Weather Report was the longest lasting, if also not the most important of the jazz “fusion” bands. The core of Wayne Shorter/ts-ss and Joe Zawinul/key was famous not only for its unique sound and songs such as “Birdland,” but also for having a rotating rhythm team that kept continually changing and therefore kept the sound fresh and vibrant. When they also had the paradigm-shifting bass of Jaco Pastorius, there was no stopping what they could achieve.
This 4 disc set finds these three giants together along with drummer Peter Erskine on all of the concerts and percussionist Robert Thomas for about half of them. The concerts are mostly in Japan and England and between 1980 albums Mr. Gone and their 1982 Weather Report, just before Pastorius got replaced by Victor Bailey. Besides their well known pieces such as “Birdland,” “A Remark You Made,” “Black Market,” “Badia/Boogie Waltz” and “Teen Town,” you get some wonderful solos and duets. Pastorius gets a couple chances in the spotlight, as do Shorter and Erskine, but one of the highlights has to bee the duet between Zawinul and Shorter from a 1978 gig in Tokyo. Then, there’s a 21 minute take of “Gibraltor” that is a powerhouse tour-de-force, with Pastorius’ bass work a force of nature throughout the entire piece, and a 17 minute jam on “Madagascar” that leaves few standing after the shootout.
For recordings that were handled by a cassette back in the Carter/Reagan years, the sound is absolutely amazingly clear. Also, WR was well known for adding layered effects to their recordings, even their famed concert albums, but this one is the stripped down band with no air-brushing, and the delivery is better for it. Drummer Peter Erskine’s liner notes keep the band and music in perspective with some rich insight.
It’s impossible not to compare this band with the 1971 band that also put out recorded performances from concerts. That team, which had the rhythm team of Dom Um Romao/perc, Miraslov Vitous/b and Eric Gravatt/dr was looser, more aggressive and wilder and more to the left than this later version. Both swing, but in different ways. The Pastorius team has a tighter rhythm that gets locked into deep and attractive rivulets, and Zawinul feels more at home and in charge surrounded by his keyboards. Both bands changed the direction of music, with this one more loved than respected. The reverse is true of the earlier incarnation. Was this the last influential jazz band?
Sony Legacy