Weather Report
If you’ve been kind enough to follow the various jazz biographies I’ve been posting, you may have noticed that things kind of dropped off the edge of the earth around 1975. It’s not that there still wasn’t jazz; I just haven’t gotten around to talking about what happened to the up-and-coming musicians of the next generation who had performed with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc… So when Blueneck requested Weather Report as a topic for this week it pointed out to me that I still have plenty of folks to talk about for the benefit of newcomers to jazz.
Weather Report was one of the earliest and most influential jazz-fusion (or jazz-rock) groups. Joe Zawinul (keyboards) and Wayne Shorter (saxophone), both formerly of Miles Davis’ bands, formed the group in 1971. Shorter had played with the 1960’s quintet that included Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, while Zawinul, one of the early masters of the synthesizer, had worked with Davis in the earliest days of the fusion movement. Before joining Davis’ group, he played electric piano in the Cannonball Adderly Quintet, where he created the sound that so impressed Davis.
If you liked the sound of the later Miles Davis groups on albums such as “In A Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew,” then you’ll likely enjoy Weather Report, as the group basically took the sounds Miles was pioneering in those albums as their starting point for further sonic explorations.
Weather Report started out as the jazz equivalent of what the rock world in 1970 was calling a “supergroup.” But unlike most rock supergroups, Weather Report not only kept going for 15 years, it more than lived up to its reputation, helping to define fusion jazz throughout almost all of its run. The group anticipated and contributed to the North American interest in world music rhythms and structures, due to Zawinul’s interest in that direction. And like other long-lived jazz groups, Weather Report proved to be an incubator for several future leaders who passed in and out of the band over the years while Zawinul and Shorter provided continuity and guidance to the others, and composed most of the band’s music.
Unlike many groups, Weather Report focused on a group sound, creating complex arrangements in addition to their improvised solos. This sometimes made it difficult to distinguish between the soloist and accompanists, because all were virtuosos on their instruments, whether soloing or accompanying the soloist.
The original band included Miroslav Vitous on electric base, percussionist Airto Moreira and drummer Alphonze Mauzon on their self-titled debut album and the follow-up “I sing the Body Electric”. However, the greatest line-up for the band may have been in the mid 1970’s with Jaco Pastorious on base and Peter Erskine on drums. This group put out the fine records “Black Market,” “Mr. Gone,” and “Heavy Weather,” (their biggest selling album, which included the hit “Birdland”). After Erskine and Pastorious left, they were replaced by Omar Hakim and Victor Bailey, respectively. While they were fine musicians, they lacked the fire of their predecessors and the later albums of the band were polished yet somewhat detached. Shorter and Zawinul disbanded the group in 1987. Rumors of a 1996 reunion of the group never came to pass.
Besides Zawinul and Shorter, perhaps the most famous musician to pass through the band was Jaco Pastorius, a pioneer on the electric bass who took it from a rhythm instrument to an important solo instrument by playing with speed and grace, often dazzling audiences with his virtuosity during unaccompanied solos . He created a slippery effect by using a fretless bass. He has influenced countless bass players to this day. He joined Weather Report in 1976 and left in 1982, forming his own group Word of Mouth. He was known for his ego, and was addicted to alcohol and heroin. He died tragically in 1987 of head injuries after he started a fight at a bar.
For more information, an excellent website is Weather Report: The Annotated Discography; here’s a sample:
Welcome! If you are new to this site, then a wealth of information about the band Weather Report awaits you. Albums are listed chronologically on the left. Just click the title of any album to get started. If you want to learn more about the discography itself, read the About The Discography page.
The rest of this page contains news about the current activities of former Weather Report band members, as well as information about updates to this web site.
Upcoming: More artists in the same generation of jazz musicians; Return to Forever and Grover Washington, among others.
February Jazz Birthdays:
1 February: Joe Sample. Born 1939; Sadao Watanabe. Born 1933.
2 February: Stan Getz. Born 1927; Sonny Stitt. Born 1924.
7 February: Eubie Blake. Born 1883.
9 February: Bill Evans. Born 1958.
10 February: Sir Roland Hanna. Born 1932.
17 February: Herbie Lewis. Born 1941.
20 February: Nancy Wilson. Born 1937.
27 February: Dexter Gordon. Born 1923.
Jazz Funeral For Democracy on DVD
With the comments in a diary earlier this week that we should hold a wake for the republic today on the site, I was reminded of the “Jazz Funeral for Democracy” that was held in New Orleans on inauguration day 2005. A little googling revealed that the event was recorded on DVD and is available for purchase; here is the link, and here is some information:
This DVD of the Jazz Funeral for Democracy – A Wake for Peace, records a traditional New Orleans Jazz Funeral, mourning the death of America, but hoping from this soul of America will rise forth a spirit of peace, truth and justice, crushing the lies and evils of the neocons and their corporate controlled media.
It captures a Jazz Funeral held in New Orleans, La. on January 20, 2005, the same day George W. Bush was inaugrated President of U.S.A., mourning the death of democracy, but celebrating the hope that from this soul city will arise truth, justice, and peace over Skull&Bones. [snip]
On January 20, 2005, a Jazz Funeral for Democracy was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thousands of concerned citizens, war veterans, and persons of peace from all walks of life came together to exercise their version of political and social activism. They marched and spoke out against the inauguration of George W. Bush. They joined hands and gave countless reasons why there should not be any Iraq-Afghan Oil wars. They carried signs in protest of the Patriot Act as they shouted, Impeach Bush! As the corporate media dishes out its’ version of the war on terror, gruesome photos of Iraq war casualties, civilian, soldier and child alike find there way into the picture galleries of independent media blogs. This is the documentation of that daunting moment in American history, when we were and still are represented with a government of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations. So help me God. In oil we trust.
The DVD is a record of a traditional New Orleans Jazz Funeral, mourning the death of America, protesting the war in Iraq, speaking out, standing up and coming together to say that the free-spirit of the American soul will rise forth to overcome this tyranny. To say we will spread the message of truth and justice, and will crush the lies and evil of the neocons and their corporate controlled media. This film is a documentary of peace and protest showing the strength and solidarity of the anti-war movement in the New Orleans community. You will see and hear this Jazz Funeral for Democracy where the Patriot Act was burned; its ashes tossed into the Mississippi River. [snip]
See New Orleans before Katrina, before the US Administration’s criminal neglect of the disaster. [snip]
The Jazz Funeral for Democracy DVD – A peaceful documentary.