The Jaco Pastorius Bass Method Book

Hal Leonard has announced the release of the Jaco Pastorius Bass Method. The method is penned by Ray Peterson, a bassist who was one of Jaco’s private students.

The book/CD package will be comprised of note-for-note transcriptions of songs and solos along with detailed notes on the technique and theory behind the music. Also included are lessons that were gathered from the bass master’s private teaching archives, as well as pages taken from his personal practice book, still in his own handwriting.

The thirteen songs in the book are written in both standard notation and tab formats. The list includes “Chromatic Fantasy”, “Continuum”, “Donna Lee”, “Havona”, “Opus Pocus”, “Portrait of Tracy”, “Teen Town” and more. Audio tracks of all the examples are on the accompanying CD.

The book has the approval of Jaco’s daughter, Mary Pastorius. “I LOVE this book!” she says. “It touched my heart, made me laugh, made me proud — even made me maybe want to study the bass! Kudos to Ray Peterson and Hal Leonard for getting it right.”