Jaco Pastorius

In his short but brilliant career, he pioneered a new standard of rapid-fire virtuosity on the electric bass and helped bridge the jazz and pop music of his day. Close collaborators offer a retrospective on Jaco Pastorius.

As the British Invasion changed the landscape of the music industry, jazz musicians had to adapt to popular music written by the bands themselves instead of hired songwriters. But as we hear in these five Beatles covers, jazz musicians were finding their own voices in the Fab Four's tunes.

Weekend Edition Sunday music director Ned Wharton presents his annual holiday gift guide, with the latest edition of "Director's Cuts." Suggestions include the Blind Boys of Alabama (left), whose new CD, Go Tell It On the Mountain, features vocals by Tom Wait, Chrissie Hynde and others.