the sound: Weather Report was a classic early jazz fusion band that featured the super-charged Rhodes electric piano of Joe Zawinul surrounded by the driving grooves of drummer Alphonse Mouzon and percussionist Airto Moreia, as well as the incisive bass work of Miroslav Vitous and the probing soprano sax work of Wayne Shorter. The group’s debut album is a rich palette of musical colors and textures, beginning with “Milky Way,” a Zawinul-Shorter duet that utilizes soprano sax, acoustic piano and subtle recording manipulation to create an eerie, spatial sound. Later comes the pulsating samba groove of “Seventh Arrow,” followed by the lovely rock influenced ballad “Orange Lady.” The record closes with the straight ahead swing of “Eurydice.” Due to the open mindedness of the musicians and their spontaneous, collective approach, the overall sound is cohesive without sounding sterile.

the background: Weather Report was one of several first generation fusion bands to emerge in the wake of the seminal Miles Davis recordings “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew.” Zawinul and Shorter were active participants in those albums, and Zawinul also contributed the title cut to “In a Silent Way.” Other fusion groups that blossomed from the two Davis albums include Tony Williams Lifetime, Herbie Hancock’s Sextant (which later became the Headhunters), the first edition of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever and John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. What set Weather Report apart from these other groups was its commitment to creating compositions that significantly blurred the lines between improvisation and ensemble passages while incorporating a variety of rock, R&B and world music textures into its tunes. And, unlike groups like Mahavishnu and later editions of Return to Forever, Weather Report did not rely on the band members’ individual technical abilities to get its music across. With Weather Report, it was always about the music.

the significance: Of the various bands mentioned above, Weather Report enjoyed the longest continuous career, lasting from 1971 until 1986 and recording 16 albums for Columbia Records. From the band’s inception until the early ’80s, Weather Report was consistently viewed as one of the premier ensembles in contemporary jazz, and it always seemed to be charting a forward direction. The group helped launch and/or enhance the careers of numerous musicians, including bassist extraordinaire Jaco Pastorious; fellow bassists Alphonso Johnson and Victor Bailey; drummers Chester Thompson, Peter Erskine and Omar Hakim; and percussionists Dom Um Romao, Manolo Badrena and Mino Cinelu. Because the band’s sound and compositional approach were constantly evolving, few other groups were ever able to duplicate the Weather Report style, which is the hallmark of one of the truly exceptional and creative music groups of the past 35 years.