Jaco Pastorius A Passage in Time
A Passage In “Time”
It was a gorgeous sun shiny day with very low humidity, something we hardly ever see in South Florida. This should have told me that the Good Lord was setting me up for the beginnings of a day that would turn from merely special, to life changing.
In the summer of 1975, I and a great friend of mine, and musical colleague, Mark M., decided to partner together and form a killer eight-piece super funk-style band with top-notch seasoned players. Among the lineup of these top players was trumpeter and flautist, John D.
John was respected in the South Florida community, not only for his virtuosic playing abilities, but also for his writing and teaching, too. Along the way in his musical life, John had met another fine musician that he would be introducing me to on this day, as he had asked for me to accompany him to drop off some musical charts he had just updated for this musician we were to visit in Oakland Park, a small suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
In the next few minutes I was to meet someone who would help me change my outlook of time. Yes, time!
Now time, to some, could be either very important or not so, but, with me being a drummer, well, you can imagine time and/or timing was very important. But, this was not that sort of time that I’m talking about. This was actual time, such a moment past or present; a measure of duration. And, as the young, 19-year-old musician that I was then, I really couldn’t comprehend nor appreciate the meaning in the same way that you do when you get much older. As the saying goes; time is but a blinking of an eye, a moment in life that whizzes by you before you know it.
Oh, how true that is. Time will gobble you up quicker than a huge tidal wave moving through a small village. But, at that young age I simply wasn’t thinking of anything such as that. I was a vibrant young man raging with excitement over things to come; things that I felt would last almost forever. Heck, if you’re thinking the age of 40 or 50 is old and far away as I did then, it’s a sure thing that 80 must be eternity from then, and since I planned to live at least that long, I surely was not thinking of hurrying up with my need for accomplishments.
So, on this particular day, I was about to learn a major lesson when meeting this person I was accompanying John to see.
I don’t generally go on errands and what have you just to accompany someone else, as I can usually find something more interesting to do with my time, but John asked me and he was a good friend. So, I would have said yes anyway, but, in his asking, he mentioned that this person he had to go see was probably the best bass player he had ever heard or seen. Well, when I heard that, I was in! Anytime someone gives me the opportunity to go see, or better yet, meet a fine musician of high caliber—and, coming from a respected musician such as John, I was sure it was true—I want to go, There were no second thoughts on my quick answer of “Yes! Sure, let’s go”!
Unbeknownst to me at the time, this first meeting would also set the playing field for the beginning of a long, yet somewhat eclectic, musical friendship. That friendship would last until the final and tragic night 13 years later; September 11th 1987.
In my first meeting, he was on the cusp of becoming known as “The Best Electric Bass Player in the World” and so, if you haven’t guessed his name yet, you must be living on another planet, for when it comes to musical geniuses such as Coltrane, Mingus, Parker, or Hendrix, his name, too, is mentioned among those great masters.
So, who was he? None other than Jaco Pastorius, more commonly known just as “Jaco.”
Yes, I was about to meet Jaco Pastorius, but then the title of “The Best Bass Player In The World,” which he coined himself, and which was later justified by his peers, was only known in a very small circle, one of which I was not entitled to be a part–yet!
When we first walked into his house, he was sitting on the edge of his bed playing a beat up upright bass, also known as a “Double Bass.” He was slumped all over it like an octopus submerging his prey. He was in his own zone, attempting to master this instrument as if he had but a moment left in life.
He really was an astonishing musician as I came to know him better in later years, but, on this first day, I recognized right away that this was a special musician. I was even more astounded when John later told me that Jaco had only been playing bass for a very, very short time. Yet, he had accomplished these incredible plateaus. Most of the other 99.9% never reach what he attained in their entire lifetime, let alone in only a few short years.
He once told me, a couple of years later, that, before injuring his wrist playing sports, he had first been a drummer, as his father was. However, because of the major surgery on that wrist, he had no choice but to change instruments. He told me that he loved music so much because it was his real world, a world where he felt safe and knew how to get around and hoped everyone else could keep up.
