Weather ReportThe Complete Guide

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ContentsArticlesOverviewWeather Report 1 1 15 15 21 27 29 33 38 39 40 42 43 45 56 58 60 61 66 67 68 70 74 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88

The membersJoe Zawinul Wayne Shorter Miroslav Vitou Airto Moreira Alphonse Mouzon Dom Um Romo Greg Errico Alphonso Johnson Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Chester Thompson Jaco Pastorius Alex Acua Don Alias Manolo Badrena Peter Erskine Omar Hakim Victor Bailey Mino Cinelu Narada Michael Walden

Studio albumsWeather Report (1971) I Sing the Body Electric Sweetnighter Mysterious Traveller Tale Spinnin' Black Market Heavy Weather Mr. Gone

Night Passage Weather Report (1982) Procession Domino Theory Sportin' Life This Is This!

90 92 94 96 98 100 102 102 104 107 110 110 114 114 116 116

Live albumsLive in Tokyo 8:30 Live and Unreleased

CompilationsForecast: Tomorrow

Compositions"Birdland"

Discography and listsDiscography

ReferencesArticle Sources and Contributors Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 121 123

Article LicensesLicense 124

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OverviewWeather ReportWeather Report

Weather Report live June 11, 1981 Background information Origin Genres Years active Labels Associated acts New York City, USA Jazz, jazz fusion 19701986 Columbia Records Jaco Pastorius

Past members Joe Zawinul Wayne Shorter Miroslav Vitou Airto Moreira Alphonse Mouzon Dom Um Romo Eric Gravatt Greg Errico Alphonso Johnson Ishmael Wilburn Skip Hadden Alyrio Lima Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Chester Thompson Jaco Pastorius Alex Acua Don Alias Manolo Badrena Peter Erskine Erich Zawinul Robert Thomas Jr. Omar Hakim Victor Bailey Jose Rossy Mino Cinelu Narada Michael Walden Steve "Muruga" Booker

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Josef "Joe" Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter (and, initially, by Czech bass player Miroslav Vitou). Other prominent members at various points in the bands lifespan included Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Alphonso Johnson, Victor Bailey, Airto Moreira and Chester Thompson. Alongside Chick Corea's Return to Forever, Herbie Hancocks Headhunters, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Pat Metheny Group and the early 1970s Miles Davis electric bands, Weather Report is considered to be one of the pre-eminent jazz fusion bands , although the band members themselves disdained the term. As a continuous working unit, Weather Report outlasted all of its contemporaries despite frequent changes of personnel, with a career lasting sixteen years between 1970 and 1986.

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Musical styleOver a sixteen-year career Weather Reports music explored various areas, centred on jazz (including both the "free" and "Latin" varieties) but also including various elements of art music, ethnic music, R&B, funk and rock. While their work was often categorised as "jazz fusion", the band members themselves generally rejected the term. From the start, Weather Report took the unusual and innovative approach of abandoning the traditional "soloist/accompaniment" demarcation of straight-ahead jazz and instead featuring opportunities for continuous improvisation by every member of the band. This position remained consistent throughout the life of the band. From the mid-1970s individual solos became more prominent, but were never allowed to overwhelm the musics collective approach. Initially, the band's music featured a free, extended improvisational method (similar to Miles Davis's Bitches Brew-period work), but by the mid-1970s this had moved towards more groove-orientated and pre-structured music (as epitomised by their hit single "Birdland"). Joe Zawinul's playing style was often dominated by quirky melodic improvisations (simultaneously bebop-, ethnic-, and pop-sounding) combined with sparse but rhythmic big-band chords or bass lines. Having originally made his name as a pioneering electric piano player, he went on to consistently develop the role of the synthesizer in jazz during his time with Weather Report. Working with companies such as ARP and Oberheim, Zawinul developed new ways of voicing and patching electronic tones for textures, ensemble roles (including emulations of traditional band instruments) and soloing. In Weather Report, he often employed a vocoder as well as pre-recorded sounds played (i.e., filtered and transposed) through a synthesizer, creating a very distinctive, often beautiful, synthesis of jazz harmonics and "noise" (which he referred to as "using all the sounds the world generates"). By the end of Weather Reports career, Zawinuls synthesized arrangements entirely dominated the bands music.In the beginning let's say Weather Report was a joint thing. Then, after the second album there's no question about it, it became more and more my group. Wayne wanted it like that, but we were always 'partners in crime.' No Wayne, no Weather Report. Josef Zawinul on his gradual takeover of Weather Report[1]

Wayne Shorter came to the group with a reputation as a dominant role as an instrumentalist, drawn from both his solo work and his contributions to Miles Davis "second great quintet" during the 1960s. His choice not to follow the same approach with Weather Report led to some criticism of the group. During his time with Weather Report, Shorter was noted for generally playing saxophone with an economical, "listening" style. Rather than continually taking the lead, he would generally add subtle harmonic, melodic and/or rhythmic complexity by responding to other member's improvisations (although he could and did sometimes exercise a more frenetic style akin to that of John Coltrane or Michael Brecker). Playing both tenor and soprano saxophones, Shorter continued to develop the role of the latter instrument in jazz, taking his cue from previous work by Coltrane, Sidney Bechet, Lucky Thompson and Steve Lacy. Weather Report maintained a consistent interest in a textured sound and developments in music technology and processing. Both Zawinul and original bassist Miroslav Vitou experimented with electronic effects pedals (as generally used by rock guitarists) with Zawinul using them on electric piano and synthesizers and Vitou on his

Weather Report upright bass (which he frequently bowed through distortion to create a second horn-like voice). The bands third bass player, Jaco Pastorius, popularised the use of melodic soloing fretless bass guitar and string harmonics, as well as consolidating the driving RnB pulse in the bands music which had been brought in by his predecessor Alphonso Johnson. With the exception of a brief quartet period between 1978 and 1979, Weather Reports instrumentation always included both a traditional trap set drummer and a second percussionist. For its first eight years of existence the group had difficulty finding a permanent drummer, moving through an approximate average of one drummer per year until Jaco Pastorius helped to recruit Peter Erskine in 1978. Erskine and (later on) Omar Hakim were the only Weather Report drummers that played with the band for more than two years.

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HistoryFirst phase (from free to funk)Inception and formation Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter first met and became friends in 1959 while they were playing in Maynard Ferguson's Big Band. Zawinul went on to play with Cannonball Adderley's group in the 1960s, while Shorter joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and then, in 1964, Miles Davis's second great quintet. During this decade, both men made names for themselves as being among the best composers in jazz. Zawinul would later join Shorter in contributing to the initial fusion music recordings of Miles Davis, and both men were part of the studio groups which recorded the key Davis albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. In consequence, Weather Report has often been seen as a spin-off from the Miles Davis bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, although Zawinul was never part of Davis's touring line-up. Weather Report was initially formed in order to explore a more impressionistic and individualistic music (or, as Zawinul put it, away from all that eight bars shit and then you go to the bridge)[2] Zawinul and Shorter recruited another Miles Davis associate, the classically-trained Czech-born bass player Miroslav Vitou, whod previously played with Zawinul as well as with Herbie Mann, Bob Brookmeyer, Stan Getz and Chick Corea (Vitous has subsequently claimed that it was in fact Shorter and himself that founded Weather Report, with Shorter bringing in Zawinul afterwards.)[3] All three men composed, and would form the core of the project. To complete the band, the trio brought in former McCoy Tyner drummer Alphonse Mouzon and set about looking for a full-time auxiliary percussionist as they began to record their debut album. The initial recruits were session player Don Alias and symphony orchestra percussionist Barbara Burton. During recording, Alias quarrelled with Zawinul - allegedly due to the latter being too dictatorial over the percussion approach - and the innovative Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira (yet another Miles Davis alumnus) was brought in to complete the record. The debut album and first concerts Weather Report's self-titled debut album Weather Report caused a sensation in the jazz world on its arrival, thanks to the pedigree of the groups members and their unorthodox approach to their music. The album featured a softer sound than would be the case in later years (predominantly using acoustic bass, with Shorter exclusively playing soprano saxophone, and with no synthesizers involved) but is still considered a classic of early fusion. It built on the avant-garde experiments which Zawinul and Shorter had pioneered with Miles Davis on Bitches Brew (including an avoidance of head-and-chorus composition in favour of continuous rhythm and movement) but taking the music further. To emphasise the groups rejection of standard methodology, the album opened with the inscrutable avant-garde atmospheric piece Milky Way (created by Shorters extremely muted saxophone inducing vibrations in Zawinuls piano strings while the latter pedalled the instrument). Down Beat described the album as music beyond category (Dan Morgenstern, Down Beat, May 13, 1971) and awarded it Album of the Year in the magazines polls that year.

