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Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
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Felix Pastorius onstage with Venture in July 2018
(Photo: ©Mark Sheldon)Seeing Felix Pastorius in action with his band, the Hipster Assassins, it’s impossible not to think of his famous father, Jaco Pastorius (1951–’87). The familial likeness is uncanny, but the 6-foot-6-inch Felix is much taller than his dad was.
He possesses a couple of other distinctive Pastorius traits—double-jointed thumbs, and unusually long fingers that allow for some singular chordal voicings and stretches on the fretboard of his bass. What’s different about father and son is that Jaco was a four-string bassist who developed his signature voice on a fretless axe, while Felix plays a six-string, fretted bass. And while Jaco’s legacy might have weighed heavily on his son’s shoulders early on in his career, Felix, at age 37, has developed his own vocabulary on the instrument and built an impressive career.
“Being a bass player and being Jaco Pastorius’ son can’t be easy, but this guy’s got a graceful way of wearing all that,” said veteran drummer Mike Clark, who plays alongside Pastorius in the cooperative quartet Venture; the band made its recorded debut in 2018 on Ropeadope. “He’s just his own guy. He’s kind of a lone wolf and he’s quiet. He’s kind of chill compared to all the sharks up here in New York. But he can play, there’s no doubt.”
Born June 9, 1982, Felix seemed destined to become a bassist. At age 11, he and his twin brother, Julius, both playing basses, performed a touching rendition of Jaco’s “Continuum” at a 1993 memorial concert for their father held in New York. By 15, Felix began playing around the South Beach area of Miami with former Weather Report percussionist Robert Thomas Jr.’s band, The Bermuda Triangle. “My mom would drive me down there and wait until whatever ungodly hour of the night or morning, and drive me all the way back up to Deerfield Beach, because I was too young to drive at that point,” he recalled. A couple years later, the Pastorius twins formed their own band, Way Of The Groove, with Julius switching to drums.
Since 2001, Felix has played with Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet, a group the saxophonist leads when he’s not on the road with the Dave Matthews Band. “Felix has become the bass player I always knew he could be,” Coffin said. “He’s been fiercely dedicated to whatever he does since I’ve known him and he puts all of his focus and effort into it. His decision to be a great bass player was a conscious one, I believe. He’s always had an incredible feel and time, and everything else worked its way in through experience. I am exceedingly proud of him and thrilled that more people have found out about his incredible musicianship. It was only a matter of time.”
It was Victor Wooten, an important mentor in Pastorius’ life, who recommended the young bassist for the Mu’tet gig nearly 20 years ago. “I remember when Felix first visited one of my music camps,” said Wooten, who encountered the aspiring bassist at his Bass/Nature retreat in the Tennessee woods back in 2001. “I was walking up to a building with my friend, Steve Bailey, and heard what sounded like a newer version of Jaco Pastorius coming from inside. We knew it had to be Felix. The sound was authentic. Felix has been impressing me and raising the bar ever since. He has developed into a complete musician with his own sound.”
Pastorius moved to New York during the summer of 2009 and a year later began a weekly Monday night residency at the Zinc Bar with the Hipster Assassins, a dynamic two-bass quintet featuring fellow bassist and longtime friend Mike Bendy, his brother John Bendy on guitar, Chris Ward on saxophone and electronics, and powerhouse drummer Kenny Grohowski. In 2010 and 2011, Pastorius toured in Cindy Blackman Santana’s band, Another Lifetime, her tribute to drummer and role model Tony Williams. At the time of this interview at Pastorius’ home in Brooklyn, he was preparing for a weeklong residency at Blue Note Tokyo with Blackman Santana’s current band.
Pastorius—who had a three-year stint with Yellowjackets, touring with the group and playing on 2013’s A Rise In The Road (Mack Avenue)—maintains a busy schedule nowadays, performing with the jam band Jazz Is Phish and the hip-hop influenced, experimental jazz band Onyx Collective. And last year, he toured as a member of rapper A$AP Rocky’s band. “It’s kind of all over the place, man,” Pastorius said of his in-demand status. “I don’t have one path. I’m taking whatever comes around and keeping my ears wide open.”
Meanwhile, the Hipster Assassins is making a push beyond its home base at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. “We’re testing the waters,” Pastorius said, referring to recent shows in the Northeast and Midwest. “We’re just trying to let people know we’re willing to leave Manhattan to go play music. We’re trying to make something happen.” DB
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