Jaco Pastorius's bass strings: the Weather Report + fretless canon, sourced
Documented bass-string gauges, brands, and tunings Jaco Pastorius used with Weather Report (1976-1981) and across his solo + session catalog. Rotosound Swing Bass 66 documented historical use, fretless Fender Jazz Bass, multi-genre virtuoso lineage. Historical, with citations.
Weather Report · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was Weather Report's bassist 1976-1981 and the most-influential fretless-bass player in jazz-fusion + popular-music history. Documented Rotosound Swing Bass 66 user across his catalog, played on a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass that he had defretted himself (the canonical Jaco bass, the Bass of Doom). Solo records (Jaco Pastorius, 1976; Word of Mouth, 1981) + Joni Mitchell session work (Hejira, 1976; Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, 1977; Mingus, 1979) extend his catalog beyond Weather Report. Died at age 35 from injuries sustained in a Florida nightclub assault. The fretless-bass canon's defining figure.
Strings Jaco Pastorius played
Historical use · documented by the Change Your Strings editorial team · Affiliate links
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At a glance
Active
Affiliations
- Weather Report (bassist, 1976–1981)
- Pat Metheny Group (early collaboration, mid-1970s)
- Joni Mitchell (session bassist, 1976–1979)
- Solo recording artist (Jaco Pastorius, 1976; Word of Mouth, 1981; Invitation, 1983)
- Rotosound Swing Bass 66 (documented historical)
- Fender Jazz Bass (defretted 1962 instrument, the canonical Jaco bass)
Notable credits
- Jaco Pastorius (1976, solo debut)
- Weather Report, Heavy Weather (1977)
- Weather Report, Mr. Gone (1978)
- Weather Report, 8:30 (1979, live)
- Joni Mitchell, Hejira (1976, session)
- Joni Mitchell, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977, session)
- Joni Mitchell, Mingus (1979, session)
- Word of Mouth (1981, solo)
Who Jaco Pastorius was
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, born December 1, 1951, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, was Weather Report's bassist 1976-1981 and the most-influential fretless-bass player in jazz-fusion + popular-music history. He recorded with Weather Report (Heavy Weather, 1977; Mr. Gone, 1978; 8:30, 1979 live) + Joni Mitchell (Hejira, 1976; Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, 1977; Mingus, 1979) + as a solo artist (Jaco Pastorius, 1976; Word of Mouth, 1981).
Played a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass that he had defretted himself (the canonical Bass of Doom), through Acoustic 360 amplification primarily, with documented Rotosound Swing Bass 66 strings.
Died on September 21, 1987, at age 35, from brain injuries sustained in a Florida nightclub assault ten days earlier.
Style signatures
Three things across Jaco's catalog you can identify as his:
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Singing-tone fretless Jazz Bass voice. Extensive use of harmonics + glissandi; the technique was unprecedented in popular music + remains the canonical fretless-bass vocabulary.
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Counter-melodic + harmonically advanced bass lines. The lead-bass vocabulary in fusion is partly Jaco's invention; bass parts function as melodic voices.
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Cross-genre flexibility. Weather Report's jazz-fusion + Joni Mitchell's folk-rock + solo material across many contexts demonstrate the fretless bass's adaptability.
Related
Documented strings. Rotosound Swing Bass 66 (.045-.105) as the documented historical production set.
Bassist hub. All bassists on CYS. Tier A jazz-fusion + virtuoso bass canon parallel: profiles for Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten pending. Tier A historical canon: John Paul Jones (the multi-instrumental peer in the Rotosound + 1970s rock context).