Weather Report Although Moreira completed the recording of the debut Weather Report album, his existing commitments to Miles Davis meant that he was unable to play live with the group. Burton performed at Weather Reports first residency - a week of performances at Pauls Mall in Boston, prior to the album release - but could not come to business terms with Zawinul over tour plans. Zawinul subsequently removed both her album credit and that of Alias, leaving Moreira as the only percussionist credited. For the upcoming concerts, former Brazil '66 member Dom Um Romo was recruited as the groups new percussionist on Moreiras own recommendation. After further gigs in Philadelphia, Weather Report went on to a tour of Europe. Following disagreements on tour, Mouzon was soon replaced by another former McCoy Tyner drummer, Eric Gravatt. I Sing The Body Electric In 1972 Weather Report released its second album, I Sing the Body Electric, a release divided between different aspects of the group. The first side featured new studio recordings, while the second side was taken from live recordings of a concert in Tokyo, Japan, featuring the full band lineup of Zawinul, Shorter, Vitou, Gravatt and Um Romo (and later available in full as the Japan-only double album Live in Tokyo).[4] The studio side featured compositions which used extended versions of the band including various guest performers, suggesting that Weather Report was not necessarily an integral jazz band but might possibly work as an expandable project set up to realise the music of its three composers. One track, "The Moors", featured a lengthy twelve-string guitar intro performed entirely by guitarist Ralph Towner (of Oregon and the Paul Winter Consort). Zawinuls "Unknown Soldier" featured performances by jazz/classical trumpet veteran Wilmer Wise and singers Yolande Bavan, Joshie Armstrong and Chapman Roberts (as well as English horn contributed by Andrew White III, a cross-disciplinary multi-instrumentalist who was not only the oboist for the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra but also played bass guitar for both Stevie Wonder and The Fifth Dimension) The album also featured Zawinuls first use of a synthesizer (an instrument with which he would become synonymous within jazz) and of sound effects. I Sing the Body Electric also showed the first signs of a shift in the balance of control within the band, away from the more collective approach of the debut album. The following year would see this tendency develop further, primarily at the expense of Miroslav Vitou. Sweetnighter and the move towards funk On 1973's Sweetnighter, Weather Report began to abandon the primarily-acoustic group improvisation format, and the band started to take a new direction. Primarily at Zawinuls instigation, Weather Report became more funk- and groove-oriented, drawing more heavily on R&B influences and dense electric keyboard work while adding more structure to both the prewritten and the improvisational sections. The last song on the album, Shorter's "Non-Stop Home", foreshadowed the band's developing hallmark sound (which would be even more in evidence on their next album).[Miroslav] loved funk, and he tried to play it, but he wasn't a funk player. It wasn't where he came from. He didn't connect up with how to go there. He could listen to it, talk about it, and he admired it, but that's not what came out of him, so that was something that held back where Joe wanted to go at the time I was with them. Melodically and rhythmically, Miroslav was great; what he did do, in terms of where I was coming from, was very unique. Miroslav was still playing acoustic, and it was an odd kind of a funk. It was very... interesting! Weather Report touring drummer Greg Errico on Miroslav Vitou[5]

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The change in approach would affect the band deeply. Playing more repetitive, funky bass vamps did not suit Miroslav Vitou' particular talents, and Zawinul also judged Eric Gravatts approach to be unsuitable for certain of the new pieces he had written. Andrew White III had returned to play occasional English horn on the album, but Zawinul also employed him on bass guitar on three tracks in order to get the style of funk playing required. For similar reasons, the studio-based drummer/composer Herschel Dwellingham played drums on four of the albums six tracks, replacing Gravatt entirely on three of them: on "Non-Stop Home", Dwellingham and Gravatt played together,

Weather Report with Gravatt the sole drummer only on "125th Street Congress". (Steve "Muruga" Booker also contributed percussion to the sessions alongside Dom Um Romo.)From the jazz side, Eric Gravatt was my favorite of them all. Josef Zawinul on Weather Reports drummers[6]

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Gravatt took his replacement in the studio sessions badly and quit the band at the end of recording, moving to Minneapolis to join the band Natural Life. Several years after Weather Reports final demise, Zawinul would pay tribute to Gravatts skills and state that he had been the finest of the bands "pure jazz" drummers.[7] With Gravatt gone and Dwellingham unavailable for touring, former Sly & the Family Stone drummer Greg Errico played on the Sweetnighter tour but did not stay with the band afterwards. Split with Miroslav Vitou, and end of first phase of band activity By now Zawinul wished to continue further along the road to funk and was at creative loggerheads with Miroslav Vitou, who preferred Weather Reports original approach. Retrospectively, Zawinul would accuse Vitou of being unable to play funk convincingly (something which Greg Errico would corroborate) and claim that he had not provided enough music for the band. Vitou would counter that he had in fact brought in compositions but that Zawinul had been unable to play them. Vitou has also accused Zawinul of having been "a first class manipulator" overly interested in commercial success.[8] [9] When Shorter sided with Zawinul the original three-man partnership broke down acrimoniously and Vitou left Weather Report. His final contribution to the band was to play bass on a single track which appeared on the bands next album Mysterious Traveller ("American Tango", which, ironically, hed co-written with Zawinul). Vitou would go on to an illustrious career as a composer and to lead his own band. He has subsequently accused both Zawinul and Shorter of having used foul play to edge him out of the band, to deny the scale of his contribution to Weather Reports history and creative approach, and to cheat him out of remuneration.[8] [9] Vitou departure marked the end of the first phase of Weather Report and the shift of overall creative dominance of the band to Josef Zawinul, although Shorter remained an integral, influential and vital part of the project.

Second phase (an earthbound groove)Arrival of Alphonso Johnson, and Mysterious Traveller Miroslav Vitou replacement was the Philadelphian electric bass guitarist Alphonso Johnson (formerly a sideman for the smooth-jazz player Chuck Mangione). Recruited by Shorter, Johnson was a supple player more than capable of providing the funk element which Zawinul desired. He was also an early advocate of the Chapman Stick, which he can be heard playing on some of the live Weather Report recordings of the period. Weather Report's breakout album Weather Report performing in Amsterdam, in 1980 establishing what would become its hallmark sound - was 1974s Mysterious Traveller, which also featured the debut of new drummer Ishmail Wilburn (although on the title track and Nubian

Weather Report Sundance his playing was doubled by that of Skip Hadden). The album continued Sweetnighters process of reducing the free-jazz elements of previous albums but also showed a more fully developed compositional technique. Zawinul exploited improvements in synthesizer technology on the recording and began to add processed sound effects such as cheering crowds (taken from a Rose Bowl football game), child-like cries (Zawinul's own son recorded in their home) and noises reminiscent of science-fiction aliens. Mysterious Traveller was the second of Weather Report's albums to win Down Beats "Album of the Year" award and the first in their unprecedented run of four such consecutive awards. According to Zawinul, Wilburn apparently lost heart on tour (despite performing well in the studio). To shore up the music the band hired another drummer, Darryl Brown, to play alongside him. At the end of the tour both Wilburn and Brown left the band (as did Dom Um Romo) and Weather Report was, once again, drummer-less. Tale Spinnin' For the next set of studio sessions, Weather Report added a new Brazilian percussionist (Alyrio Lima) and a new drummer Chuck Bazemore of The Delfonics.[5] Bazemore turned out to be unsuitable for the band and departed early in the sessions, with none of his recorded contributions being retained. Instead, the band called in the former Herbie Hancock (and current Santana) drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, who had been working on another project in an adjacent studio. Ndugu recorded with Weather Report for a week and performed all of the drum tracks for the forthcoming album, Tale Spinnin', but declined to join as a permanent member (opting instead to continue with Santana). Released in 1975, Tale Spinnin' was Weather Reports most solid album to date. Ndugu had been well suited to Zawinuls funk approach and his reliability during the sessions had made this the first Weather Report album to feature a consistent rhythm section (rather than a varied set of drummers, percussionists and bass players) since their debut. The album also made further strides in utilizing technological improvements in synthesizers, even making use of the gigantic Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius studio-based TONTO array. Conversely, it also showcased Wayne Shorter's playing to the extent of containing more saxophone solos than any other Weather Report album in the bands entire career. During the same year, Shorter also recorded the seminal and well received Latin-jazz Native Dancer under his own name (with the Brazilian composer and vocalist Milton Nascimento). Zawinul and Shorters continued dominance of the American jazz scene was emphasised when Tale Spinnin' won the Down Beat best album award for 1975 (the third Weather Report album to do so) and Native Dancer was the runner-up. Black Market: departure of Alphonso Johnson and arrival of Jaco Pastorius By 1976's Black Market album, Weather Report's music had evolved further from open-ended funk jams into more melody-oriented, concise forms, which also offered a greater mass-market appeal. Zawinul further consolidated his use of keyboard synthesizers while Shorter experimented with an early form of wind synthesizer, the Lyricon. The new album was also perhaps the most rock-oriented work which the group had produced to date, in part due to Alphonso Johnson recruiting his friend Chester Thompson (a former Frank Zappa sideman) to play drums.

