Weather Report (1982)
Studio album by
Weather Report
ReleasedJanuary 1982
RecordedJuly - August 1981
StudioThe Power Station (New York City)
Sound Castle (Los Angeles, California)
GenreJazz fusion
Length42:13
LabelARC/Columbia
ProducerJoe Zawinul, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter
Weather Report chronology
Night Passage
(1980)		 Weather Report (1982)
(1982)		 Procession
(1983)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[3]

Weather Report is the tenth studio album by the American jazz fusion band Weather Report, released in January 1982. The band's first album is also self-titled, causing confusion among consumers and retailers upon its release. It is the final album featuring bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius and drummer Peter Erskine in the rhythm section.

Background

The album features an increasingly heavy use of synthesized orchestration from Josef Zawinul, who had been becoming even more dominant within the band's sound. Zawinul was by now frequently doubling the basslines on Quadra synthesizer, something which annoyed and alienated Pastorius, who also had reservations about Zawinul's electronic big band sound (and who was himself increasingly working on a side career with a mostly acoustic band).

The vast majority of the album was composed by Zawinul, with the exception of one Wayne Shorter piece and one collectively composed item assembled from a group jam. The center piece of the album is the three part "N.Y.C." The three movement suite starts with 41st Parallel, a bouncing groove showing off Erskine's unique touch on the drums. The second movement, The Dance, is a more traditional swing feel, but with Zawinul's synthesizer orchestration heavily laid on top. The final movement, Crazy About Jazz, is a cordial ending.

Track listing

  1. "Volcano for Hire" (Zawinul) – 5:25
  2. "Current Affairs" (Zawinul) – 5:54
  3. "N.Y.C. (41st Parallel/The Dance/Crazy About Jazz)" (Zawinul) – 10:11
  4. "Dara Factor One" (Zawinul) – 5:25
  5. "When It Was Now" (Shorter) – 4:45
  6. "Speechless" (Zawinul) – 5:58
  7. "Dara Factor Two" (Zawinul, Shorter, Pastorius, Erskine, Thomas Jr.) – 4:27

Personnel

Weather Report

  • Josef Zawinul – electric keyboards, piano, synthesized horn/strings/brass/woodwind, clay drum, drum computer, percussion, voice, front cover concept
  • Wayne Shorter – tenor and soprano saxophones
  • Jaco Pastorius – bass guitar, percussion, vocals
  • Peter Erskine – drums, drum computer, claves
  • Robert Thomas Jr. – percussion

Production

  • Neil Dorfsman – engineer (at the Power Station)
  • Brian Risner – engineer (recording, mixing)
  • Mitch Gibson – assistant engineer (at Soundcastle studios)
  • Joseph Futterer – art direction
  • Richie Powell – art direction
  • Don Dixon – cover artwork

References

  1. ↑ Ginell, Richard S. (2011). "Weather Report [1982] - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  2. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1475. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  3. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
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