Weather Report – Mysterious Traveller

April 30 - INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY celebrated under the auspices of UNESCO since 2012

★★★★★

   Considering the leading role of various jazz ensembles of the seventies, it is reasonable to believe the paramount band in fusion jazz was Weather Report. It has longest period of activity, unlike John Mc Laughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters or Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, Weather Report has more than one leader, the style of the band was the most varied in different moments and it comprised widest inspirations of jazz, rock, funk and world music. And what is most momentous, Weather Report was more than any other of mentioned bands related with all style. It was continuing the sound of first Miles Davies’ electric band; it was connected with structures of modern jazz, world music, funk and rock.
   Through the 16 years of Weather Report’s history band has published 16 official albums (13 studio and 3 live). Constant activity required many changes of style. As two leaders, Wayne Shorter and Josef Zawinul were playing through all band’s history, and drummers were changing frequently, the best way to set the activity of the band into periods is to focus on bassists, the third most regular position in the band. It can be divided into four periods depending of presence of bass players: Miroslav Vitous years (1971-1973), Alphonso Johnson years (1974-1976), Jaco Pastorious years (1977-1981) and Victor Bailey years (1982-1986) being the final period in the history of the band.
   After great success of first Weather Report album, after spread of new fusion sound, band was changing its direction. First turn in the history of Weather Report was parting with Miroslav Vitous after three studio records and one album of live recordings (Live in Tokio). Fifth Weather Report album under somehow symbolic title Mysterious Traveller was a sensation of 1974 music market. Clear and transparent, alive and energetic, many dimensional yet focused, this music has potential to inspire and to answer the question of possible development of fusion jazz, although this was still the time the style was specified as jazz-rock. This was also first Weather Report album with new bass player.

Weather Report – Mysterious Traveller (1974)

   The Mysterious Traveler can be seen as an attempt of refreshing the idea of fusion by resumption the late sixties idea of style synthesis and improvising freedom. Compositions of this album are more open and unfinished than before, loosely in formal attempt, but more free in pure musical and dancing context. In 1974 this was like fulfilling the idea of fusion, not just between jazz and rock, but between jazz and all genres of popular music, with special feature position of R&B. Funk syncopation and rhythmic ostinatos gave these compositions character and drive as was remembered from Miles Davis first electric albums. The sound space was expanded by lots of rhythmic instruments, electronic effects and human voices. Five vocalists (Edna Wright, Marti McCall, Jessica Smith, James Gilstrad and Billie Barnum) have their part in Nubian Sundance only, but as it was first and longest track, it dominated whole album with powerful audacity and intensity.
   The narration was dominated by funky compositions of A-Side: Nubian Sundance and Cucumber Slumber, and ethnic framework of 2nd Side: Mysterious Traveller and Jungle Book. These compositions were divided by three compositions American Tango, Blackthorn Rose and Scarlet Woman. First pair has its contrast in American Tango where band appeared for the last time with Miroslav Vitous. Its style is connected with Sweetnighter compositions, although it is also related to the actual direction. After four records strengthening position of Miroslav Vitous, this was first of three records with Alphonso Johnson playing bass guitar. The sound of the band was broaden by the drummers Ishmael Wilburn, and Dom Um Romão playing percussion and additional musicians in some tracks only: drummer Skip Hadden, and percussionist Ray Barretto, Meruga, Steve Little playing timpani, Isacoff playing tabla and Don Ashworth playing ocarinas and woodwinds.
   The same relation can be noticed in Scarlet Woman, nice continuation of firmly established Weather Report style composition. Between these layers and sections the real pearl is Blackthorn Rose, a chamber duo of Wayne Shorter and Joseph Zawinul, beautiful example of responsive improvising. In a way Mysterious Traveller album is an evidence of searching for new directions. It had some transition moments of references with the earlier era of the band but the power of compositions are taken from lots of creative ideas. Five stars for one of iconic albums of the seventies. 