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Weather Report However, the album was recorded during yet another period of change for the group, with multiple personnel shuffles. Although Alyrio Lima played percussion on one track, he was replaced during the sessions by Don Alias (his first appearance with the group since the debut album debacle) and by Alex Acua (a Peruvian drummer and conga player based in Las Vegas whod played with Elvis Presley and Ike Turner, among others.[10] ) Alphonso Johnson was also worn out from the bands frequent changes of drummer and the strain that this put on the rhythm section. During a break in activity halfway through the recording of Black Market, Johnson opted to leave Weather Report in order to play with the Billy Cobham/George Duke Band (which featured a young John Scofield on guitar). Prior to his departure, Johnson played on all but two of the new albums tracks. His replacement was Jaco Pastorius, a virtuoso fretless bass guitarist from Florida who had been in touch with Zawinul for several years, and who came in to play on "Cannon Ball" and his own composition "Barbary Coast". Zawinul and Shorter had assumed that Chester Thompson would be departing alongside his friend Johnson, and for the second set of sessions they replaced him (on Jaco Pastorius recommendation) with the former Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer Narada Michael Walden. Although Walden played on several album tracks, he ultimately proved unsuitable. Thompson returned for the final Black Market sessions, but left again after failing to gel as a rhythm section with Pastorius (whose style was much busier than that of Johnson). Black Market continued Weather Reports ongoing run of success, selling well and being the fourth of the bands albums to win Down Beat's album of the year award. For the subsequent tour, Alex Acua moved from percussion to the drumkit, and Don Alias was replaced by the young Puerto Rican percussionist Manolo Badrena, who had previously played with various Latin rock bands and with Art Blakey. The band made a very well received appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, which was filmed for future release.

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Third phase (the Jaco Pastorius years)The Jaco effect, Heavy Weather & "Birdland" The recruitment of Jaco Pastorius helped to push Weather Report to the height of its popularity. Already a rising star in his own right, he could play lightning-fast groove lines influenced by rhythmnblues or funk, as well as demonstrating an extraordinary solo control of tone and string harmonics, often sounding more like a horn player. Pastorius was also a multi-instrumentalist (contributing drums, steel pan and mandocello to the latest recording sessions), a gifted composer (eventually responsible for some signature Weather Report pieces such as "Teen Town" and "Three Views of a Secret"), and a useful production foil for Zawinul due to his knowledge of recording studios and techniques. Finally, Pastoriuss stagecraft and aggressive showmanship helped the band to bring in a new audience. The bands next album was 1977s acclaimed Heavy Weather, which proved to be the band's most successful recording in terms of sales while still retaining wide critical acclaim. It contained the bands biggest hit, the propulsive and danceable "Birdland" (highlighting Pastorius singing bass lines and Zawinuls synthesized ensemble brass) which became a pop hit and later became a jazz standard. Weather Report appeared on the Burt Sugarman-produced series The Midnight Special, performing both "Birdland" and "Teen Town". Heavy Weather would dominate Weather Report's disc awards, including their last Down Beat "Album of the Year" award.

L-R: Zawinul, Pastorius, Shorter Photo: Jean-Luc Ourlin

During this period, Pastorius strong professional connection with Joni Mitchell (for whom he played bass throughout the latter half of the 1970s) led to another musical connection. Over the next few years, Mitchell would

Weather Report hire the Weather Report line-up en masse (although without Zawinul in each case) to play on her studio albums Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and Mingus. Mr. Gone - the studio as palette By 1978 the band was once again without either a full-time drummer and percussionist, with Alex Acua having returned to Las Vegas for a career as a studio musician and Manolo Badrena having been fired for "non-musical reasons." Shorter had been focussing most of his attention and compositional ideas into his solo work, while Zawinul was sketching out ideas for a solo album of his own which involved moving away from a raw group sound Jaco Pastorius, Toronto, Nov. 1977 Photo: Jean-Luc in favour of constructing a far more orchestrated and experimental Ourlin studio-based recording with multiple overdubs. However, Weather Reports contract and work schedule required another album, so Zawinuls solo work was absorbed into what became Weather Reports eighth album, Mr. Gone. The studio sessions made use of a variety of drummers Pastorius played the kit on two tracks and further contributions came from Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, and Peter Erskine (the latter an ex-Stan Kenton/Maynard Ferguson drummer recruited to the project by Pastorius). Erskine would become a full member of the band for the next tour and would remain with Weather Report until 1982. The album also featured vocal contributions from Deniece Williams and Earth Wind and Fire leader Maurice White. Notoriously, Mr. Gone received only a 1-star review rating from Down Beat magazine after a string of group releases which had all pulled a 5-star rating. The group arranged for a rebuttal interview with the magazine to defend their efforts. Zawinul and Pastorius were defiant in their responses to the interviewer, Shorter more philosophical, and Erskine the most reticent of the four. Rock star jazz tours By now Weather Report was a quartet of Zawinul, Shorter, Pastorius and Erskine and (for the first time) had dispensed with the auxiliary percussionist role which had been integral since the bands inception. Instead, all four members doubled on percussion at various points in live performances. Zawinul would comment that this sleeker, less crowded sound provided more listening range and made the music less chaotic now that the band were now focussing more on melody and harmony.[11] [12] The larger scale and multimedia staging of the bands tours (complete with multiple stagehands, laser and film projections) began to take on the kind of rock-star proportions mostly unknown in jazz circles. The 1979 double live album 8:30 (which won that years Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance) was recorded on the Mr Gone tour and captured the direct power and energy of this lineup of Weather Report. Zawinul would later describe this lineup as one of the greatest bands of all time! That band was a hummer!"[13] Between March 24, 1979, Weather Report travelled to Havana, Cuba, in order to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival, a break in mutual Cuban/American political hostilities which saw American artists such as Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, Bonnie Bramlett, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge and Billy Joel play alongside Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Gines and Orquesta Aragn. Another featured performance was by the Trio of Doom (in which Pastorius played alongside John McLaughlin and Tony Williams). Weather Reports performance featured in Havana Jam '79, Ernesto Juan Castellanos' documentary celebrating the event. During the years touring, Shorter began to feel sidelined by the current Weather Reports aggressive drive and the sometimes overly-macho musical interplay between Pastorius and Zawinul, which on at least one occasion squeezed him out of band performance. At one point, he claimed to a journalist that he would be leaving the band within a few months. In the event, Shorter resolved his major differences with his bandmates - but the near-split appeared to

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Weather Report inform Weather Reports next development, which was a step back towards a purer jazz approach. Night Passage and Weather Report (1982) At the beginning of 1980, Pastorius recruited hand-drummer Robert Thomas Jr. (a fellow Floridan whom hed jammed with previously) into the band. Thomas featured on 1980s Night Passage album. A tighter and more traditional recording than previous releases, the record featured a more prominent role for Shorter, a strong element of bebop and a nod to jazzs golden age via a high-speed cover of Duke Ellingtons "Rockin in Rhythm" (showing off Zawinuls pioneering and ever-increasing ability to create synthetic big-band sounds on his synthesizers). By now, Pastorius was displaying signs of the mental instability and substance abuse problems which would ultimately wreck his career, and the close relationship between him and Zawinul was becoming strained as Zawinul tired of Pastorius showmanship onstage (beginning to feel that it detracted from the music). Towards the end of the year, Pastorius began working on his long-delayed second solo album (Word of Mouth) in New York, while Zawinul worked on new Weather Report material in California. Weather Reports next album Weather Report - their second eponymous release following their 1970 debut - was recorded in 1981, although it was not released for another year. Zawinuls dominance as instrumentalist and composer (as well as group director) was even more pronounced on this album. Much of the bands sound was created by synthesized orchestration, and the music was increasingly written out rather than improvised. Pastorius was by now thoroughly frustrated with Zawinuls approach, especially now that the keyboard player had increasingly taken control of basslines by both writing them out for Pastorius to play from manuscript and by also playing or doubling most of them on his ARP Quadra synthesizer. In the event, Pastorius spent more of his creative attention on the Word of Mouth project, with his only writing for the Weather Report album being his contribution to a single group-composed piece. Shorter (who only contributed one whole composition to the 1982 album beyond group-written work) was already taking a more philosophical approach. He later commented that "for a long time in Weather Report, I abstained. I elected not to do things." Departure of Pastorius, Erskine & Thomas The delay in releasing the 1982 Weather Report album had the side effect of breaking up the current line-up of the band. By late 1981 Pastorius was putting together the Word of Mouth Big Band (which included Erskine) for concert dates in Japan, on the assumption that 1982 would be a Weather Report rest year. However, previously cancelled tour dates had left the band open to potentially crippling lawsuits and an obligation to play replacement concerts. When scheduled, these clashed with the Word of Mouth concerts and led to Pastorius leaving Weather Report, albeit relatively amicably. As Zawinul put it "We had no choice. We had to find another bass player Basically, Jaco went his way and we had to go ours." Erskines own commitment to Word of Mouth (and a subsequent summer commitment to Steps Ahead) meant that he too had to be replaced, while Robert Thomas Jr. was simply dismissed. Down to a duo and with tour commitments looming, Zawinul and Shorter were obliged to quickly assemble a new band.

