Weather Report Heavy Weather CD

Weather Report: Joe Zawinul (vocals, piano, synthesizer, melodica); Jaco Pastorius (vocals, fretless bass, mando-cello, drums, steel drums); Manolo Bandrena (vocals, percussion); Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones); Alex Acuna (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by John Ephland.
Weather Report: Joe Zawinul (vocals, acoustic & Fender Rhodes pianos, synthesizer); Jaco Pastorious (vocals, fretless bass, mandocello, drums, steel drums); Manolo Bandrena (vocals, percussion); Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones); Alex Acuna (drums).
Recorded at Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by Peter Keepnews.
Master Sound releases are 24-karat gold CDs remastered from first-generation masters. This process utilizes 20-bit technology and Sony's "Super Bit Mapping" system.
This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players.
Weather Report: Joe Zawinul (vocals, piano, synthesizers, melodica); Jaco Pastorius (vocals, fretless bass, mando-cello, drums, steel drums); Manolo Bandrena (vocals, percussion); Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones); Alex Acuna (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by John Ephland.
Composers: Jaco Pastorius; Joe Zawinul.
Personnel: Joe Zawinul (vocals, guitar, melodica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, synthesizer, Oberheim synthesizer, drums, tabla); Jaco Pastorius (vocals, mandocello, mandolin, drums, steel drum); Manolo Badrena (vocals, congas, tambourine, timbales, percussion); Wayne Shorter (saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Tom Oberheim (synthesizer); Alex Acuña (drums, congas, tom tom, hand claps, percussion).
Liner Note Author: John Ephland.
Recording information: Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA (1977).
Directors: Seth Rothstein; Kevin Gore; Steven Berkowitz.
Illustrator: Lou Beach.
Photographers: Don Hunstein; Keith Williams; Keith Williamson; Keith Williams.
Unknown Contributor Role: Brian Risner.
Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular and artistic success -- and for the same reasons. For one thing, Joe Zawinul revealed an unexpectedly potent commercial streak for the first time since his Cannonball Adderley days, contributing what has become a perennial hit, "Birdland." Indeed, "Birdland" is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band. The other factor is the full emergence of Jaco Pastorius as a co-leader; his dancing, staccato bass lifting itself out of the bass range as a third melodic voice, completely dominating his own ingenious "Teen Town" (where he also plays drums!). By now, Zawinul has become WR's de facto commander in the studio; his colorful synthesizers dictate the textures, his conceptions are carefully planned, with little of the freewheeling improvisation of only five years before. Wayne Shorter's saxophones are now reticent, if always eloquent, beams of light in Zawinul's general scheme while Alex Acuña shifts ably over to the drums and Manolo Badrena handles the percussion. Released just as the jazz-rock movement began to run out of steam, this landmark album proved that there was plenty of creative life left in the idiom. ~ Richard S. Ginell
Probably the best fusion album ever made, and the coming together of five precociously talented musicians. Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter assembled the unit with little knowledge that the complex music would become so accessible. Two compostions stand out; the graceful 'A Remark You Made', an evocative love song without words, and the hit single 'Birdland' (so successful it was even used by Akai for a major advertising campaign). On these two Zawinul compostions their genius bass player Jaco Pastorius gives a tastQ (6/92, p.121) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...The fact that this is one of those jazz albums that traditionally appeals to people who don't particularly like jazz should not be read as disparagement..."