MntnMan62
Silver Member
I ended up buying the documentary Jaco. It's about not just one of music's greatest bassists and musicians, but it's about a human being, albeit troubled. First, I am a huge Weather Report fan. More importantly, unbeknownst to me, my then 12 or 13 year old son revealed to me that his inspiration to play the bass in the first place came from Jaco. This in spite of my taking him to see Stanley, Anthony Jackson and a host of other bass greats. I was literally blown away and in awe at this revelation. In addition, I found the documentary extremely sad and it hit fairly close to home. Jaco had schizophrenia. I have a close family member who is diagnosed with schizophrenia and another with bipolar disorder. Mental illnesses such as these often afflict those with extraordinary talents in certain areas. The insideousness of the disease is that it almost always ruins whatever promise may have existed for those with the illness. And that was absolutely the case with Jaco. I found the documentary sad but also quite compelling and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan.