Heavy Weather (Weather Report) 1977

Probably the best fusion album ever made, (1977) 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 taste of what he was capable of. He bent the notes to make them talk, and that high octave solo on ‘Birdland’ is still a treasured moment.

Recorded at Devonshire Sound Studios, North Hollywood, 1977, California. Includes liner notes by Peter Keepnews, 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).

Directors: Seth Rothstein; Kevin Gore; Steven Berkowitz.

tracks:

1. Birdland 
2. Remark You Made
3. Teen Town
4. Harlequin
5. Rumba Mama
6. Palladium
7. Juggler
8. Havona