So, now, here he was, letting go of his first instrument, the drums, and picking up a cheap and beat up electric bass he purchased at a local pawn shop. He got good very quickly and progressed to a much better bass, the Fender Jazz bass, and it was on this instrument that he, in a few short years, mastered the bass.
Remembering this brings me to wonder, “What would he have accomplished on drums if he was not forced to change?” After all, drums were his first calling. I also wonder, “What would I have been chasing in my world as a drummer, if this monster was let loose in it?” Surely, I cannot play bass!
Now, In the middle of my first visit with Jaco, John was trying to talk to him about whatever was in those charts he had brought over to him. Meanwhile, I just stood speechless and amazed at the sounds coming out of the instrument he was attacking with vengeance and beauty all at the same time. He then switched to the electric bass, and there he definitely floored me! I mean, I had never heard anyone playing harmonics on electric bass before, at least to this degree; it was incredible to say the least. As I watched and listened to him playing, I was praying John would just stop trying to get his attention, so he could continue to floor me.
Up until then, the most phenomenal things I had heard were coming from the new-era bass player, Stanley Clark, but this, this was different, and to see it up close and personal, I was forever changed in, as I mentioned, my thinking about time!
You see, this guy, in a few short years, had not let time pass by and do only the nominally best he could and eventually get there, No! He put everything—I mean everything—aside to conquer with no holds barred. It’s as if he was clairvoyant; he knew he would only be here on earth for a very short time and needed to make his mark on the world as never done before, and, as we know, he was tragically taken a few short years thereafter.
It was a gorgeous sun shiny day with very low humidity, something we hardly ever see in South Florida. This should have told me that the Good Lord was setting me up for the beginnings of a day that would turn from merely special, to life changing.
In the summer of 1975, I and a great friend of mine, and musical colleague, Mark M., decided to partner together and form a killer eight-piece super funk-style band with top-notch seasoned players. Among the lineup of these top players was trumpeter and flautist, John D.
John was respected in the South Florida community, not only for his virtuosic playing abilities, but also for his writing and teaching, too. Along the way in his musical life, John had met another fine musician that he would be introducing me to on this day, as he had asked for me to accompany him to drop off some musical charts he had just updated for this musician we were to visit in Oakland Park, a small suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
In the next few minutes I was to meet someone who would help me change my outlook of time. Yes, time!
Now time, to some, could be either very important or not so, but, with me being a drummer, well, you can imagine time and/or timing was very important. But, this was not that sort of time that I’m talking about. This was actual time, such a moment past or present; a measure of duration. And, as the young, 19-year-old musician that I was then, I really couldn’t comprehend nor appreciate the meaning in the same way that you do when you get much older. As the saying goes; time is but a blinking of an eye, a moment in life that whizzes by you before you know it.
Oh, how true that is. Time will gobble you up quicker than a huge tidal wave moving through a small village. But, at that young age I simply wasn’t thinking of anything such as that. I was a vibrant young man raging with excitement over things to come; things that I felt would last almost forever. Heck, if you’re thinking the age of 40 or 50 is old and far away as I did then, it’s a sure thing that 80 must be eternity from then, and since I planned to live at least that long, I surely was not thinking of hurrying up with my need for accomplishments.
So, on this particular day, I was about to learn a major lesson when meeting this person I was accompanying John to see.
I don’t generally go on errands and what have you just to accompany someone else, as I can usually find something more interesting to do with my time, but John asked me and he was a good friend. So, I would have said yes anyway, but, in his asking, he mentioned that this person he had to go see was probably the best bass player he had ever heard or seen. Well, when I heard that, I was in! Anytime someone gives me the opportunity to go see, or better yet, meet a fine musician of high caliber—and, coming from a respected musician such as John, I was sure it was true—I want to go, There were no second thoughts on my quick answer of “Yes! Sure, let’s go”!
Unbeknownst to me at the time, this first meeting would also set the playing field for the beginning of a long, yet somewhat eclectic, musical friendship. That friendship would last until the final and tragic night 13 years later; September 11th 1987.
