“Just to keep your minds open, keep an open head about music…
I grew up in Florida where there is no real musical prejudice,
There was all sorts of music, everyone was playing everything from Cuban music to symphonic music…keep listening…
Keep your ears open…”
Jaco Pastorius
I grew up listening to Weather Report who were in my opinion one of greatest jazz bands of all time. I spent hours listening to “Black Market” and “Heavy Weather” sublime music. One of the key musicians in the band was Jaco Pastorious, who had an instantly recognizable bass sound. My all-time favorite Joni Mitchell albums also had him playing on them, namely “Hejira” and “Hissing of Summer Lawns” On these albums Joni was at her peak of writing the most extraordinary music, with sharp and brilliant lyrics. Joni had the “who’s who” of jazz musicians on this albums and of course Jaco Pastorius also played on the terrific “Shadows and Light” live album which also features Pat Metheny on great form. Jaco was more than a brilliant bass player, he was also an excellent composer who was one of a few musicians that could genuinely be described as a real genius.
Now there is a new documentary on Jaco and I will certainly be checking it out!