Weather Report – I Sing the Body Electric

There are only few jazz ensembles being as much popular among jazz fans and those, who have never switched to jazz. Even comparing to all fusion groups, Weather Report was always more recognizable than Herbie Hancock’s „Head Hunters”, Chick Corea’s „Return to Forever” or John McLaughlin’s „Mahavishnu Orchestra”. The great audience appreciation was not instantly the effect of musicians work. Also the connection between group’s style and the idea of fusion jazz was not automatic. After success of their first record, musicians were trying to expand their sound possibilities. The core of the group was still constituted by the same three artists – Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter and Miroslav Vitouš. In effect of disagreements during European tour promoting first album of Weather Report group stop their cooperation with Alphonse Mouzon. For live gigs and later recordings they had engaged Brazilian percussionist Dom Um Romão and after parting with Mouzon they incorporated new drummer Eric Gravatt.

After great success of Weather Reports debut which was chose an album of the year in Down Beat readers poll, after series of successful tours all over the world, in 1972 fusion super group published their second album. Opening with Zawinul’s spatial and ambient composition Unknown Soldier, first part of this record is full of brilliant ideas, surprising turns of musical narration and freely impressions. The way musicians are organizing the contents of this album means group withdrawal from collective improvisation and basing on intuition creation. Predominant model of musical material organization is composition, form improvisations is dialoguing between Shorter playing saxophones and Zawinul on electronic keyboards or between Shorter and Vitouš who was playing his own acoustic version of funk. Like in Miles Davis’ fusion recordings, rhythmic intensity is the driving force of Weather Report sound. Drummers and percussion players were changing, but still this feature applies to all records by the band.

Weather Report – I Sing the Body Electric (1972)

The second album from the band Weather Report was an attempt to link the various tendencies and the result of seeking a new balance between the elements of arrangements and improvisation. It has been assumed two different points of view, one option was studio recording in part one and different one was live recording in the second part. The A-Side was recorded in New York CBS Studios – first two selections in November 1971, next two in January 1972. In Unknown Soldier group was augmented by Andrew White playing English horn, flutist Hubert Laws Jr., trumpeter Wilmer Wise and voices of Joshie Armstrong, Yolande Bavan and Chapman Roberts. And The Moors is developing from solo played by Ralph Towner on 12-string guitar. All B-Side selections were recorded January 13th, 1972 in Tokyo concert performance. And here construction of the pieces is no longer the matter of composition. Dialogues between Zawinul and Shorter tend to collective improvisation, which at the start recalls the style of Miles Davis’ band during the In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew period, however, is much denser. In Surucucú and Directions returning echoes of free jazz and late sixties modern jazz.

The rich, dense structure of the album has been extended by semantic context of the title. The phrase I Sing the Body Electric is taken probably from the Ray Bradbury short story collection with the same tittle. But it is also the tittle of very well known poem by Walt Whitman, where he is saying about the sensual human body. Whitman is idealizing human body, sanctifying women and men bodies and giving them sacred dimension. Agatha, the heroine of Bradbury’s story, is a child with doubts about a surrogate of her dead mother – she rejects Electrical Grandmother until she realizes the surrogate is immortal. The title of Weather Report album corresponds with the cover by Ed Lee, with art by Jack Trompeter and Fred Swanson. The designers have focused their attention on the futuristic references to electronic instrumentation and spatial sound of this music.

Weather Report – Weather Report

Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter were friends since 1959 when they played in Maynard Ferguson Big Band. Next time they met in one ensemble when working together with Miles Davis during recording sessions for his avant-garde fusion albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. Shorter was tenor and soprano saxophonist in Davis’ quintets since 1964. It is interresting, John Coltrane proposed Shorter as his replacement in 1960, but this time he found his engagement in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Playing with famous lineup of Davis’ quintet since 1964, Wayne Shorter was one of very few artists with so long onstage experience with Miles Davis. But in 1970 he was ready to go off the quintet for more artistic freedom and autonomy. Zawinul was in much the same situation after parting the Julian Cannonball Adderly’s Quintet where he played through the whole decade. He was composer of some well known themes as Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Walk Tall or Country Preacher.

Working in shadow of famous leaders Zawinul and Shorter successfully achieved their featured positions as composers, musicians and improvisers. Few months after parting with Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley quintets, Shorter and Zawinul begun working together with brilliant Czech bass virtuoso Miroslav Vitouš. They founded a new group called Weather Report which was vehicle for developing the idea of fusion in more collective direction. Three musicians were three pillars of musical style and work’s construction but complete lineup included also drummer Alphonse Mouzon and percussionist Airto Moreira. In February 1971 they recorded their debut album named the same as the name of the group – Weather Report.

