Deceased (1951–1987)
Jaco Pastorius/Living or Deceased

September 21, 1987
Jaco Pastorius/Date of death

Broward Health Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Jaco Pastorius/Place of death

35 years (1951–1987)
Jaco Pastorius/Age at death
John Francis (Jaco) Pastorius, an electric bassist whose brief career influenced jazz musicians worldwide, died Monday night at the Broward General Medical Center. He was 35 years old.

Death. Pastorius developed a self-destructive habit of provoking bar fights and allowing himself to be beaten up. A brain hemorrhage a few days later led to brain death. He was taken off life support and died on September 21, 1987, at the age of 35, at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Julius Pastorius
John Francis Pastorius IVFelix Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius/Sons

His sound is unique and much copied. The great African bassist Richard Bona, who sounds more like Jaco than just about any other bass player, learned Pastorius’ song “Portrait of Tracy,” mastering it after a year of practice in his Cameroonian village.

Almost twenty years after his death, Fender released the Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass, a fretless instrument in its Artist Series. He has been called “arguably the most important and ground-breaking electric bassist in history” and “perhaps the most influential electric bassist today”.

Larry Graham
Larry Graham is generally credited as inventing slap bass guitar. Graham has said that he was simply trying to create a drum-like sound to flesh out the rhythm in the then drummerless Family Stone.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in late 1982 after the tour. Pastorius had shown signs of bipolar disorder before his diagnosis, but these signs were dismissed as eccentricities, character flaws, and by Pastorius himself as a normal part of his freewheeling personality.

Jaco didn’t drink or do drugs, and instead practically lived with his bass in his hands. He learned to read music during his 1972 stint with the group.

245 basses
Jaco once told Guitar World Magazine that he owned 245 basses, but let’s take a chronological look at his most distinctive gear over the years.

Luc Havan, who was brought to trial for second degreee murder of Jaco, now lives in Palm Beach County. A local newspaper viz. the New Times claims to have spoken to Havan on the phone last year to ascertain his version of events.

Luc Havan was charged with second degree murder but was convicted of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and served 8 months of a 2 year sentence. It’s doubtful that he acted in self-defence believing his life was in danger simply because he is experienced in martial arts.

Luc Havan, 26, was released from prison on April 18, according to the Department of Corrections. Havan, who began his prison sentence on Dec. 8, still has five years of probation to complete. “I was not aware he was out now,” said Assistant State Attorney Lee Jay Seidman, who prosecuted Havan. “I’m disappointed with that.”

KILLER OF PASTORIUS FREE AFTER 4 MONTHS The man who beat to death acclaimed jazz musician Jaco Pastorius nearly two years ago served four months in prison for the crime, a little more than 20 percent of the sentence imposed by the judge. Luc Havan, 26, was released from prison on April 18, according to the Department of Corrections.