NIELS LAN DOKY INTERNATIONAL JAZZ COLLECTIVE proudly PRESENTS

FELIX PASTORIUS

(The following contains excerpts from the article in JazzTimes "Felix Pastorius: Next in the Continuum -  Jaco's son honors his father's legacy on his own terms" by Bill Milkowski).

As the last name indicates, Felix is the son of bass legend Jaco Pastorius, but he has earned the distinction of a world-class musician and bass virtuoso in his own right - and with a style of his own. 

In addition to fronting his own band, the Hipster Assassins, Felix has performed with luminaries such as Bobby McFerrin, the Yellowjackets where he replaced founding member Jimmy Haslip and toured with the band from 2012 until 2015. He has also performed with guitarist David Gilmore’s Art of Ascension and has been a member of Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet for 10 years, touring with the group when the former Flecktones saxophonist is on hiatus from his duties with the Dave Matthews Band.

Born in 1982 Felix grew up in an environment of musical excellence. During his early years in Florida, Felix played with Bobby Thomas Jr.’s Bermuda Triangle band, led by the South Florida percussionist, a former bandmate of Jaco’s in Weather Report. In 2002, Felix emerged in a big way in New York, when bassist Victor Wooten presented the phenomenon at a Bass Day convention. The lanky then 20-year-old, standing 6-foot-6 and utilizing the double-jointed thumbs he inherited from his father, wowed attendees with a gutsy solo performance that showed flashes of dad’s facility. Although Jaco didn’t live to see his son follow in his musical footsteps, the inevitable associations of that unique surname connect their creative mindset to a profound degree.

In terms of measuring up to his father’s legacy, Felix' perspective is a thoughtful one. “There’s always going to be some kind of comparison or expectation,” he says, “and not only by listeners or critics, but by myself as well. But I’m just doing what’s exciting and new to me and makes me happy. I’m trying to have as much fun with it as possible for as long as I possibly can.”

As for his own development as a musician, Felix is, like his father was, “formally self-taught.” “I haven’t really had bass lessons or music lessons, per se,” he explains. “But I’ve always had the opportunity to hang around musicians in situations where most people don’t. And I don’t take it for granted. I’ve had the ability to hang around musicians in backstage areas and have them talk about stuff that they’re working on, and not necessarily be in a student-teacher situation.”

“It’s been astonishing to witness Felix’s development over the last 10 years,” says Coffin. “When he would come out with me early on, you could hear him getting better, literally on a daily basis. So with each new tour he would start out at a higher level than he ended the last one. He practices [constantly]; he’s got a great sense of time. He’s a very intuitive musician but he’s also very knowledgeable. He’s into figuring out these different configurations of arpeggiated possibilities for different chords and structures. … And he’s playing as good as anybody out there. … He’s a complete musician at this point…..He’s never once rested on any kind of Pastorius pedigree. He’s his own person, his own bass player.” Yellowjackets saxophonist Bob Mintzer, a longtime colleague of Jaco’s and a member of the bassist’s Word of Mouth big band and sextet, has known Felix since the day he was born. “I love karmic twists like this,” says Coffin, who recommended Felix for the Yellowjackets gig. Felix Pastorius has been permanently based in New York since 2009.

The band formerly known as Jazz/Takes Supergroup has changed name to Modern Standards Supergroup to align with their new album entitled "Modern Standards". The album was released May 16 by Bang&Olufsen as a limited edition exclusive double vinyl LP set but will have a broader public worldwide release in September (confidential until further notice) on all digital platforms as well as on vinyl LP. Read about the Modern Standards album here.

Based on popular demand, the group is NOW ACCEPTING OFFERS FOR North America between mid-October 2023 and February 2024, and Europe in March 2024. Saxophonist Ernie Watts replaces Bill Evans for the European tour.

The four legendary musicians embark on a musical journey based on one of the Niels Lan Doky International Jazz Collective’s most successful concepts, the Jazz/Takes concert series residing at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. While the creative task of Jazz/Takes is complex, the concept is simple: Interpreting the canons of well-established genres of contemporary music - through the lens of jazz. The MODERN STANDARDS SUPERGROUP plays a mixture of their own original compositions and jazz interpretations of flagship songs from genres we all know and love. To read more in depth click here.

FOR BOOKING OF THE MODERN STANDARDS SUPERGROUP,
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