Even legendary R&B stalwarts Sam and Dave reunited to appear on one of the tracks, Come On, Come Over. The album also boasted a lineup of heavyweights in the jazz community at the time, who were essentially his stellar back up band, including Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Lenny White, Don Alias, and Michael Brecker among others. Many consider this to be the finest bass album ever recorded when it exploded onto the jazz scene it was instantly recognized as a classic. Pastorius' first album, produced by Colomby and entitled Jaco Pastorius (1976), was a breakthrough album for the electric bass. According to Zawinul, Jaco walked up to him after a concert the previous night and talked about the performance and how it was all right but he had expected more.
During this time, he had run into keyboardist Joe Zawinul in Miami, Florida, where his band, Weather Report was playing. In 1975, Pastorius met up with Blood, Sweat and Tears drummer Bobby Colomby, who had been given the green light by CBS records to find new talent for their jazz division. Metheny and Jaco recorded a fusion album entitled Bright Size Life. They recorded together, first with Paul Bley as leader and Bruce Ditmas on drums, then with drummer Bob Moses. In 1974, he began playing with his friend and later famous jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. He also played on various local R&B and jazz records during that time such as Ira Sullivan's Quintet and Woodchuck. He played music throughout his youth, drawing on influences like Jerry Jemmott, James Jamerson, Paul Chambers, Harvey Brooks and Tommy Cogbill and honing his skills and developing his songwriting prowess in bands like Wayne Cochran and The C.C. Doggington, Cannonball Adderley and Jerry Jemmott. Other musical influences include: Jimi Hendrix, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Paul Hindemith, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, The Band, Santana, Frank Zappa, Bob Marley, Rocco Prestia, Tommy Cogbill, Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Otis Redding, James T.
Musical influences included James Jamerson, James Brown, The Beatles, Miles Davis, and Stravinsky. In about 1970, he began playing in a nine-piece horn band at the time called Las Olas Brass, which covered popular material of the day by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, James Brown and the Tijuana Brass. Originally a drummer, following in the footsteps of his father, stand-up drummer Jack Pastorius, Jaco switched to bass at age 15, after suffering an injury to his wrist. Darqui, who was French, assumed the name was spelled Jaco Jaco liked the new spelling. He changed the spelling from Jocko to Jaco after the pianist Alex Darqui sent him a note. He loved basketball, and often watched basketball with his father, whose nickname was Jack. Jaco's nickname was influenced by his love of sports and also by the umpire Jocko Conlan. He took the name ∺nthony at his confirmation. He was a talented athlete with skills in football, basketball, and baseball, and he picked up music at an early age. He went to high school at Northeast High in Oakland Park. Clement's Catholic School in Wilton Manors, and he was an altar boy at the adjoining church. Jaco went to elementary and middle school at St.
Although Jaco was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the family subsequently moved to Fort Lauderdale. He had Finnish, German, Swedish, and Irish ancestry. Jaco was born John Francis Pastorius III, the first of three sons born to John Francis Pastorius II and Stephanie Katherine Haapala Pastorius.