by Phil Gallo

In Paul Marchand's documentary Jaco, Flea speaks for a multitude of electric bassists when he says “he was our Hendrix.” Jaco Pastorius, a revolutionary so in demand he prompted a bidding war for an instrumental big band album in the early ’80s, is heard working with Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Ian Hunter and his own ensembles on 11 tunes on Sony Legacy's Jaco: Original Soundtrack, the remaining six songs handed over to others to pay tribute. Metallica's Rob Trujillo, a producer of the film, and his band Mass Mental get gritty on Pastorius's “Come On Come Over”; Rodrigo y Gabriela explore the beauty and complexity of Pastorius' composition “Continuum”; and TechN9ne delivers an angry rap over a deft Pastorius bass line.