WEATHER REPORT レコード& CD

Review: American jazz fusion outfits don't come much more venerated than Weather Report. Fronted by leader Joe Zawinul, the ensemble evolved subtly throughout their career and it was in 1974 that they dropped this album, Sweetnighter. It proved to be a little more funky and influenced by the emerging t&b of the day than its predecessors and it is also noted for being the last long player the band cut with original bassist Miroslav Vitous, as well as being the band's first album to make it into the Top 100 in the US charts of the day. It sodas as good now as ever on this nice heavyweight vinyl pressing.

Review: A whole bunch of Weather Report albums are being reissued at the moment and listening to them all reminds of the impact the US fusion group had. At first they were improvisational experts and free-jazz experimenters who eventually veered towards a more funky, r&b tinged sound. They always used the latest synth technology alongside the likes of Wayne Shorter's superb sax sounds. Their self titled album very much announced their arrival as a stunning avant guard debut in 1971. It was brave and brazen and full of imagination from a gifted set of musicians.

Review: American fusion group Weather Report were only active for just over 15 years but amassed a fine discography and assured their legacy in that time. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter is the most well-known of the band's members and after starting out as an experimental and free improvising outfit they eventually got more funky and edgy with hints of r&b creeping into their sound. The band always made use of the layettes synth technology and were one of the defining acts of the jazz era of their time as a result. Their eighth album, 1978's Mr Gone, is one of their most loved and ended up at Number 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart.

Review: Widely acclaimed and much loved American jazz fusion outfit Weather Report very much dominated the jazz landscape of the seventies and early eighties. It had an ever-rotating assembly of musicians throughout its history with the likes of Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous and American drummer Alphonse Mouzon. 8:30 is their second live album and it came in 1979, swiftly rising to No. 3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and also winning a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. Zawinul wrote the majority of the tracks which are all freely improvised and escapist.

Review: Weather Report's Live Under The Sky concert from back in 1983 was recorded at Yomiuri Land Open Theatre East in Japan. It featured a lien up that was the last ever incarnation of the legendary group with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter joined by new rhythm section players in the form of drummer Omar Hakim and bassist Victor Bailey. Tunes included in the set on the night are taken from albums such as Night Passage, Procession and Domino Theory as well as some melodies of past glories. It is a great document of a fantastic band in fine form.