During his youth Jaco would exhibit endless amounts of energy, practicing by day while gigging or venturing out into obscure areas of town to jam by night. Over time, Jaco expanded his budding ideas into full-fledged works of complex orchestrations ultimately creating a rich body of work that would stand the test of time.

With its multicultural demographics, a progressive music department at the University of Miami, miles of beach resorts, and its international cruise ship industry, the southern tip of Florida was constantly alive with the sounds of jazz, rock, R&B, country, reggae, Latin, and calypso.Īnd it’s from within this diverse musical environment that Jaco would develop his singular style. Over the following years Jaco would be heavily influenced by the wide variety of music styles that were unique to the South Florida area. Born in Pennsylvania, Jaco was about to put Florida on the map of modern jazz globally. In 1959 the Pastorius family packed up and moved to Florida, settling down in the quaint neighborhood of Oakland Park. With the seed planted, Jaco’s interest in music would steadily grow. Starting out playing with his father’s sticks on a set of old bongos, Jaco would eventually buy a full set of drums with the money he earned from delivering newspapers. Jaco also took after his father by taking up playing drums at an early age. On any given day the Pastorius household would be alive with the sounds of Sinatra, Bennet, Nat King Cole, or The Dorsey Brothers.

Through his father’s extensive record collection a young Jaco was exposed to all of the greats of the big band/swing era. Jack, a professional jazz drummer/singer, was also Jaco’s first musical influence. Jaco, as he would be known, was the eldest of three boys of Jack and Stephanie Pastorius. Born John Francis Pastorius III on December 1st 1951 in Norristown PA.

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