Who killed Jaco Pastorius? How a beating brought an end to the world’s best bass player
It’s impossible to see the impact of most musical legends unless they’re in hindsight. While it might be easy to spot the fantastic bits and pieces hidden on records, most artists won’t get to see the most gratifying fruits of their labour until well after they have passed on, with generations using their influence as inspiration for new creations. While Jaco Pastorius may have already been known as a Jimi Hendrix figure among jazz players, his life would be cut criminally short in the late 1980s.
When first emerging on the scene, Pastorius was meant to play anything but traditional rock and roll. Growing up listening to the greatest names in jazz and fusion, Pastorius would be on the cusp of music history when joining the band Weather Report. While this kind of instrumental jazz concoction seemed like it would be reserved for the snootiest of music critics, everyone marvelled at the rumbling low end of the mix.
Using only his fingers, Pastorius was the kind of person who led through pure muscle whenever he played. From the intricate stuff he got up to in his supergroup to the insane 16th-note rhythm of solo works like ‘Come On Come Over’, Pastorius is the kind of bass player you go to if you’re looking for expert-level difficulty on your instrument.
He wasn’t limited to the songs’ workhorse aspect, either. Looking at a track like ‘Continuum’, his use of harmonics was what most bass players only dream of. The stretches that were pulled off are usually reserved for extra-terrestrial yogis. The musician was set to sit atop his wobbling throne for decades, ruling as the greatest bass player of his generation. But, when Pastorius went to a club in 1987, everything came crashing down.
The music industry is a tough place to be, and, accompanied by manic depressive episodes that began during his work in the field, Pastorious became a more confrontational man. What he had in bass dexterity was matched by his vicious streak. The musician struggled to maintain a healthy balance of emotions, and anger eventually led to him coming face to face with Luc Havan.
How did Jaco Pastorius die?
After jumping onstage with Santana at a club show, Pastorius had had a few drinks when he ventured to another bar and was denied entry by Havan, who didn’t recognise Pastorius from the millions of other drunkards looking to get in. Once the musician decided to kick in a door to make his way inside, Havan landed a few crushing blows, leaving Pastorius to fall onto the concrete sidewalk. For Pastorius, that final fall to the ground would be lethal. Once he was rushed to the hospital for treatment for what was thought to be just skull fractures, the bass legend would be declared officially brain dead when he got there, eventually taken off life support ten days after the attack.
When the police filed the report on what had gone down at the club, Havan wouldn’t be considered a suspect at first. Once they began digging into the kind of injuries that Pastorius had sustained, they started to look into murder charges. As opposed to just falling down on the pavement, Pastorius was practically beaten to death when he was discovered, with both eyes swollen shut by the time he reached the hospital.
Havan would eventually be taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder. After pleading guilty to manslaughter, the bouncer would eventually walk free after spending only four months in jail.
Regardless of Pastorius’ little time on this Earth, his work has continued to influence millions of fusion players since. Looking at both the new and old school of players, many bassists have picked up their instruments, trying to emulate what Pastorius did, with Victor Wooten regarding him as one of the best to ever play.
In regards to the pantheon of bassists, Pastorius may not be as big a name as someone like Flea of Cliff Burton, but anyone who has ever tried to get harmonics out of their bass has been a part of the ongoing legacy left behind by the jazz legend.