Al Di Meola Remembers Jaco Pastorius On His Birthday

JAKARTA - Al Di Meola paid a special tribute to the bass maestro, the late Jaco Pastorius, to commemorate his birthday which fell on Monday, December 1 yesterday the day after tomorrow.

Through uploads on Instagram, the highly influential jazz-fusion guitarist shared his personal memories and called Pastorius a genius figure.

"I was lucky enough to spend time with Jaco almost every night after our co-sponsored Elegant Gypsy/Heavy Weather tour in 1977, which was promoted by CBS Records," wrote Di Meola.

"Both albums were released in the same week, so the tour with 30 cities makes sense," he added. "We stayed up late (and) chatted for hours only music, ideas, and wild sparks that Jaco only had."

Prior to the tour partnership, Di Meola admitted that he was very lucky because Pastorius was together with his colleagues at Return to Forever (RTF) Stanley Clarke and Anthony Jackson participated in his first solo album in 1976.

The 71-year-old guitarist also continued his respect by telling the moment of his initial introduction to the bassist.

"I first heard of him in high school, when everyone went to Fort Lauderdale during the spring holidays," he said. "A few years later, I mentioned his name to Bobby Colombby, who was looking for bass players for Blood, Sweat & Tears."

"Jaco didn't last long in the band but fate had bigger plans. Shortly thereafter, he met Joe Zawinul and Jaco told him directly that he was the greatest bass player in the world," continued Di Meola.

Unfortunately, Jaco Pastorius did not have a long music career. He had to die at the age of 35 on September 21, 1987 after suffering a brain hemorrhage due to his fight with a bar security officer in Florida, USA.

"Segalnya ditinggalkan, semanjang berpengaruh," kata Di Meola menutup penhormatannya kepada Pastorius.