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Fourth phase (the late bloom)Recruiting a new band, and Procession On the recommendation of Michael Urbaniak, Zawinul and Shorter recruited the 23-year-old drummer Omar Hakim, a talented session player and multi-instrumentalist who had played with a variety of musicians (including Mike Mainieri, David Bowie and Carly Simon) and who was immediately entrusted with recruiting the rest of the new rhythm section. Having failed to secure Marcus Miller as bass guitarist, Hakim selected Victor Bailey (a recent graduate from the Berklee College of Music whom Hakim had played with while backing Miriam Makeba). He also recruited percussion/concertina player Jos Rossy, whom hed worked with in Labelle.

Weather Report The new Weather Report went straight onto tour, where they were received well by audiences and critics as a band which had gained in subtlety and integrity whatever they had sacrificed in power and attack. Zawinul would profess himself to be very pleased with the lineup. The music developed on tour was later recorded for the 1983 album Procession, which showed the band beginning to make something of a return to the world music which it had pioneered in the mid-1970s and featured a cameo appearance from The Manhattan Transfer. The consistent, carnivalesque atmosphere of Procession led it to be praised by Down Beat for its unity and joy (John Diliberto, Down Beat, June 1983) and it has come to be seen as one of the best Weather Report albums. Domino Theory and Sportin Life Continuing with the same lineup, Weather Report recorded the Domino Theory album in 1984, with Hakim stepping into Jaco Pastorius old role as Zawinuls co-producer. The album was Weather Reports first album to employ drum machines and samplers (the Emulator), furthering developing the bands involvement with technology, and also featured a guest vocal from Carl Anderson. Critics, however, queried the bands lack of development or musical innovation, and speculated that this might be connected to a lack of creative tension and to Zawinuls now-entirely unchallenged dominance. The band was also beginning to suffer from the revival of more traditionally-styled jazz at the time, which made it harder to market jazz fusion. Percussionist and singer Mino Cinlu replaced Rossy in late 1984 and appeared on the bands video release Live in Japan (reissued on DVD in 2007). The same lineup played on 1985s Sportin' Life album, which included a cover of Marvin Gayes Whats Going On and appearances by Bobby McFerrin and Carl Anderson. In keeping with Zawinul's technological curiosity the album heralded the arrival of MIDI, which entirely suited Zawinuls compositional and recording methods by allowing him to rapidly and inexpensively write, demo and record music via a set of synthesizers. Critics noted that Shorter seemed more suited to this album than he had to its predecessor, contributing more; and the album was praised for its energetic compositions. By the time of the albums release, Shorter and Zawinul had opted not to tour the material. Instead, they would take a break for long-delayed solo projects. The principals claimed that the band was still together (despite Hakims involvement with Stings band and Baileys with Steps Ahead), but it was also notable that Weather Reports contract with Columbia Records had just expired, leaving both parties open to other options. The finale This is This! Despite Zawinul and Shorters claims, Sportin' Life was in effect the last proper Weather Report record, as both were finding that the refreshing nature of other projects was more satisfying and generally felt that the band had run its course. However, it turned out that Columbia Records was contractually owed one more Weather Report record, resulting in the 1986 creation of This Is This! In comparison to previous records, This Is This! was assembled during gaps in various players schedules (Zawinul has referred to the album having been put together on holiday time). With Omar Hakim now too busy with Sting to play on more than one of the albums tracks, Zawinul recruited Peter Erskine to play the rest. Cinelu and Bailey were both flown in for a few days to record: both also contributed one composition each, with the remainder being written by Zawinul. Significantly, Shorter spent little more time on the project than Bailey or Cinelu, contributed no compositions at all, and was not even present on many of the albums tracks: Zawinul attempted to compensate for this by bringing in guitarist Carlos Santana to contribute. On release the album received a disappointing review from the critics (including several pannings) and bandmembers have subsequently admitted that it was a substandard release.

10

Weather Report Split (and Weather Update) By February 1986, Weather Report was over, a fact confirmed by a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune announcing that Shorter had left the band to concentrate on solo work.[14] Having reluctantly agreed with Shorter that he would no longer use the band name, Zawinul attempted to reform the Sportin' Life lineup (minus Shorter but adding guitarist John Scofield) under the new name Weather Update. In the event, guitarist Steve Khan and former Weather Report percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. replaced Scofield and Cinelu respectively. Weather Update toured to high expectations but unfavourable critical responses, and Zawinul dissolved the band in 1987. (A Weather Update DVD Joe Zawinul: Weather Update - was released in 2005).

11

Releases since the band's breakupA "post band" Weather Report double CD called Live and Unreleased was made available in 2002, featuring vintage live recordings made during the late 1970s/early 1980s with various personnel. In September 2006 Columbia/Legacy released a Weather Report boxed set, Forecast: Tomorrow. It includes 3 CDs of mostly previously released material (from 1970 to 1985, excluding This is This!) and a DVD of the entire September 29, 1978, performance (with Erskine and Pastorius) in Offenbach, Germany, not previously available. A DVD video of the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival performance (featuring the Heavy Weather lineup of Pastorius, Acuna, and Badrena) has become available as well. Columbia/Legacy have also re-released the 1984 Live in Japan concert on DVD.

DiscographyIn a career spanning sixteen years from 1970 to 1986, Weather Report released fourteen studio albums, two live albums and five singles. Several other live and compilation albums have been released after the break-up of the band, and many of Weather Report's tracks appear on Various Artists albums.[15] [16] [17] [18] Main albums The following table shows the main albums released by Weather Report. For more detailed information, please see: Weather Report discography.Year 1971 Weather Report 1972 1st studio album #7 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1971) #191 on The Billboard 200 chart (1971) Jazz Album of the Year at the 36th Down Beat Readers Poll Grand Prix Award, Best Band of the Year, and Best Selling Jazz Album of the Year on the Swing Journal magazine Album

I Sing the Body Electric 2nd studio album #147 on The Billboard 200 chart (1972)

Live in Tokyo 1973 Live album recorded on January 13, 1972 at the Shibuya Kokaido Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Sweetnighter 3rd studio album #2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1973) #41 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart (1973) #85 on The Billboard 200 chart (1973) Jazz Group of the Year at the 38th Down Beat Readers Poll

Weather Report

12Mysterious Traveller 4th studio album #2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1974) #31 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart (1974) #46 on The Billboard 200 chart (1974) Jazz Album of the Year and Jazz Group of the Year at the 39th Down Beat Readers Poll

1974

1975

Tale Spinnin' 5th studio album #3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1975) #12 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart (1975) #31 on The Billboard 200 chart (1975) Jazz Album of the Year and Jazz Group of the Year at the 40th Down Beat Readers Poll

1976

Black Market 6th studio album #2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1976) #20 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart (1976) #42 on The Billboard 200 chart (1976) Jazz Album of the Year and Jazz Group of the Year at the 41st Down Beat Readers Poll

1977

Heavy Weather 7th studio album #1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1977) #30 on The Billboard 200 chart (1977) #33 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart (1977) Jazz Album of the Year and Jazz Group of the Year at the 42nd Down Beat Readers Poll Record of the Year at the Jazz Forum People's Poll Swing Journal's Silver Disc Award Playboy's Jazz Record and Jazz Band of the Year Record World's Instrumental Group of the Year Cash Box's Record of the Year Grammy Nomination, Best Instrumental Composition, "Birdland" Grammy Nomination, Best Jazz Soloist, Jaco Pastorius, Heavy Weather Grammy Award, Manhattan Transfer version of "Birdland"

1978

Mr. Gone 8th studio album #1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1978) #52 on The Billboard 200 chart (1978) Jazz Group of the Year at the 43rd Down Beat Readers Poll

1979

8:30 Live album recorded in JanuaryFebruary 1979 during the 8:30 tour except for tracks 10-13, which were recorded in studio #3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1979) #47 on The Billboard 200 chart (1979) Jazz Group of the Year at the 44th Down Beat Readers Poll [19] Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance of 1979 (awarded in 1980)

1980

Night Passage Live album recorded on 12 and 13 July 1980 at The Complex in Los Angeles, California #2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1980) #57 on The Billboard 200 chart (1980)

1982

Weather Report 9th studio album #5 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1982) #68 on The Billboard 200 chart (1982)

Weather Report

13Procession 10th studio album #3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1983) #46 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart (1983) #96 on The Billboard 200 chart (1983)

