Jaco Pastorius

An anthology consisting of four shorts with the central theme of life in the United States, including a surreal narrative about a man's search for his past in Los Angeles; an impressionistic look at American myths and rituals, featuring a large dance sequence; a stylized portrait of the South Bronx; and a delve into the history of Route 66.

Jazz great Pastorius instructs, does solo performance work, exclusive interviews, performance footage with Jeremy Jemmott, John Scofield and Kenwood Dennard; also cutting edge special features. This is one of last known Videos of the most influential Bassist ever!

The reputation of the late Jaco Pastorius is legendary, based as much on his mercurial personality as his groundbreaking bass playing and small but significant repertoire of original music. His declining mental health became increasingly evident following his departure from fusion super group Weather Report, ultimately leading to his tragic demise in 1987. Still, while the bassist was already beginning to show some signs of decline when Jaco Pastorius: Live and Outrageous was filmed at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1982, he was still capable of putting on an exciting show.

Weather Report was founded in 1970 by musicians who had met while playing with Miles Davis. This Montreux Festival show from 1976 follows on from the release of their album "Black Market" but features the line-up that would release their most famous and successful album "Heavy Weather" in 1977. This line-up features Joe Zawinul (keyboards), Wayne Shorter (saxophones), Jaco Pastorius (bass), Alex Acuna (drums) and Manolo Badrena (percussion). Previously only available as a bootleg of a TV broadcast, this new DVD release is fully authorized and has been restored to its full length.

Filmed at the Montreal Jazz Festival in the early 1980s, this concert provides nearly an hour of first-class jazz. Bob Mintzer is outspoken on tenor sax in the opening number, underpinned by Jaco’s clear and propulsive bass. Othello Molineaux coaxes a wide range of sounds out of a single steel drum, possibly the most awkward musical instrument ever devised by man, but Othello makes it sing radiantly.