Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius was a bass player who changed how people thought about the instrument in jazz. His 1976 self-titled debut album introduced a sound that was both technically astonishing and deeply melodic, moving the electric bass from a background role to the front of the band. He played on records by Weather Report and Joni Mitchell, but his own work, like the track "Come On, Come Over," had a direct, funky energy that felt different from the more abstract jazz of the time.

He led a group called the Word of Mouth Band, which included musicians like drummer Peter Erskine and saxophonist Bob Mintzer. The band's shifting personnel reflected Pastorius's restless approach to music, heard on albums like "Word of Mouth" and "Invitation." His playing wasn't just about speed or complexity; it had a singing quality that could carry a tune on its own.

Pastorius died in 1987. The specifics of his later life and career are often discussed with a kind of reverence that can obscure the actual music. What remains are those recordings where the bass doesn't just keep time but seems to tell its own story.