1983

1984

Domino Theory 11th studio album #5 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1983) #136 on The Billboard 200 chart (1983)

1985

Sportin' Life 12th studio album #13 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1983) #191 on The Billboard 200 chart (1983)

1986

This Is This! 13th and last studio album #13 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart (1983) #195 on The Billboard 200 chart (1983)

2002

Live and Unreleased Live recordings taken from November 25, 1975 to June 3, 1983 #21 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart (2002)

2006

Forecast: Tomorrow 3-CD + 1-DVD career-spanning box set #18 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart (2006)

References[1] Nicholson, Stuart, Jazz-Rock: A History, Schirmer Books, 1998 [2] Silvert, Conrad, "Joe Zawinul: Wayfaring Genius - Part II", Down Beat, June 15, 1978 [3] Jung, Fred - " Fireside Chat With Miroslav Vitous (http:/ / www. allaboutjazz. com/ php/ article. php?id=619& pg=3|A)" (page 3), All About Jazz (allaboutjazz.com), October 10, 2003 [4] Allmusic Biography (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p7791) [5] Glasser, Brian, In A Silent Way, Sanctuary Publishing Limited, 2001 [6] Woodard, Josef, "Weather Report: Storm Surge," Down Beat, January 2001, pp. 2228. [7] Armbruster, Greg, "Joe Zawinul Interview", Keyboard Magazine, March 1984 [8] Kot, Jake, With Miroslav Vitous (http:/ / www. bass-musician-magazine. com/ General/ bass-musician-magazine-detail. asp?year=2009& month=8& article-id=517801068|Conversation), Bass Player Magazine, August 1, 2009 [9] Prasad, Anil, Vitous: Freeing the muse (http:/ / www. innerviews. org/ inner/ vitous. html|Miroslav), Innerviews webzine, 2004 [10] Weather Report tour programme (http:/ / www. zawinulonline. org/ galleries/ 1977_wr_program|1977) [11] Silvert, Conrad, "Joe Zawinul: Wayfaring Genius--Part II," Down Beat, June 15, 1978 [12] Hunt, Dennis, "Weather Report's Cloudy Image," Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1978 [13] Jackson, Blair, "Fusion Giants Weather Report," BAM #157, June 3, 1983 [14] Varga, George, "Shorter Departs Weather Report," San Diego Union-Tribune, February 28, 1986. [15] Bianchi, Curt (2005). "Weather Report: The Annotated Discography" (http:/ / www. binkie. net/ wrdisc/ index. html). www.binkie.net. . Retrieved 2010-09-02. [16] "Weather Report > Discography > Main Albums" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p7791) (XHTML). Allmusic. . Retrieved 2010-09-02. [17] "Weather Report" (http:/ / www. discogs. com/ artist/ Weather+ Report) (XHTML). Discogs. . Retrieved 2010-09-02. [18] "Albums by Weather Report" (http:/ / rateyourmusic. com/ artist/ weather_report) (XHTML). Rate Your Music. . Retrieved 2010-09-02. [19] "Weather Report > Charts & Awards > Grammy Awards" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p7791) (XHTML). Allmusic. . Retrieved 2010-09-10. "Note: GRAMMY information courtesy of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences"

Weather Report

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External links Weather Report: The Annotated Discography (http://www.binkie.net/wrdisc/index.html) Weather Report: Tourography (http://www.threeviews.com/wr.htm) Weather Report on Progboard (http://www.progboard.com/en/Weather-Report/185): Weather Report albums reviews and ratings Weather Report: Twelve Essential Tracks (http://www.jazz.com/dozens/the-dozens-weather-report) by Jared Pauley ( Jazz.com (http://www.jazz.com)) Weather Report (in French) (http://membres.lycos.fr/synoc/weather.htm) The Essential Jaco: Weather Report (http://www.jacopastorius.com/music/essential/weatherreport.asp) Wayne Shorter's letter written for Joe Zawinul's funeral (http://www.zawinulfans.org/modules/sections/index. php?op=viewarticle&artid=43) Obituary of Joe Zawinul (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/arts/12zawinul.html?ex=1347249600& en=0aec9f91523b5158&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) Miroslav Vitou interview at Allaboutjazz.com (http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=73853)

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The membersJoe ZawinulJoe Zawinul

Joe Zawinul live with "The Zawinul Syndicate" (Freiburg/Germany, 2007) Background information Birth name Born Josef Erich Zawinul July 7, 1932 Vienna, Austria September 11, 2007 (aged75) Vienna, Austria Jazz, jazz fusion, romantic music, art music, world music Keyboardist, composer Keyboards: synthesizer, piano, accordion, EWI 19492007

Died

Genres Occupations Instruments Years active

Associated acts Zawinul Syndicate Weather Report Miles Davis Cannonball Adderley Website www.zawinulmusic.com [1]

Josef Erich Zawinul (July 7, 1932 September 11, 2007)[2] was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with elements of rock and world music. Later, Zawinul co-founded the groups Weather Report and the world fusion music-oriented Zawinul Syndicate. Additionally, he made pioneering use of electric piano and synthesizers. Zawinul was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" 28 times by the readers of Down Beat magazine.[3] Several artists have honored Zawinul with songs, notably Brian Eno's instrumental "Zawinul/Lava", John McLaughlin's instrumental "Jozy", Warren Cuccurullo's "Hey Zawinul", Bob Baldwin's "Joe Zawinul", Chucho Valdes's Zawinul's Mambo, and Birli Lagrne's instrumental "Josef". Zawinul's playing style is often dominated by quirky melodic improvisations both bebop, ethnic and pop sounding combined with sparse but rhythmic playing

Joe Zawinul of big-band sounding chords or bass lines. In Weather Report, he often employed a vocoder as well as pre-recorded sounds played (i.e. filtered and transposed) through a synthesizer, creating a very distinctive synthesis of jazz harmonics and "noise" ("using all the sounds the world generates").

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BiographyEarly life and careerZawinul was born and grew up in Landstrae, as a son of the worker Josef Zawinul, in Vienna, Austria, where he went to school with the late former Austrian Federal President Thomas Klestil. His grandmother was a Hungarian Sinti ("Gypsy"), and his grandfather was from southern Moravia. Classically trained at the Konservatorium Wien, Zawinul played in various broadcasting and studio bands before emigrating to the U.S. in 1959 on a music scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He went on to play with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, where he first met Wayne Shorter after having had an influence in hiring him. Shorter left soon thereafter to play in Art Blakey's group and Josef was apparently dismissed from the Ferguson band for wanting to have too much control over personnel decisions. Zawinul then toured and recorded with singer Dinah Washington for two years.

With Cannonball AdderleyIn 1961, Zawinul joined the Quintet led by saxophonist Cannonball Adderley.[2] During his nine-year stint with Adderley, he wrote the hit song "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." He also composed "Walk Tall" and "Country Preacher," the latter a tribute to U.S. Civil Rights Movement leader Jesse Jackson, from the 1969 album of the same name.

With Miles DavisIn the late 1960s, Zawinul recorded with Miles Davis's studio band and helped create the sound of jazz fusion. He played on the album In a Silent Way, the title track of which he composed, and the landmark album Bitches Brew, for which he contributed the twenty-minute track, "Pharaoh's Dance", which occupied the whole of side one.[2] Zawinul is known to have played live with Davis only once, on July 10, 1991, in Paris, along with Wayne Shorter, shortly before Davis' death.[2] Zawinul, along with other Davis sidemen Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, was one of the first to use electric pianos and early synthesizers like the ARP 2600 in 1973's Sweetnighter. He was among the first to use an electric piano, the Wurlitzer. He used the Fender-Rhodes thereafter, adding a wah-wah pedal and later the Mutron effect unit for a complex phased timbre. His creativity and attention to detail resulted in a very contemporary and modern sound. He also has played the kalimba on Weather Report's Mysterious Traveller and Mr. Gone.

With Weather ReportIn 1970, Zawinul co-founded Weather Report with saxophonist and Davis alumnus Wayne Shorter. Their first two years emphasized a relatively open, group improvisation format not dissimilar to what Miles Davis was doing in a more rock oriented format. However, Josef started making changes with their third album, Sweetnighter, citing he was "tired of waiting for something to happen". Funk elements such as electric bass, wah-wah pedal, etc. started to be introduced in the band's sound. Music critics generally agree that their 4th album, Mysterious Traveller, was their true breakthrough album, capturing the classic Weather Report "sound" for the first time. The musical forms were now through-composed similar to classical music, and the combination of jazz harmonies with 70's groove elements launched the band into its most successful period.