In my first meeting, he was on the cusp of becoming known as “The Best Electric Bass Player in the World” and so, if you haven’t guessed his name yet, you must be living on another planet, for when it comes to musical geniuses such as Coltrane, Mingus, Parker, or Hendrix, his name, too, is mentioned among those great masters.
So, who was he? None other than Jaco Pastorius, more commonly known just as “Jaco.”
Yes, I was about to meet Jaco Pastorius, but then the title of “The Best Bass Player In The World,” which he coined himself, and which was later justified by his peers, was only known in a very small circle, one of which I was not entitled to be a part–yet!
When we first walked into his house, he was sitting on the edge of his bed playing a beat up upright bass, also known as a “Double Bass.” He was slumped all over it like an octopus submerging his prey. He was in his own zone, attempting to master this instrument as if he had but a moment left in life.
He really was an astonishing musician as I came to know him better in later years, but, on this first day, I recognized right away that this was a special musician. I was even more astounded when John later told me that Jaco had only been playing bass for a very, very short time. Yet, he had accomplished these incredible plateaus. Most of the other 99.9% never reach what he attained in their entire lifetime, let alone in only a few short years.
He once told me, a couple of years later, that, before injuring his wrist playing sports, he had first been a drummer, as his father was. However, because of the major surgery on that wrist, he had no choice but to change instruments. He told me that he loved music so much because it was his real world, a world where he felt safe and knew how to get around and hoped everyone else could keep up.
So, now, here he was, letting go of his first instrument, the drums, and picking up a cheap and beat up electric bass he purchased at a local pawn shop. He got good very quickly and progressed to a much better bass, the Fender Jazz bass, and it was on this instrument that he, in a few short years, mastered the bass.
Remembering this brings me to wonder, “What would he have accomplished on drums if he was not forced to change?” After all, drums were his first calling. I also wonder, “What would I have been chasing in my world as a drummer, if this monster was let loose in it?” Surely, I cannot play bass!
Now, In the middle of my first visit with Jaco, John was trying to talk to him about whatever was in those charts he had brought over to him. Meanwhile, I just stood speechless and amazed at the sounds coming out of the instrument he was attacking with vengeance and beauty all at the same time. He then switched to the electric bass, and there he definitely floored me! I mean, I had never heard anyone playing harmonics on electric bass before, at least to this degree; it was incredible to say the least. As I watched and listened to him playing, I was praying John would just stop trying to get his attention, so he could continue to floor me.
Up until then, the most phenomenal things I had heard were coming from the new-era bass player, Stanley Clark, but this, this was different, and to see it up close and personal, I was forever changed in, as I mentioned, my thinking about time!
You see, this guy, in a few short years, had not let time pass by and do only the nominally best he could and eventually get there, No! He put everything—I mean everything—aside to conquer with no holds barred. It’s as if he was clairvoyant; he knew he would only be here on earth for a very short time and needed to make his mark on the world as never done before, and, as we know, he was tragically taken a few short years thereafter.
We eventually finished our meeting and as we were getting ready to say our goodbyes, I asked Jaco: “So, what do you think about Stanley Clark?” He looked at me as if I had just killed his first born, and, for a second, I thought that maybe I should take a step backwards. I considered backing away because I had also seen in him someone who was somewhat uneven keeled, if you get my drift. So, I did not know what he would actually do! But, to my surprise, expecting the worst, he just put his head back down and continued playing.
We then said our goodbye’s and started out the front door of the house when, all of a sudden, I heard him shout from the top of his lungs; “Stanley Clark ain’t S@#T compare to me, I am the greatest Bass player in the world and he knows it!!! Wham! There you go, he said it; "I am the greatest Bass player in the world!"
Funny thing, years later, when this motto became associated with his name, I would laugh when others would mention that saying about him. I would tell everyone who brought this up in conversation, “Heck, he told me that a few years ago before he was even known to those like you and all the others. Ha-ha!”
