Jazz Articles about Weather Report

Weather Report: Forecast: Tomorrow

by John Kelman
October 11, 2006

Weather Report Forecast: Tomorrow Columbia/Legacy 2006 While the virtuosity of its members was never in dispute, of all the groups that emerged in the 1970s fusion era, Weather Report was the one that best avoided the trappings of excess--the victory of technical facility over musical substance to which other bands of the time fell prey. However, despite an auspicious beginning that leaned closer to a free jazz aesthetic than groups like Mahavishnu ...

Weather Report: Live and Unreleased

by Todd S. Jenkins
October 10, 2002

Columbia/Legacy have dug even deeper into their closets and dusted off eighteen excellent live performances by one of fusion's finest units. These tracks, recorded between 1975 and 1983, represent several different lineups of the band whose only permanent members were Shorter and Zawinul. As iffy as some of Weather Report's studio albums were -- too often sacrificing taste for the sake of chops -- it was always hard to argue with their astonishing live presence. The tracks gathered here hold ...

Weather Report: The Best Of Weather Report

by Jim Santella
June 1, 2002

Selected from seven albums that were recorded between 1973 and 1980, Columbia's “best of" collection of Weather Report hits makes a memorable impression. The band will never be forgotten. Throughout its 15-year existence, the jazz-rock fusion band regularly stirred a large body of emotions through its unique sound. No one else had that particular combination, which was born from tradition, full of innovation, and far from being too smooth. Wayne Shorter's natural saxophone tone casually rubbed elbows with Joe Zawinul's ...

Weather Report: Black Market

by Todd S. Jenkins
April 24, 2002

Another key turning point in the colorful evolution of Weather Report. Around the same time that Alphonso Johnson replaced founding bassist Miroslav Vitous in 1974, the band moved towards a new sound centered around electronic instruments and studio experimentation. The vital funk and soul grooves that Johnson brought into the band helped them pull off that extreme paradigm shift. Black Market is part of a reissue trilogy (along with Tale Spinnin' and Mysterious Traveller ) with which Columbia/Legacy honors the ...

Weather Report: Tale Spinnin'

by Todd S. Jenkins
April 23, 2002

Weather Report followed up their imaginative Mysterious Traveller with this too-short but exciting offering in 1975. For the time being, the lineup had jelled around Zawinul, Shorter and Johnson, with Santana drummer Ndugu and percussionist Lima coming through the revolving door of rhythm. Inspired this time around by the spirits of dance and song, the group created an enticing selection of uplifting tunes that linger in the memory more than most of their output.

“Man in the Green Shirt" is ...

Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller

by Todd S. Jenkins
April 23, 2002

In 1974, three years after the band's inception, Weather Report became one of the world's most popular jazz groups due to their uncompromising originality and musicianship. This was the year that founding member Miroslav Vitous was replaced by Alphonso Johnson, who became a critical asset as both a fluid, creative bassist and a composer. Drummer Ishmael Wilburn and Brazilian percussionist Dom Um Romao, with a shifting cast of supporting players, laid the foundation for the band's most exciting incarnation yet. ...

Weather Report: The Best of Weather Report

by Todd S. Jenkins
April 23, 2002

A long-overdue homage to perhaps the greatest fusion ensemble of all time. Centered around the molten core of Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter, Weather Report transcended category and gave shape to a fresh, vital form of improvised music during their decade-plus of prominence. Putting together a best-of from such a chameleonic entity had to be a daunting task, and no doubt some fans will scream foul over the exclusion of personal favorites. So it goes. The present compilation is more ...