Joe Zawinul

17 Their biggest commercial success came from his composition "Birdland", a 6-minute opus featured on Weather Report's 1977 album Heavy Weather, which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard pop albums chart. "Birdland" is one of the most recognizable jazz pieces of the 1970s, covered by many prominent artists from The Manhattan Transfer and Quincy Jones to Maynard Ferguson, the Buddy Rich Big Band, and Jefferson Starship. Even Weather Report's version received significant mainstream radio airplay unusual for them and served to convert many new fans to music which they may never have heard otherwise. The song won him three Grammys.

Zawinul with Weather Report in Toronto, 1977 Photo: Jean-Luc Ourlin

Weather Report was active until the mid 80s, with Zawinul and Shorter remaining the sole constant members through multiple personnel shifts. The group was notable for bringing to prominence pioneering fretless bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius, but also other musicians, such as Alphonso Johnson and Peter Erskine. Shorter and Zawinul had already gone separate ways, after the recording of their "final" Sportin' Life, when it was discovered that they had to do one more album in order to fulfill the CBS contract. This Is This! therefore became their final album. Shorter participated despite being busy leading his own group, and Peter Erskine was also brought in again for this record, ending up playing on most compositions.

Later careerZawinul also wrote a symphony, called Stories of the Danube, which was commissioned by the Brucknerhaus, Linz. It was first performed as part of the Linzer Klangwolke (a large-scale open-air broadcast event), for the opening of the 1993 Bruckner Festival in Linz. In its seven movements, the symphony traces the course of the Danube from Donaueschingen through various countries ending at the Black Sea. It was recorded in 1995 by the Czech State Philharmonic Orchestra, Brno, conducted by Caspar Richter.[2] Zawinul was hospitalized in his native Vienna on August 7, 2007,[4] after concluding a five-week European tour. He died from a rare form of skin cancer (Merkel cell carcinoma) on September 11, 2007.[5] [6] He is buried in the Zentralfriedhof Cemetery in Vienna.

Joe Zawinul

18

DiscographyAs leader To You with Love (Strand, 1959) Money In The Pocket (Atlantic, 1966) The Rise and Fall of the Third Stream (Vortex, 1968) Zawinul (Atlantic, 1971) Dialects (Columbia, 1986) The Immigrants (Columbia, 1988) Black Water (Columbia, 1989) Lost Tribes (Columbia, 1992) My People (ESC-Records, 1996) Stories of the Danube (Polygram, 1996) World Tour (ESC, 1997) Mauthausen - Vom groen Sterben hren (ESC-Records, 2000) [3] The Zawinul Syndicate, live in Freiburg, 2007

Faces & Places (ESC-Records, 2002) Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate Vienna Nights Live at Joe Zawinul's Birdland (BirdJAM 2005) Brown Street (2006) Music for Two Pianos with Friedrich Gulda: Brahms' Variations on a Theme by HaydnWDR Big Band Kln (Capriccio, 2006) 75 (BirdJAM, 2008)

With:Ben Webster Soulmates (Riverside, 1963)

As sidemanWith Dinah Washington What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! (Mercury, 1960) Dinah Washington & Brook Benton Two of Us (Mercury, 1960) With Cannonball Adderley Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley (Capitol, 1961) The Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York (Riverside, 1962) Cannonball in Europe! (Riverside, 1962) Jazz Workshop Revisited (Riverside, 1963) Autumn Leaves (Riverside [Japan], 1963) Nippon Soul (Riverside, 1963) Cannonball Adderley Live! (Capitol, 1964) Live Session! (Capitol, 1964) Cannonball Adderley's Fiddler on the Roof (Capitol, 1964)

Domination (Capitol, 1965) Money in the Pocket (Capitol, 1966) Great Love Themes (Capitol, 1966)

Joe Zawinul Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club' (Capitol, 1966) Cannonball in Japan (Capitol, 1966) Radio Nights (Night, 1967-8) 74 Miles Away (Capitol, 1967) Why Am I Treated So Bad! (Capitol, 1967) Accent on Africa (Capitol, 1968) Country Preacher (Capitol, 1969) In Person (Capitol, 1970) The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra (Capitol, 1970) The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (Capitol, 1970)

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With Nat Adderley Naturally! (Jazzland, 1961) Autobiography (Atlantic, 1964) Live at Memory Lane (Atlantic, 1966) The Scavenger (Milestone, 1968) You, Baby (CTI, 1968) Calling Out Loud (CTI, 1968)

With Miles Davis In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969) Big Fun (Columbia, 1969) Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970) Live-Evil (Columbia, 1971) Circle in the Round (Columbia, 1979)

With Weather Report Weather Report (Columbia, 1971) I Sing the Body Electric (Columbia, 1972) Live in Tokyo (Columbia, 1972) Sweetnighter (Columbia, 1973) Mysterious Traveller (1974) Tale Spinnin' (1975) Black Market (1976) Heavy Weather (1977) Mr. Gone (1978) 8:30 (1979) Night Passage (1980) Weather Report (1982) Procession (1983) Domino Theory (1984) Sportin' Life (1985) This Is This! (1986) Live and Unreleased (2002) Forecast: Tomorrow (2006)

As contributor Amen by Salif Keita (Mango, 1991) Crazy Saints by Trilok Gurtu (1993)

Joe Zawinul

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References[1] [2] [3] [4] http:/ / www. zawinulmusic. com/ allmusic Biography (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p53219/ biography) Joe Zawinul Biography (http:/ / www. zawinulmusic. com/ biography) Zawinul Online Blog Archive Joe Zawinul Hospitalized in Vienna (http:/ / www. zawinulonline. org/ 2007/ 08/ 07/ joe-zawinul-hospitalized-in-vienna/ ) [5] McDonald, Ray (12 September 2007). "Keyboardist Joe Zawinul Dies" (http:/ / voanews. com/ english/ archive/ 2007-09/ 2007-09-12-voa18. cfm). VOA News (Voice of America). . Retrieved 2 January 2009. [6] Schudel, Matt (September 12, 2007). "Joe Zawinul, 75; Keyboardist Was a Pioneer of Jazz Fusion" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2007/ 09/ 11/ AR2007091102289. html). The Washington Post. . Retrieved May 6, 2010.

Biographies Glasser, Brian (2001). In a Silent Way: A Portrait of Joe Zawinul. London: Sanctuary. ISBN1860743269. OCLC45900631. Baumann, Gunther (2002) (in German). Zawinul: Ein Leben aus Jazz [Zawinul: A Life of Jazz]. Salzburg; Wien: Frankfurt am Main; Residenz. ISBN3701712913. OCLC469270497. Yamashita, Kunihiko (2006). Joe Zawinul: On the Creative Process. Tokyo: Rittor Music. ISBN4845613379. OCLC169983180.

External links Official website (http://www.joe-zawinul.at) Zawinul Online (http://www.zawinulonline.org) Italian fans website (http://www.zawinulfans.org) Obituary from The Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2434266.ece) Profile (http://www.unknownpublic.com/writing/zawinul2.html) of Joe Zawinul by Guardian writer and Unknown Public editor John L. Walters Rolling Stone's Joe Zawinul Page (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/joezawinul) BBC's Profile of Joe Zawinul (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/profiles/joe_zawinul.shtml) Joe Zawinul website (http://www.zawinulsite.com) Jazz Police's review of "Brown Street", Joe Zawinul's latest release (http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/ 6684/2/) Joe Zawinul backstage at his club "Birdland" in Vienna, Austria, by Johann Marcus Streitner (http://www. shylingo.com/Current/People/Zawinul/) See Zawinul Story for what happened during the Malibu Fire with the Weather Report Concert Recordings Tapes (http://www.icwiring.com/history.html) Joe Zawinul Died at age 75 (http://www.neorunner.com/archive/2007/09/11/ Jazz_Great_Joe_Zawinul_Dead_at_75.php) Public Tribute and Obituary (http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/zawinul/2637339) In-Depth Interview with Anil Prasad of Innerviews (http://www.innerviews.org/inner/zawinul.html) Allmusic profile (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p53219/biography)

Wayne Shorter

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Wayne ShorterWayne Shorter

Convocation Hall, Toronto, Nov. 27, 1977. Photo courtesy of Jean-Luc Ourlin Background information Born August 25, 1933 Newark, New Jersey, United States Modal jazz, crossover jazz, post-bop, hard bop, jazz fusion Musician, composer Saxophone 1959present Blue Note, Columbia, Verve Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Weather Report

Genres Occupations Instruments Years active Labels Associated acts

Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer, commonly regarded as one of the most important American jazz musicians of his generation. He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer.[1] Shorter's output within the field has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise and various commendations, including multiple Grammy Awards.[2] The virtuoso has recorded over 20 albums as a leader, and appeared on dozens more with others including Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s, Miles Davis's second great quintet in the 1960s and the jazz fusion band Weather Report, which Shorter co-led in the 1970s. Many of his compositions have become standards.