In all seriousness, after what I had experienced even on that first day, I could not deny him that title. To add, I’m sure not much later if Stanley (Clark) would have denied it himself, but, knowing musician’s egos, he probably would never admit to it.
Remember my babbling on about “Time” and the great lesson I learned in meeting this wonder of the music world? Well, time was short—especially when you are trying to accomplish greatness, especially in the music world.
So, in the months that followed, I engulfed myself in such, to hurry my own course upwards and towards greatness.
I first enrolled in college; Miami Dade University. There I studied under a great master of percussion, Frank Garisto. I then followed through on my studies, by practicing, “wood shedding” as they call it in the music world. I cracked down hard on my chart reading speed, my writing skills, etc., etc. Six-to-eight hours per day, seven days a week, with no holidays, no nothing. Then, I applied them to places of meaning.
My musical world opened up to many avenues, such as, studio musician, on call for gigs (a hired gun) with different acts, or teaching, whatever the demand, I was ready to take it on.
This hard-core dedication and then some, whenever possible, would not limit me, as I was now equipped to meet any and all challenges on types and/or styles of music; Jazz, Blues, Rock etc. My unlimited potential was opened up much faster than had I not understood; time is as a blink of an eye, and if you don’t buckle down, it will pass you by very quickly.
This, in seeing how Jaco had dedicated himself to become so great, was an inspiring lesson for me in trying to even come close. Although not everyone is born with such a special talent as Jaco attained, and I never accomplished this sort of genius like quality of musicianship, I did, however, feel that I achieved a higher plateau than that which I probably would have achieved without first having met Jaco. Again, it changed my whole outlook on Time!
As years passed, lo and behold, Jaco and I crossed each other’s paths again. But, this time he was on my playing field; my stage. He asked to be invited up to jam with me, which I relished in having a go with an all-out, funky, jazz-rock (Fusion) jam.
It was a great time, and for the first time, regardless of all the other good musicians and sessions I had done up until then, I felt I belonged in this world he traveled, and knew right then and there that, I too, compared well to the drummers he played with; Lenny White, Peter Erskine, or whomever. I knew it had paid off, not letting time pass me by. Now, I’m getting the nod from a great monster that’s played with the best. It was magic, how we were feeding off each other that night, we were going out there, letting loose and grooving our asses off.
Musician knows times like these are but few in a lifetime. Times like these can only be compared to a great night of sex and, well, I will leave that to your imagination to interpret yourselves. This night was also the night I finally, really understood this man they sometimes called a “Genius”! He blew me away with things I never knew existed in bass playing, and I have played with some pretty awesome players in my life, both then and since. No one has ever taken me to that place. Jaco might actually have been a true “Genius” on bass.
After we finished playing that night, we sat around and had a couple of drinks and chit-chatted about music, of course, and how when you really understand, you, your instrument and the surroundings become one with your soul. It truly becomes “one” and no other marriage can compare to it, nor can anyone understand unless they are there. I say this while also believing I have had a blessed marriage for almost 35 years with an awesome woman. We had a connection that night, and a couple of other times in the following years, and it was very cool.
We then said our goodbye’s and started out the front door of the house when, all of a sudden, I heard him shout from the top of his lungs; “Stanley Clark ain’t S@#T compare to me, I am the greatest Bass player in the world and he knows it!!! Wham! There you go, he said it; "I am the greatest Bass player in the world!"
Funny thing, years later, when this motto became associated with his name, I would laugh when others would mention that saying about him. I would tell everyone who brought this up in conversation, “Heck, he told me that a few years ago before he was even known to those like you and all the others. Ha-ha!”
In all seriousness, after what I had experienced even on that first day, I could not deny him that title. To add, I’m sure not much later if Stanley (Clark) would have denied it himself, but, knowing musician’s egos, he probably would never admit to it.
Remember my babbling on about “Time” and the great lesson I learned in meeting this wonder of the music world? Well, time was short—especially when you are trying to accomplish greatness, especially in the music world.
So, in the months that followed, I engulfed myself in such, to hurry my own course upwards and towards greatness.
