£15,000 - £25,000
Jaco Pastorius - 1974 Anthony Zemaitis Custom four string fretless bass guitar, made in England; Body: mahogany body with Danny O'Brien engraved alloy metal front, alloy metal back panels, various dings and scratches as to be expected for age; Neck: mahogany with unusual gothic style nomenclature shape, some dings; Fingerboard: ebony with pearl dot position markers and boxwood fret markers; Electrics: working, fitted with Fender pickups and with three-way pickup selector switch; Hardware: good, hand tooled bridge and engraved stop bar, Schaller tuners; Weight: 5.20kg; Overall condition: good
*Made by Tony Zemaitis for Melvyn Whittaker in 1974. Returned to Tony circa 1978 to be converted to a fretless bass. Played by Jaco Pastorius in Oxford, England, circa 1979.
In a spring 2000, issue 14 of The Z Gazette, an interview between Keith Smart and Melvyn Whittaker discusses the history of this bass guitar. The article includes photos of Mel's collection and images of legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius playing it. When Jaco's band were playing in Oxford, England, circa 1979, Mel had a guest list pass via the band's guitar tech. As Jaco predominantly used a fretless bass, Melvyn took it along assuming that it may interest him. Following a soundcheck, the pair met and Jaco played it for nearly an hour, commenting 'What an instrument, this is the most incredible instrument that I've ever played in my life'.
Further comments in the feature discuss the pickups, where Mel recalls that they were from an original Fender Telecaster bass that had been given to Tony by Ian McClagan (Faces/Small Faces).
Sold with a certificate of authenticity from Keith Smart, confirming that this is a genuine Anthony Zemaitis guitar, made for Mel Whittaker in 1974.
**See lots 500 and 501 for further similar Zemaitis guitars from the same collection
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