BiographyEarly life and careerShorter was born in Newark, New Jersey, and attended Newark Arts High School.[3] He loved music, being encouraged by his father to take up the saxophone as a teenager (his brother Alan became a trumpeter). After graduating from New York University in 1956, Shorter spent two years in the U.S. Army, during which time he played briefly with Horace Silver. After his discharge from the army, he played with Maynard Ferguson. It was in his youth that Shorter was given the nickname Mr. Gone, which would later become an album title for Weather Report.[4] In 1959, Shorter joined Art Blakey. He stayed with Blakey for five years, and eventually became musical director for the group.

Wayne Shorter

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With Miles Davis (1964-1970)When John Coltrane finally left Miles Davis' band in 1960 to pursue his own group (after previously trying to leave in 1959), Coltrane proposed Wayne Shorter as a replacement but Shorter was unavailable and Davis went with Sonny Stitt on tenor followed by a revolving door of Hank Mobley, George Coleman, and Sam Rivers. In 1964, Miles Davis persuaded Shorter to leave Blakey and join his quintet alongside Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Miles' so-called "second great quintet" (to distinguish it from the quintet with Coltrane) that included Hancock and Shorter has frequently been cited by musicians and critics as one of the most influential groups in the history of jazz, and Shorter's compositions are a primary reason for the group's unique sound. Shorter composed extensively for Miles Davis (e.g. "Prince of Darkness", "E.S.P.", "Footprints", "Sanctuary", "Nefertiti", and many others); on some albums, he provided half of the compositions, typically hard-bop workouts with spaced-out long melody lines above the beat. Herbie Hancock said of Shorter's tenure in the group, "The master writer to me, in that group, was Wayne Shorter. He still is a master. Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn't get changed." Davis said, "Wayne is a real composer. He writes scores, write the parts for everybody just as he wants them to sound... Wayne also brought in a kind of curiosity about working with musical rules. If they didn't work, then he broke them, but with musical sense; he understood that freedom in music was the ability to know the rules in order to bend them to your own satisfaction and taste."[5] Shorter remained in Davis's band after the breakup of the quintet in 1968, playing on early jazz fusion recordings including In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew (both 1969). His last live dates and studio recordings with Davis were in 1970. Until 1968, he played tenor saxophone exclusively. The final album on which he played tenor in the regular sequence of Davis albums was Filles de Kilimanjaro. In 1969, he played the soprano saxophone on the Davis album In a Silent Way and on his own Super Nova (recorded with then-current Davis sidemen Chick Corea and John McLaughlin). When performing live with Miles Davis, recordings from summer 1969 to early spring 1970 he played both soprano and tenor saxophones. By the early 1970s, however, he chiefly played soprano saxophone. Solo Blue Note recordings Simultaneous with his time in the Miles Davis quintet, Shorter recorded several albums for Blue Note Records, featuring almost exclusively his own compositions, with a variety of line-ups, quartets and larger groups including Blue Note favourites such as Freddie Hubbard. His first Blue Note album (of nine in total) was Night Dreamer recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in 1964 with Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones. JuJu and Speak No Evil are well known recordings from this era. Shorter's compositions on these albums are notable for their use of: pentatonic melodies harmonised with pedal points and complex harmonic relationships; structured solos that reflect the composition's melody as much as its harmony; long rests as an integral part of the music, in contrast with other, more effusive, players of the time such as John Coltrane. The later album The All Seeing Eye was a free-jazz workout with a larger group, while Adams Apple of 1966 was back to carefully constructed melodies by Shorter leading a quartet. Then a sextet again in the following year for Schizophrenia with his Miles Davis band mates Hancock and Carter plus trombonist Curtis Fuller, alto saxophonist/flautist James Spaulding and strong rhythms by drummer Joe Chambers. These albums have recently been remastered by Rudy Van Gelder. Shorter also recorded occasionally as a sideman (again, mainly for Blue Note) with Donald Byrd, McCoy Tyner, Grachan Moncur III, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, and bandmates Hancock and Williams.

Wayne Shorter

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Weather Report (1971-1985)Following the release of Odyssey of Iska in 1970, Shorter formed the fusion group Weather Report with Miles Davis veteran keyboardist Joe Zawinul. The other original members were bassist Miroslav Vitous, percussionist Airto Moreira, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon. After Vitous' departure in 1973, Shorter and Zawinul co-led the group until the band's break-up in late 1985. A variety of excellent musicians that would make up Weather Report alumni over the years (most notably the revolutionary bassist Jaco Pastorius) helped the band produce many high quality recordings in diverse styles through the years, with funk, bebop, Latin jazz, ethnic music, and futurism being the most prevalent denominators. Solo Shorter also recorded critically acclaimed albums as a bandleader, notably Native Dancer, which featured his Miles Davis band-mate Herbie Hancock and Brazilian composer and vocalist Milton Nascimento. Shorter was to work with both of these musicians again later. On the title track of Steely Dan's 1977 album Aja, he played a solo that moved the critic writing the album's liner notes to the point that he called it "suitable for framing" (meaning 'beautiful' rather than 'wooden').Shorter with Weather Report in Amsterdam, in 1980

Concurrently, in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, he toured in the V.S.O.P. quintet. This group was a revival of the 1960s Miles Davis quintet, except that Freddie Hubbard filled the trumpet chair instead of Miles. Shorter appeared with the same former Davis bandmates on the Carlos Santana double LP The Swing of Delight, for which he also composed a number of pieces. From 1977 through 2002, he appeared on ten Joni Mitchell studio albums, gaining him a wider audience.

Recent careerAfter leaving Weather Report, Shorter continued to record and lead groups in jazz fusion styles, including touring in 1988 with guitarist Carlos Santana, who appeared on the last Weather Report disc This is This! In 1989, he contributed to a hit on the rock charts, playing the sax solo on Don Henley's song "The End of the Innocence" and also produced the album "Pilar" by the Portuguese singer-songwriter Pilar Homem de Melo. He has also maintained an occasional working relationship with Herbie Shorter performing. Photo by Tom Beetz. Hancock, including a tribute album recorded shortly after Davis's death with Hancock, Carter, Williams and Wallace Roney. He continued to appear on Joni Mitchell's records in the 1990s. Shorter's distinctive sound is also apparent in the soundtrack for the Harrison Ford film The Fugitive released in 1993.

Wayne Shorter In 1995, Shorter released the album High Life, his first solo recording for seven years. It was also Shorter's debut as a leader for Verve Records. Shorter composed all the compositions on the album and co-produced it with the bassist Marcus Miller. High Life received the Grammy Award for best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1997. Shorter would work with Hancock once again in 1997, on the much acclaimed and heralded album 1+1. The song "Aung San Suu Kyi" (named for the Burmese pro-democracy activist) won both Hancock and Shorter a Grammy Award. In 2009, he was announced as one of the headline acts at the Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco. Quartet Shorter formed his current band in 2000, the first permanent acoustic group under his leadership, a quartet with young musicians, pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade, playing his own complex compositions, many of them reworkings of tunes from his substantial portfolio going back to the 1960s. Two albums of live recordings featuring this quartet have been released, Footprints Live! (2002) and Beyond the Sound Barrier (2005). The quartet has received great acclaim from fans and critics, especially for the strength of Shorter's tenor saxophone The Wayne Shorter Quartet at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milan, 2010 playing. The Shorter biography Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter by journalist Michelle Mercer contains an insight into the working life of these musicians as well as insight into Shorter's life, thoughts and Buddhist beliefs.[6] Beyond the Sound Barrier received the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album. Shorter's 2003 album Alegra (his first studio album for ten years, since High Life) received the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album; it features the quartet with a host of other musicians, including pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and former Weather Report percussionist Alex Acua. Shorter's compositions, some new, some reworked from his Miles Davis period, feature the complex Latin rhythms that Shorter specialised in during his Weather Report days.