Weather Report – Weather Report (1971)

As a contradiction to previous recordings with Miles Davis, new group moved towards more popular idea of fusion music. In place of long trance compositions, Weather Report album includes eight compositions, four on every side what can evoke standard rock songs. Also sound and construction ideas can be connected with some progressive rock experiences like Soft Machine. Later development of Weather Report’s music drove to more complex sound and strong rhythmic continuity, but on their first album musicians played more ambient, more tone color and still more trance music than ever after. Weather Report’s debut is more conceptual than Davis’ fusion recordings but it’s quite enough jazz in rhythmic, harmonic and melodic sense.

After all Weather Report album was warmly received by listeners and critics. In Down Beat Readers Poll this record has been chosen as a jazz album of the year. This success has its basis in searching modern sound. Of course many listeners were concerned of Joe Zawinul and his electronic keyboards, but in fact not smaller contribution to the sound of this compositions has soprano saxophone of Wayne Shorter. It was quite a revelation, pure soprano sounds like trails of light in thick rhythmic structures. This could be the material for next (but never happened) revolution in jazz. Some ideas were later presented by other saxophonists. Some other had been developed in music of Weather Report and whole generation of fusion artists.

Weather Report – Sweetnighter

Among many groundbreaking recordings and concerts presented by groups of progressive rock and electric jazz in early seventies, Weather Report should be seen as quite unique phenomenon. Considering Miles Davis recordings from electric period, Weather Report become one of most recognizable modern jazz groups playing fusion jazz. And it was always much more popular than other fusion, jazz-rock formations, even these less ambitious, playing soft jazz or rock with elements of improvisation. But even these less ambitious groups in early seventies were ephemeras and didn’t play significant role in the world of music. Weather Report was highly noted from their first recording.

In the beginnings group was joint enterprise of three musicians Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter and Miroslav Vitous. Zawinul and Shorter were friends since 1959 when they met playing in Maynard Ferguson’s Big Band. They knew classically trained bass virtuoso Miroslav Vitous from Miles Davis electric sessions. These three musicians became core of the group for the first three years of its history while other instrumentalists, especially drummers and percussionists were permanently changing. Third studio album of the group and last record of this lineup was Sweetnighter – almost 45 minutes of music recorded during five days session in February 1973.

Weather Report – Sweetnighter  (1973)

Weather Report personnel on Sweetnighter is diversified and varies in each track. Joe Zawinul playing keyboards – electric and acoustic piano and synthesizer – clearly catches the role of a leader. Wayne Shorter plays soprano saxophone and he is establishing the sound that became hallmark of the group and subject of thousand imitations through the whole seventies. Miroslav Vitous is playing in all tunes but last one, Wayne Shorter’s Non-Stop Home – the track can be seen as forecast of next album Mysterious Traveller. Uncomplicated, groovy ostinatos were more funky or R&B than jazz and were definitely not enough sophisticated to satisfy ambitious virtuoso. On next album Vitous is present only in one tune and these are marks of his conflict with Zawinul which nature was probably not only musical. The whole group encloses five other musicians. There are two drummers – Eric Gravatt and Herschel Dwellingham, two percussionists – Dom Um Romao and Steve „Muruga” Booker, as well one multi instrumentalist Andrew N. White III playing electric bass and English horn.

What makes Sweetnighter so exceptional is the rhythmic continuity. Trance intensity of 125th Street Congress, a 12-minutes long composition by Zawinul on B-Side brings on mind few years earlier Miles Davis electric recordings. A kind of sensation in 1973 was opening the album 13-minutes track and based on ostinatos – Boogie Woogie Waltz. Repetitions were the principle method of organizing whole material of the composition – in accompaniment as well as in solos which are series of repetitions of the same motifs. Some listeners believed the title and triple metre of this composition are associated with Zawinul’s Vienna origins, but considering characteristics of boogie woogie and waltz it is clear the idea was to connect these two into one. From the construction point of view the more traditional theme is Shorter’s Manolete, but it is still based on repeating motifs. Generally program of Sweetnighter album is the cycle of dreamy sound visions came from new possibilities of electronics and drive by repeating strong rhythmic patterns. This is what made Weather Report group of the year 1973 in Down Beat Readers Poll and their third album one of best  definitions of fusion jazz.