Few shadows loom quite as large on a musical child as a parent’s success. And in the case of Felix Pastorius, the shadow is especially intimidating.
Not only did he follow his late father Jaco Pastorius into the family Jazz business, he even picked up his father’s instrument: the electric bass. Felix has differentiated himself, to be sure — he plays a six-string fretted bass; his iconic father earned his reputation on a fretless four-string — but there’s no denying that Jaco developed a singular language on the electric bass and became a pioneering Jazz Fusion legend as a result
Felix and his twin brother Julius were only 5 when their father was killed in a bar fight. Just six years later, the brothers played twin basses at a memorial concert for Jaco, known for his work with trailblazers Weather Report, as well as with Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny and as a solo artist.
At 15, Felix was playing in and around Miami with the Bermuda Triangle, featuring Weather Report percussionist Robert Thomas Jr., and while still in high school, Felix and Julius formed their own band, Way of the Groove.
At 19, Felix attended a music camp conducted by renowned bassist Victor Wooten, who immediately recognized the father’s influence in the son’s performance, and ultimately pointed Felix to his longstanding gig with Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet.
Over the subsequent 18 years, Felix has worked in a variety of Jazz contexts. Ten years ago, he moved to New York and formed a new band, the Hipster Assassins, and then became a touring bassist for Cindy Blackman Santana, Jam band Jazz is Phish and A$AP Rocky.
Along the way, he did a three-year run with Yellowjackets, which raised his profile substantially, and joined yet another quartet, Venture, which recorded Life Cycle, its studio debut, last year.
With this current tour, Felix and the Hipster Assassins are removing themselves from the safe confines of their New York residencies and hitting the wider road to exhibit their skills to the world at large The tour comes to Cincinnati’s Ludlow Garage this Thursday, Sept. 26. Tickets start at $15.
Jaco remains a legend to this day, but Felix has proven that he possesses the talent and determination to run his family’s flag even further up the hill.
This article appears in Sep 18-25, 2019.