Weather Report (1982 album)

Weather Report  is the twelfth album from the jazz group 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, bringing to an end what many fans considered the best lineup in the band's history.

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

Personnel
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, voice
Peter Erskine – Drums, drum computer, claves
Robert Thomas Jr. – Percussion
Technical
Neil Dorfsman, Mitch Gibson - engineer
Joseph Futterer, Richie Powell - art direction
Don Dixon - cover artwork

References

External links

Weather Report Annotated Discography: Weather Report (1982)

Category:1982 albums
Category:Columbia Records albums
Category:Weather Report albums