avery Fisher Hall in New York […]
Jaco Pastorius: Three Views Of ‘Three Views Of A Secret’
First of all, I’ve got to declare an interest: Jaco’s in my all-time top five favourite musicians. Ever since I started really noticing music in the late ’70s, he was always on my radar – my dad would play Weather Report’s Heavy Weather and Mr Gone around the house. Since buying his legendary 1976 debut […]
DVD Review: Jaco
It’s somewhat surprising that it’s taken so long for a major doc about Jaco Pastorius to be released. There have been major biographies of the bass master before – Charles Shaar Murray presented a spirited two-part tribute on BBC Radio, while Bill Milkowski’s book was exhaustive and well-researched but controversial in its unflinching detail. Then, […]
Gwilym Simcock: Tribute to Jaco @ Pizza Express, 19 August 2013
It’s a sobering thought that bass master Jaco Pastorius would have turned 64 this December had he not tragically died in 1987. Whilst he has since been rightfully acknowledged as the Charlie Parker of electric bass, his compositions have arguably never really been given enough recognition, partly due to his ‘sideman’ roles with some of […]
Sounds Of Surprise 