Jaco Pastorius - Honors and Tributes

Honors and Tributes

Miles Davis honored the late bassist on his album Amandla with the Marcus Miller composition Mr. Pastorius, as Jaco Pastorius was an inspiration for Marcus Miller. Victor Wooten also honored Jaco Pastorius on his album Soul Circus on the track Bass Tribute, thanking Pastorius several times. Wooten and Steve Bailey's Bass Extremes includes the tracks Glorius Pastorius, Portrait of Tracy, and also a tribute to Pastorius' interpretation of Miles Davis's Donna Lee titled Madonna Lee. The Pat Metheny Group also honored Pastorius on their album Pat Metheny Group with the track Jaco. This song was not specifically written for Pastorius. Metheny wrote the song and then realized that the main melody sounded a lot like Pastorius' Come On, Come Over, and subsequently decided to name the tune for Pastorius. Bass player Brian Bromberg recorded a Pastorius tribute album entitled Jaco, which includes his interpretations of Come On, Come Over, The Chicken, Portrait of Tracy, and more.

John McLaughlin also honored Pastorius on his album Industrial Zen with the song For Jaco. English keyboard player Rod Argent includes a track titled "Pastorius Mentioned" on his 1979 Album Moving Home. The song Big Country, by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, contains the opening lick from Pastorius' Continuum. Stuart Zender, the original bass player and founding member of Jamiroquai, cites Pastorius as one of his main influences.

Since 1997, an annual birthday event takes place around December 1 in South Florida, hosted by his sons Julius and Felix Pastorius.

On December 2, 2007, the day after what would have been Pastorius' 56th birthday, a concert called "20th Anniversary (of his death) Tribute to Jaco Pastorius" was held at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, featuring performances by the award-winning Jaco Pastorius Big Band with special guest appearances by Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, David Bargeron, Jimmy Haslip, Gerald Veasley, Pastorius' sons John and Julius Pastorius, Pastorius' daughter Mary Pastorius, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Thomas, Jr., and Dana Paul. Also shown were exclusive home movies and rare concert footage as well as video appearances by Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, and other luminaries from Pastorius' life. Almost 20 years after his death, Fender released the Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass, a fretless instrument from its Artist Series.

On December 1, 2008, on what would have been Pastorius' 57th birthday, the park in Oakland Park's new downtown redevelopment was formally named 'Jaco Pastorius Park' in honor of its former resident.

In 2010, recording artist The Flashbulb released a song titled "Pastorial Whiskers" on the album Love as a Dark Hallway. Nearly all of the bass tracks on the album are played with a Roland Jaco replica and are a homage to Pastorius' technique.

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