Bright Moments

OAKLAND PARK Pastorius Park pays homage to jazz icon Oakland Park, the city legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius called home, has named a future downtown park in his name. Posted on Sat, Dec. 29, 2007 BY DAVID SMILEY dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com Jaco Pastorius with his bass guitar. A park in his hometown of Oakland Park has been named for the famed musician.Jaco Pastorius is known around the world as one of the most innovative and influential jazz musicians of the 1970s and a pioneer of the electric bass guitar. The flamboyant, Grammy Award-winning jazz icon who became a megastar only to die at 35 in a brawl in Wilton Manors in 1987 has been called a genius by his contemporaries and compared to innovators such as Jimi Hendrix. But in Oakland Park, which Pastorius called home, many have never heard of the jazz great who played with Weather Report, Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell. Commissioners voted last month to name a 3.5-acre park in the middle of a redeveloping downtown Jaco Pastorius Park, bringing to fruition to a 2 ½-year grass-roots effort by locals and members of the Pastorius family. Said Mayor Larry Gierer: ``It's time we move forward and recognize what is probably our biggest asset.'' Pastorius' stylized harmonies and technical proficiency on the bass produced gems such as the quickly paced Donna Lee, his wistful solo Portrait of Tracy, and the catchy, upbeat Birdland with Weather Report. He has earned praise from jazz mainstays like Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheny, to rock guitarist Carlos Santana. Here's what Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea wrote in liner notes accompanying the 2007 release, ``The Essential Jaco Pastorius.'': ``I love everything about him, I feel the depth of his joy and pain in every note I have ever heard him play.'' While the park is still years from completion, the potential of a monument to Jaco, born John Francis Pastorius III, is music to his children and fans. ''My dad until his dying day completely considered himself a son of Oakland Park,'' said John Francis Pastorius IV, of Pompano Beach. Jaco was raised in a neighborhood just a few blocks from the park and graduated from Northeast High School, where he was voted most talented. Those who knew the jazz great say he loved the trains. He even included a whistle in at least one recording. ''He felt very connected to the tracks,'' said Ingrid Pastorius, Jaco's second wife. She said that whistle was recorded near the corner of Northeast 38th Street and North Dixie Highway -- the site of Jaco Pastorius Park. Yet, even with Jaco's praise and connections to the city, commissioners had to be persuaded to name a park after a man who in his last years heavily abused alcohol, used cocaine and later died from injuries in an altercation outside a Wilton Manors bar with a nightclub manager. Luc Havan pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in 1987 but served just a few months in prison. Also troublesome was convincing the family-run Jaco Pastorius Inc. that the park and a tribute concert would honor Pastorius, and not just use his name. ''Through the years, a lot of people have taken advantage of my father and his legacy,'' said John Pastorius IV. ``We always have our guard up when it comes to these things.'' Robert Rutherford, the man who first asked the commission to name the park after Pastorius and started a petition that gained more than 1,100 signatures, said he secured the support of Ingrid Pastorius' and Jaco's twin sons, Julius and Felix Pastorius, who are now well-known musicians in South Florida. But John said he and his sister Mary -- Jaco's children from his first marriage -- and uncle Gregory were a little taken aback when they heard about the effort second-hand. John said they had never even heard of Rutherford, who admits he never met Jaco. ''Something as serious as a park can't be taken lightly,'' he said. But after some discussion, the family came together and both John and Felix were at a recent commission hearing applauding the park. It was worth it, said Rutherford. ''I had to see it through to some resolution one way or the other,'' he said. __________________________ see also: jaco park

anybody know how abbey is doing?

happy birthday!!!

i dig OP!!!

i sure would like to find a complete set of those bird's eyes cds!!!!

happy birthday!!!

i dig him!!!

and from same seller: don cherry

chewy - you don't really have to write down and post everything that you are thinking in that sordid twisted mind of yours!

yes but the puppini sisters are alive (and singing) today! btw they are not really sisters - just one puppini here

well i just spun it and can say i liked it - but a caveat here - it is NOT for everybody. it is "outside" in parts and gospal like in others. recording quality is listenable but not great. mixed bag here.

speaking of cooking:

surely somebody out there has heard these ladies sing!! if not - check them out!!!!

let me be the last to say MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!

from AP: IRVINE, Calif. - Jeanne Carmen, the "little country girl" who became a 1950s pinup and actress and hobnobbed with Frank Sinatra and other stars, has died. She was 77. Carmen died of lymphoma Thursday at her Orange County home, said her son, Brandon James. Born on Aug. 4, 1930, in Paragould, Ark., Carmen picked cotton with her family before running away at 13. "I was just a little country girl that wanted to be a movie star," she told the Orange County Register in 1996. Carmen was still a teenager when she came to New York and, despite having no show business experience, immediately became a dancer in a Broadway show called "Burlesque," with comic Burt Lahr. She later went into modeling, gaining a measure of success with a series of cheesecake shots in men's magazines. One gig turned into a new career as a trick golfer. On tour with golfer Jack Redmond, she would perform stunts such as hitting a ball out of a man's mouth. Carmen claimed that she later hustled golfers with Las Vegas mobster Johnny Roselli. She came to Hollywood while still in her 20s, where she appeared in low-budget movies with such titles as "Guns Don't Argue" and "The Monster of Piedras Blancas." Carmen also claimed to have had affairs with Sinatra and other celebrities. She moved to Orange County in 1978. In addition to her son, Carmen is survived by daughters Melinda Belli and Kellee Jade Campo, and three grandchildren.

i just love a "babe" thread!

happy holidays all!!!

damn! i recall a thread i did about OP's cd with hargrove: op thread for some reason the image of the cd had been deleted - but its a good 'un!

would make a beautiful desktop!

an excellent bft mike! thanks!!

but seriously, these ladies can sing!!!! check them out!!!

its dan fogelberg

move over boswell sisters - take a powder andrews sisters here are: THE PUPPINI SISTERS!!!!!!!!! YES!!!