I first enrolled in college; Miami Dade University. There I studied under a great master of percussion, Frank Garisto. I then followed through on my studies, by practicing, “wood shedding” as they call it in the music world. I cracked down hard on my chart reading speed, my writing skills, etc., etc. Six-to-eight hours per day, seven days a week, with no holidays, no nothing. Then, I applied them to places of meaning.
My musical world opened up to many avenues, such as, studio musician, on call for gigs (a hired gun) with different acts, or teaching, whatever the demand, I was ready to take it on.
This hard-core dedication and then some, whenever possible, would not limit me, as I was now equipped to meet any and all challenges on types and/or styles of music; Jazz, Blues, Rock etc. My unlimited potential was opened up much faster than had I not understood; time is as a blink of an eye, and if you don’t buckle down, it will pass you by very quickly.
This, in seeing how Jaco had dedicated himself to become so great, was an inspiring lesson for me in trying to even come close. Although not everyone is born with such a special talent as Jaco attained, and I never accomplished this sort of genius like quality of musicianship, I did, however, feel that I achieved a higher plateau than that which I probably would have achieved without first having met Jaco. Again, it changed my whole outlook on Time!
As years passed, lo and behold, Jaco and I crossed each other’s paths again. But, this time he was on my playing field; my stage. He asked to be invited up to jam with me, which I relished in having a go with an all-out, funky, jazz-rock (Fusion) jam.
It was a great time, and for the first time, regardless of all the other good musicians and sessions I had done up until then, I felt I belonged in this world he traveled, and knew right then and there that, I too, compared well to the drummers he played with; Lenny White, Peter Erskine, or whomever. I knew it had paid off, not letting time pass me by. Now, I’m getting the nod from a great monster that’s played with the best. It was magic, how we were feeding off each other that night, we were going out there, letting loose and grooving our asses off.
Musician knows times like these are but few in a lifetime. Times like these can only be compared to a great night of sex and, well, I will leave that to your imagination to interpret yourselves. This night was also the night I finally, really understood this man they sometimes called a “Genius”! He blew me away with things I never knew existed in bass playing, and I have played with some pretty awesome players in my life, both then and since. No one has ever taken me to that place. Jaco might actually have been a true “Genius” on bass.
After we finished playing that night, we sat around and had a couple of drinks and chit-chatted about music, of course, and how when you really understand, you, your instrument and the surroundings become one with your soul. It truly becomes “one” and no other marriage can compare to it, nor can anyone understand unless they are there. I say this while also believing I have had a blessed marriage for almost 35 years with an awesome woman. We had a connection that night, and a couple of other times in the following years, and it was very cool.
In those first couple of meetings I would remind him of our first meeting at his house near Fort Lauderdale a few years prior, when John and I came over, and how I had asked what he thought about Stanley Clark. And you know, although he was being kind about it, in saying he remembered that day, I knew different, but that was okay.
People have said many negative things about Jaco, and though I only saw him once in the whole time I knew him being those things people said about him, all the other times, I only saw the good-hearted person, and a hell of a monster player. Maybe it was lucky timing in my crisscrossing of paths with him throughout the time we knew each other, but that’s the way he always was with me.
I understood the difficult Jaco, I mean his mind was filled with one thing at most times and one thing alone, Music! He was focused on how to make it the best anyone can bring, whatever and whenever possible. That’s how his mind carried on throughout, he was going for the best and nothing short of it.
In as far as his dealings with me, he seemed to show a side of humility, with a sort of excitement altogether when he came on stage and joined me. I felt that he genuinely liked me and what I brought to the stage; pureness, with no fear, no boundaries, reach for it all and enjoy the ride. Listen, if you have what it takes, then bring it, don’t pull back, we can make a great soup together, musically speaking. Just make sure you have some chops or you will get swallowed up and left behind. In other words, know your craft, and go for broke, but only when it’s time to do so, and that we did!
