Source: New York Post
Jaco Pastorius is considered as the greatest bass guitarist ever. And since his death more than 20 years ago, Pastorius’s two guitars have been missing and considered as stolen. Now that one of the guitars has surfaced, it lands smack in the middle of an ownership controversy.
The estate of the late Jaco Pastorius believes that the guitars were stolen and wants the guitar returned to them as the heirs. The current owner on the other hand, didn’t know until recently that this was one of the missing guitars.
These guitars were used by the great bass player in recordings and in sessions with other great artists, including Herbie Hancock. The guitars he used were both Fender bass guitars. He used one guitar for sessions and practice, the one with frets, and the other one he used when performing, the one without frets. At the time, Fender didn’t make fretless bass guitars. What he did was take out the frets, filled up the holes with putty and cleaned it up with epoxy. But what made Pastorius the greatest was not the guitar, but the way he played it. In a real way, it could be said that the artist was only using a tool to release his creativity.
The controversy starts with the disappearance of the guitars. These went missing right about the time that Pastorius died. He was beaten up by a bouncer after he was not allowed to enter a club in Miami. And the guitars were never seen again. He died several days after due to the injuries that he sustained.
The guitars may have been stolen, however there was no proof that these were ever stolen. I agree that the logic is a stretch, but I would think that this lawsuit is going to be a long wait.
