Oakland Park may name park after Jaco Pastorius
By Elizabeth Baier | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
November 4, 2007
Oakland Park - Twenty years after his death, jazz legend John Francis "Jaco" Pastorius might soon be officially recognized in his hometown area.
Commissioners are scheduled to discuss naming a future downtown park after the famous bass player at their Wednesday meeting.
The city was awarded about $4 million in Broward County land preservation grants to acquire property near Northeast 38th Street and Dixie Highway, according to Ray Lubomski, assistant to the city manager. City officials unofficially have dubbed the 4-acre site "Downtown Park."
In March, a group of supporters submitted an application to the city to name the park after Pastorius.
"He's a real hero, a music giant," said Robert Rutherford, who organized the petition drive. "Nothing has been done to honor him in his hometown. It's long overdue. There needs to be some official recognition to him."
Lubomski said the park might include several open fields and a community center. It would become the 10th park in the city, he said.
To name a park or city property after a person or organization, the candidate must be deceased and have contributed significantly to the city and its residents, according to city policy. Commissioners will make the final decision.
Pastorius, the son of jazz drummer Jack Pastorius, was born Dec. 1, 1951, in Pennsylvania. His family moved to Fort Lauderdale shortly after his birth. Pastorius graduated from Northeast High School in Oakland Park in 1969, where he was voted most talented boy in his class. He quickly became a familiar sight in South Florida clubs, playing with bands such as Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders and the Peter Graves Orchestra.
By 1976, he hit it big, playing with Blood, Sweat and Tears, Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock and, by the early '80s, he earned a reputation as the best jazz bass player in the world. He also was nominated for three Grammy Awards.
By the mid-1980s, Pastorius fell victim to drug and alcohol addictions, and was characterized as someone with wild mood swings and bizarre behavior. He was arrested in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties for driving with a suspended license, breaking into an unoccupied apartment and for driving a stolen car around the running track of a park. A court declared him insolvent in August 1987, a month before he was beaten to death at a bar in Wilton Manors.
Still, Rutherford and other fans say Pastorius' contributions outweigh his tumultuous last years. Rutherford has helped collect more than 900 signatures in support of naming the park after Pastorius.
"I'd like to name the park after Jaco," Vice Mayor Layne Dallet Walls said. "He's a world-renowned jazz player ... He's one of our local kids."
Commissioners hope to make a decision on the naming by Dec. 1, which would have been Pastorius' 56th birthday.
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There are negative comments being left, everyone is entitled to their opinion on how they see things, and what they believe Jaco was. But if you have something to speak your mind about so that in a sensible and sensitive way those critics are enlightened, please do so.