In the field of music, if you are above and beyond most people with such creativity as Jaco had, people think you’re out of your mind, you are out there somewhere, and you have no clue. But the truth is, most times, it’s the other way around. Jaco was in a world beyond most others’ comprehension and, unfortunately, he would be hurt by this.
When trying to deal with most people in the music world that could only see what was in front of them, they had no clue, so they could not absorb nor comprehend how his mind was seeing and hearing. I believe this was one of those pitfalls that would follow him throughout his life and make it hard for him to deal with unless he was, in some form, intoxicated.
Towards the end of his life, most did not want him, he had become manic depressive, and needed medication to keep him leveled, but I feel as though he didn’t like that feeling very much, because that curbed his genius and imagination all at once. It was as if he was in a coma, and could hear everyone around him, yet no one could hear him screaming inside, wanting to acknowledge them, and saying I can hear you, but you can’t hear me!
I always felt that I was one of the lucky ones that only had one (and I mean only one) bad night with him, and I will get to that in a minute. Before that, though, he once told me that he liked my style; hard, funky and with good chops; “You are one of the most solid players I have ever played with, with a great understanding of funk.” Hey, regardless of what other drummers might have wanted to hear him say, like “You are a fantastic technical groove monster, or phenomenal technical drummer, etc.,” I have always prided myself with the understanding that a drummer must always remember his place in the pit; he is Time Keeper, solid as a metronome that brings it with feeling and adds only when it needs to be at the proper time. So, to me, this was a great compliment, especially coming from the groove monster that he was!
Now I mentioned that I only once had a bad time with him on stage, although I have mixed feelings about my last encounter with Jaco, which some would say was selfish on his part. You see, he was pretty trashed (drunk, etc.) the last night we played together and made somewhat of a big commotion on stage in front of a huge crowed, enough to where, eventually, the bouncers had to escort him off the stage and out of the premises—this really broke my heart. You see, they didn’t know what was going on with him, but I did, I knew he was not himself, as I had known who and how he was many times before. The other thing is that I never got a chance to say goodbye to him, so when I read what happened to him the night he was killed, it really upset me.
The way it went down that final night we played together; after strapping on the bass he had taken off my bass player, he also managed to get all of my other band members off the stage too, so that it would only be just the two of us, which I understood, because, as I mentioned before, he really enjoyed how we communicated together on a playing level. I don’t know, maybe he felt the others were not in the same league.
I felt he was aiming for no interruption of outside boundaries (instruments/musicians) that could interfere with the simplicity of two playing at some form of orchestral dimensions; he was always so magical in this. I noticed that night he seemed alone, lost, and eventually got chaotic and out of hand, as if he got lost in transition. No matter what I threw at him, he seemed to not even acknowledge it, and it was then that I knew he was gone, somewhere lost in his own mind and I could not retrieve him.
It was sad, and I felt really bad for him, especially when they hauled him away and out the door. All this, and not knowing that this would be our final, and what could have been our final, magical musical moment together.
September 11th, 1987 would be his final curtain as he was tragically beaten to death by a bouncer at a neighborhood nightclub close to where he had once lived in Oakland Park.
On a final note: He is one of only seven bass players in history to have been inducted into the Downbeat Hall of Fame. That, alone, is as much of a tribute and recognition as a musician would ever want to reach in their field.
He was the “Greatest Electric Bass Player in the World” and these were not just his words, but the words of those that knew and played with him. Those that were lucky enough to have that magic he attained trickle down on them.
I feel privileged to have played with, and known, Jaco throughout those years. It was but a blink of an eye!
Sergio D.
People have said many negative things about Jaco, and though I only saw him once in the whole time I knew him being those things people said about him, all the other times, I only saw the good-hearted person, and a hell of a monster player. Maybe it was lucky timing in my crisscrossing of paths with him throughout the time we knew each other, but that’s the way he always was with me.
I understood the difficult Jaco, I mean his mind was filled with one thing at most times and one thing alone, Music! He was focused on how to make it the best anyone can bring, whatever and whenever possible. That’s how his mind carried on throughout, he was going for the best and nothing short of it.
