Jaco Pastorius

John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz musician and composer famous for his abilities on the electric bass guitar. He was known for using a fretless bass and incorporating a style that included natural and artificial harmonics, chords, notes in the higher register, and a strong sense of playing in the "groove." He is widely considered to be the greatest and most influential electric bassist of all time.

From 1976 to 1982, he was a member of the jazz fusion band Weather Report (though he only played two tracks on their 1976 album "Black Market"). During this period, he also collaborated with artists such as Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, and Al Di Meola. His 1976 self-titled debut album is often praised as a landmark album for the bass guitar, with "Donna Lee", "Continuum", and "Portrait of Tracy" being stand-out tracks.

"Portrait of Tracy", arguably his most famous composition, is frequently labeled as a bass standard. The piece consists almost entirely of artificial harmonics, giving it an ambient and relaxing tone not commonly heard on the bass.

In the early 1980s, Jaco's health began to deteriorate, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He also began to abuse alcohol, which led to a sharp change in his personality. On September 11, 1987, while trying to enter the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida, he got into an altercation with bouncer Luc Havan that quickly turned violent. Jaco was hospitalized with severe brain damage, and fell into a coma. After spending ten days on life support, he died on September 21 after developing a brain hemorrhage.

Jaco's debut album earned two Grammy nominations. In 1988, he was became only the fourth bassist to be inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame, joining Milt Hinton, Charles Mingus, and Ray Brown. He is the only electric bassist to be so honored.