JACO a compelling story of prodigious talent, personal adventures and raw human vulnerability, 'JACO' presents the world of the bass guitar phenomenon Jaco Pastorius through the eyes of his family and various musical collaborators. The surprisingly cohesive soundtrack to the 2015 Jaco Pastorius documentary Jaco features tracks the legendary jazz bassist recorded during his short career in the '70s and '80s.

"Mr. Hands" was originally released in 1980 and is Herbie Hancock's thirtieth album. It was one of the last albums on which Hancock played more "straight" electric jazz before moving on to focus more on R&B influences. The track "4 A.M." features the late great bassist Jaco Pastorius.

Night Passage is the eleventh album by Weather Report, released in 1980. The tracks were recorded in August 1980 at The Complex studios in Los Angeles (before a crowd of 250 people who can be heard on a couple of tracks), except for "Madagascar", recorded live in Osaka, in June of the same year. The album introduces a new member to the band, percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. Night Passage loses the over-done production layers of some of Weather Report's earlier releases (most notably 1978's Mr. Gone). What is lost in layers of overdubs is made up in solo improvisation in the classic jazz tradition.

It's a grand gathering of the Lords of the Lower Frequencies: bassists Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, Victor Wooten, Jimmy Haslip, Christian McBride, Gerald Veasley, and Richard Bona are united under a groove to celebrate their hero, Jaco Pastorius. Jaco's homeboy Peter Graves (who employed the bassist in his south Florida big band before he hit it big with Weather Report in 1975) was the mastermind behind this awesome assembly. Under Graves's direction these Jaco gems, mostly from his Weather Report days and his first solo recording, highlight Pastorius' powerful influence.

Weather Report's The Legendary Live Tapes features four discs of sensational unreleased performances all "completely, totally, unapologetically and insanely live" recorded by the legendary jazz group from 1978 to 1981. This package uniquely showcases Weather Report's extensive prowess as a band, opting not to replicate the ebb and flow of a standard Weather Report set at the time, instead offering a uniquely curated experience that captures the dazzling directions the group took at the arguable height of their powers.

"Heavy Weather" is the landmark recording by Weather Report. It is their bestselling album of all time and was voted by Downbeat magazine as the “Jazz Album of the Year.” In 2011, the album was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. This seminal classic includes the remarkable hits “Birdland,” “Teen Town” and “A Remark You Made.” It remains one of Columbia’s bestselling jazz albums.

Weather Report were a jazz supergroup formed in 1970, best known outside the jazz world for their hit "Birdland". Heavy Weather is Weather Report’s 7th album, released in 1977 through Columbia Records. It is the band’s 2nd album with bassist Jaco Pastorius. On 'Black Market', Pastorius played on 2 of the 7 tracks, but here he is a full member of the band. It is on the short list of LP's considered to be the greatest of all Jazz-Fusion recordings.

Pat Metheny's debut studio album is a good one, a trio date that finds him already laying down the distinctively cottony, slightly withdrawn tone and asymmetrical phrasing that would serve him well through most of the swerves in direction ahead.

Legendary Weather Report electric bassist Jaco Pastorius and quintessential jazz-fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon join Mangelsdorff at the 1976 Berlin Jazz Days for a combustion of creativity. Trilogue starts off solo with a multiphonic melody line and then opens up with free-wheeling give-and-take between the three. Zores Mores is straight ahead swing with Mangelsdorf’s masterful oblique phrasing and the pyrotechnical playing of Pastorious and Mouzon.

Black Market is an instrumental jazz fusion album released by Weather Report in 1976. This album was produced by Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter. It was recorded in December 1975 and released in April 1976 through Columbia Records. This is Weather Report's seventh overall album and the first with the bass player Jaco Pastorius who features on two tracks. The back cover photo shows Pastorius, Chester Thompson and Alex Acuña with the band, although Alphonso Johnson played on more than half of the record. The album draws heavily from African influences and its style could be described as "world fusion". The second Track, "Cannon Ball" is tribute to Zawinul's then recently deceased former band leader, saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.

This is an excellent sampler of the Heads Up SACDs. It also contains, as a bonus track, a version of “Woke Up This Morning” used in the opening credits of “The Sopranos” TV series not available elsewhere on SACD.

Following the success of Word of Mouth Revisited, the critically acclaimed and award winning 2003 release on Heads Up International, the Jaco Pastorius Big Band has crafted a second chapter in their ongoing tribute to the brilliant legacy of the bassist/composer/arranger from whom they've taken their name. The Word Is Out!, an album that features an array of guest artists-not only on bass, but on a variety of other instruments.

Weather Report were a jazz supergroup formed in 1970, best known outside the jazz world for their hit "Birdland". Heavy Weather is Weather Report’s 7th album, released in 1977 through Columbia Records. It is the band’s 2nd album with bassist Jaco Pastorius. On Black Market, Pastorius played on 2 of the 7 tracks, but here he is a full member of the band. It is on the short list of LP's considered to be the greatest of all Jazz-Fusion recordings.