Jonas and Jaco

This is an embarrassing and silly question, but here goes. Jaco Pastorius is a name that comes up a lot in my conversation, because I'm a fretless player. I see two of his CDs on my desk now. I also see a couple of Jonas Hellborg's. My first bass was an acoustic, and I really like Hellborg's stuff. (Not quite the household name that Jaco is, but he's big among acoustic bass players.) His name comes up sometimes too.

My question is this: What is the right way to pronounce their names? I sometimes hear "Yaco," with a Y sound, and sometimes "Jocko," with a J. In Hellborg's case, I hear both "Jonas" and "Yonas." When I say their names, I fake it and aim somewhere in between, like zhaco, or zhonas, because I'm not sure which is right and I'm afraid to commit. Can anyone speak with authority on the subject? How do YOU say it?

I know, silly question. But I'm an English teacher, and pronunciation is important to me. I have to set an example.

 

Thanks Eric! I never expected a reply direct from Scandinavia, but if anyone would know how to pronounce Jonas, I guess it would be you. Thanks also for the tip about the other thread. I'll admit that I didn't even try a search before asking. I'll do that now.

 

Well, I did a little search and quickly found that indeed the pronunciation of Jaco has been discussed pretty thoroughly. That's embarrassing--I'll search first, next time I have a question. But I still needed to know about Jonas, so it wasn't a complete waste. Thanks again!