In as far as his dealings with me, he seemed to show a side of humility, with a sort of excitement altogether when he came on stage and joined me. I felt that he genuinely liked me and what I brought to the stage; pureness, with no fear, no boundaries, reach for it all and enjoy the ride. Listen, if you have what it takes, then bring it, don’t pull back, we can make a great soup together, musically speaking. Just make sure you have some chops or you will get swallowed up and left behind. In other words, know your craft, and go for broke, but only when it’s time to do so, and that we did!
In the field of music, if you are above and beyond most people with such creativity as Jaco had, people think you’re out of your mind, you are out there somewhere, and you have no clue. But the truth is, most times, it’s the other way around. Jaco was in a world beyond most others’ comprehension and, unfortunately, he would be hurt by this.
When trying to deal with most people in the music world that could only see what was in front of them, they had no clue, so they could not absorb nor comprehend how his mind was seeing and hearing. I believe this was one of those pitfalls that would follow him throughout his life and make it hard for him to deal with unless he was, in some form, intoxicated.
Towards the end of his life, most did not want him, he had become manic depressive, and needed medication to keep him leveled, but I feel as though he didn’t like that feeling very much, because that curbed his genius and imagination all at once. It was as if he was in a coma, and could hear everyone around him, yet no one could hear him screaming inside, wanting to acknowledge them, and saying I can hear you, but you can’t hear me!
I always felt that I was one of the lucky ones that only had one (and I mean only one) bad night with him, and I will get to that in a minute. Before that, though, he once told me that he liked my style; hard, funky and with good chops; “You are one of the most solid players I have ever played with, with a great understanding of funk.” Hey, regardless of what other drummers might have wanted to hear him say, like “You are a fantastic technical groove monster, or phenomenal technical drummer, etc.,” I have always prided myself with the understanding that a drummer must always remember his place in the pit; he is Time Keeper, solid as a metronome that brings it with feeling and adds only when it needs to be at the proper time. So, to me, this was a great compliment, especially coming from the groove monster that he was!
Now I mentioned that I only once had a bad time with him on stage, although I have mixed feelings about my last encounter with Jaco, which some would say was selfish on his part. You see, he was pretty trashed (drunk, etc.) the last night we played together and made somewhat of a big commotion on stage in front of a huge crowed, enough to where, eventually, the bouncers had to escort him off the stage and out of the premises—this really broke my heart. You see, they didn’t know what was going on with him, but I did, I knew he was not himself, as I had known who and how he was many times before. The other thing is that I never got a chance to say goodbye to him, so when I read what happened to him the night he was killed, it really upset me.
The way it went down that final night we played together; after strapping on the bass he had taken off my bass player, he also managed to get all of my other band members off the stage too, so that it would only be just the two of us, which I understood, because, as I mentioned before, he really enjoyed how we communicated together on a playing level. I don’t know, maybe he felt the others were not in the same league.
I felt he was aiming for no interruption of outside boundaries (instruments/musicians) that could interfere with the simplicity of two playing at some form of orchestral dimensions; he was always so magical in this. I noticed that night he seemed alone, lost, and eventually got chaotic and out of hand, as if he got lost in transition. No matter what I threw at him, he seemed to not even acknowledge it, and it was then that I knew he was gone, somewhere lost in his own mind and I could not retrieve him.
It was sad, and I felt really bad for him, especially when they hauled him away and out the door. All this, and not knowing that this would be our final, and what could have been our final, magical musical moment together.
September 11th, 1987 would be his final curtain as he was tragically beaten to death by a bouncer at a neighborhood nightclub close to where he had once lived in Oakland Park.
On a final note: He is one of only seven bass players in history to have been inducted into the Downbeat Hall of Fame. That, alone, is as much of a tribute and recognition as a musician would ever want to reach in their field.
He was the “Greatest Electric Bass Player in the World” and these were not just his words, but the words of those that knew and played with him. Those that were lucky enough to have that magic he attained trickle down on them.
I feel privileged to have played with, and known, Jaco throughout those years. It was but a blink of an eye!
Sergio D.
