Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/551480
C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 5 211 T he 58th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival will host yet another weekend of inspired performers: Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Béla Fleck, Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti, Pete Escovedo, Trombone Shor ty and many others. All have brought their own unique brand of creative energy to their respective instruments, all have given—and continue to give—to jazz new ways of interpreting the genre. They have also profoundly inspired those musi- cians who have come after them. Another ar tist who fits into that rar- ified group will have a presence at the Festival, even though he passed away in 1987: bassist and composer John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, known as "Jaco." Pastorius died a couple of months shy of his 36th birthday, but he left an indelible mark on not only his chosen instrument but on the face of modern American music. He was a vital part of the hugely successful 1970s fusion group Weather Report with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter, recorded with many notables of the time, notably Joni Mitchell on her sublime Hejira album. He fronted his own Word of Mouth, a big band that performed many of the bassist's compositions. Headlining the Friday Jimmy Lyons Stage festivities is "Jaco's World: A Celebration of the Music of Jaco Pastorius," presented by conductor, arranger and composer Vince Mendoza. For this endeavor, Mendoza chose some high-octane talent: drummers and Pastorius' Weather Report bandmates Alex Acuna and Peter Erskine; vocalists Tierney Sutton and Sonny Knight, saxophonist Bob Mintzer (a member of Pastorius' Word of Mouth), plus bassists Will Lee, Christian McBride and Jaco's son Felix Pastorius. Photo: Ed Perlstein /Getty Images 'Jaco is my primary influence, all you gotta do is listen to anything I've ever played to know that.' ~Christian McBride