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Personal lifeShorter married Teruka (Irene) Nakagami, in the 1960s; they met in 1961 and later had a child, Miyako.[7] Some of his compositions are copyrighted as "Miyako Music". Shorter dedicated some pieces to his daughter: "Miyako" and "Infant Eyes". The couple separated in 1964.[8] Shorter met Ana Maria in 1964 and they were married in 1970.[8] In 1986, their daughter Iska died of a grand mal seizure at age 14.[9] Ana Maria and the couple's niece Dalila were both killed in 1996 on TWA Flight 800 while en route to see him in Italy.[8] Shorter married Carolina Dos Santos, a close friend of Ana Maria, in 1999. He is a Nichiren Buddhist and a member of Ska Gakkai.[8]

Wayne Shorter

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DiscographyTitle Introducing Wayne Shorter Second Genesis Wayning Moments Night Dreamer JuJu Speak No Evil The Soothsayer Et Cetera The All Seeing Eye Adam's Apple Schizophrenia Super Nova Moto Grosso Feio Odyssey of Iska Native Dancer with Milton Nascimento Atlantis Phantom Navigator Joy Ryder Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter - Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1988 with Carlos Santana High Life 1 + 1 with Herbie Hancock Footprints Live! Alegra Beyond the Sound Barrier Year 1959 1960 1962 1964 1964 1965 1965 1965 1965 1966 1967 1969 1970 1970 1974 1985 1986 1988 1988 1995 1997 2002 2003 2005 Label Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Blue Note Columbia Columbia Columbia Columbia Image Entertainment Verve Verve Verve Verve Verve

Awards Down Beat Poll Winner New Star Saxophonist (1962) Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for Weather Report's 8:30 (1979) Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Dexter Gordon's Call Sheet Blues (1987) Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for A Tribute to Miles (1994) Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for High Life (1996) Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Aung San Suu Kyi (1997) NEA Jazz Masters (1998) Honorary Doctorate of Music (1999; Berklee College of Music) Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for In Walked Wayne (1999) Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Sacajawea (2003) Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for Alegra (2003)

Wayne Shorter Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for Beyond The Sound Barrier (2005) Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award Small Ensemble Group of the Year to Wayne Shorter Quartet (2006)

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References[1] Ratliff, Ben. The New York Times. http:/ / topics. nytimes. com/ topics/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ s/ wayne_shorter/ index. html. [2] The New York Times: "Times Topics" listing (http:/ / topics. nytimes. com/ topics/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ s/ wayne_shorter/ index. html) [3] A Brief History (http:/ / www. nps. k12. nj. us/ arts/ a_brief_history. htm), Newark Arts High School. Accessed August 10, 2008. [4] The Big Takeover: Weather Report - Forecast: Tomorrow (Columbia Legacy) : (http:/ / www. bigtakeover. com/ recordings/ weather-report-forecast-tomorrow-columbia-legacy) [5] Davis, Miles; Troupe, Quincy (1990). Miles: The Autobiography. Simon and Schuster. p.274. ISBN0671725823. [6] "Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter" (http:/ / www. allaboutjazz. com/ php/ article. php?id=15937). allaboutjazz.com. . Retrieved 2010-11-19. [7] http:/ / 100greatestjazzalbums. blogspot. com/ 2006/ 07/ speak-no-evil-wayne-shorter-blue-note. html [8] "A Separate Peacee" (http:/ / www. people. com/ people/ archive/ article/ 0,,20122768,00. html). People. . Retrieved 2010-02-21. [9] Ratliff, Ben. The New York Times. http:/ / topics. nytimes. com/ topics/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ s/ wayne_shorter/ index. html.

External links Essay on Wayne Shorter (http://web.archive.org/web/20080225123458/http://www.orbismusic.com/ old_site/wayne+shorter/shorterpaper.html) (Internet archive copy from February 2008) "An Interview with Wayne Shorter" (http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2008/3/21/ in-conversation-with-wayne-shorter) by Bob Blumenthal, ( Jazz.com (http://www.jazz.com)). The Complete Wayne Shorter (http://home.ica.net/~blooms/wshome.html) Wayne Shorter's letter read during Joe Zawinul's funeral (http://www.zawinulfans.org/modules/sections/ index.php?op=viewarticle&artid=43) Wayne Shorter discography (http://www.jazzdisco.org/wayne-shorter/discography/) Wayne Shorter Quartet with NEC Philharmonia, Boston (http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article. php?id=34718) on AllAboutJazz.com

Miroslav Vitou

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Miroslav VitouMiroslav VitouBirth name Born Miroslav Ladislav Vitou December 6, 1947 Prague, Czechoslovakia Musician, songwriter Double bass, electric bass Freedom Records

Occupations Instruments Labels

Associated acts Weather Report, Miroslav Philharmonik Review Website miroslavvitous.com [1]

Miroslav Ladislav Vitou (6 December 1947), is a Czech jazz bassist.

BiographyBorn in Prague, he began the violin at age six,[2] and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitou was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his brother Alan on drums and fellow Czech luminary-to-be Jan Hammer on keyboards. He studied music at the Prague Conservatory (under Frantiek Pota),[3] subsequently winning an international music contest in Vienna, earning him a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA.[2] Vitou's virtuoso jazz bass playing has led critics to place him in the same league as Scott LaFaro, Dave Holland, Niels-Henning rsted Pedersen and Christian McBride. A representative example of Vitou's double bass playing is Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968), with Chick Corea on piano and Roy Haynes on drums. This album shows his strong rhythmic sense, innovative walking lines, and intensity and abandon as an improviser. His first album as a leader, Infinite Search,[2] re-released with minor changes as Mountain in the Clouds featured several key figures from the then-budding jazz fusion movement: John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, and (slightly) elder statesman Joe Henderson. A founding member of the group Weather Report,[2] he has worked with Jan Hammer, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, and Jan Garbarek. Vitou has since discussed his contentious departure from Weather Report with journalists, specifically regarding his relationship with Zawinul. Alphonso Johnson, who replaced Vitou, was himself replaced by the highly innovative and influential bassist Jaco Pastorius. In 1984 he collaborated with Stanley Clarke.[4] In 1988 Vitou moved back to Europe to focus on composing, but nonetheless continued to perform in festivals.

Miroslav Vitou

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DiscographyAs leader 1969: Infinite Search (Mountain In The Clouds) (Embryo Records) 1970: Purple 1976: Magical Shepherd 1976: Majesty Music 1977: Miroslav (Freedom) 1978: Guardian Angels 1979: First Meeting (ECM) 1980: Miroslav Vitous group (ECM) 1982: Journey's End (ECM) 1985: Emergence (ECM) 1991: Star (ECM) 1992: Atmos (ECM) 1992: Big hand for Hanshin 2003: Universal Syncopations (ECM)

2007: Universal Syncopations 2 (ECM) 2009: Remembering Weather Report (ECM)

As sidemanWith Chick Corea Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968) With Sadao Watanabe Round Trip (1974)

References[1] http:/ / www. miroslavvitous. com/ [2] Jung, Fred (2003-10-10). "A Fireside Chat With Miroslav Vitous" (http:/ / www. allaboutjazz. com/ php/ article. php?id=619). All About Jazz. . Retrieved 2010-06-20. [3] Olsen, Paul (2008-01-07). "Miroslav Vitous: It Comes Down to Taste" (http:/ / www. allaboutjazz. com/ php/ article. php?id=27881). All About Jazz. . Retrieved 2010-06-20. [4] 1984 Sydney Town Hall, producer Ian Davis (ABC radio)

External links Official homepage (http://www.miroslavvitous.com/) Miroslav Vitou MySpace site (http://www.myspace.com/miroslavvitous) Miroslav Vitou interview at Allaboutjazz.com (http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=73853) Conversation With Miroslav Vitous, 8/01/2009 (http://www.bass-musician-magazine.com/General/ bass-musician-magazine-detail.asp?year=2009&month=8&article-id=517801068) "Agitation", with Stanley Clarke (http://www.penceland.com/cgi-bin/play_flv.pl?filename=Miroslav_Vitous and Stanley_Clarke - Agitation.flv&width=500&height=375&title=Miroslav Vitous and Stanley Clarke Agitation)

Airto Moreira

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Airto MoreiraAirto Moreira

Airto Moreira Background information Born August 5, 1941 Itaipolis, Brazil Jazz Bandleader, composer, sideman Percussion 1967present

Genres Occupations Instruments Years active

Associated acts Flora Purim

Airto Moreira (born August 5, 1941)[1] is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer.[1] He currently resides in Los Angeles.

BiographyAirto Moreira was born in Itaipolis, Brazil, into a family of folk healers, and raised in Curitiba and So Paulo. Showing an extraordinary talent for music at a young age, he became a professional musician at age 13, noticed first as a member of the samba jazz pioneers Sambalano Trio and for his landmark recording was Quarteto Novo with Hermeto Pascoal in 1967.[1] Shortly after, he followed his wife Flora Purim to the United States. After moving to the USA, Airto began playing regularly with jazz musicians in New York, including the bassist Walter Booker. Through Booker, Airto began playing with Joe Zawinul, who in turn introduced him to Miles Davis. At this time Miles was experimenting with electronic instruments and rock and funk rhythms, a form which would soon come to be called Jazz fusion. Airto was to participate in several of the most important projects of this emerging musical form. Airto stayed with Miles for about two years, touring and participating in the creation of the seminal fusion recording Bitches Brew.[2] Shortly after leaving Miles, Airto joined other Miles alumni Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter and Miroslav Vitous in their group Weather Report, playing percussion on their first album, Weather Report. He left Weather Report (replaced by Dom Um Romo and Muruga Booker for their Sweetnighter album) to join fellow Miles alumnus Chick Corea's new band Return to Forever. He played drums on Return to Forever's first two albums, their Return to Forever and Light as a Feather. These albums are regarded today as classics of the fusion genre. Airto was a contributor to many of Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart's world music / percussion albums in Rykodisc's The World collection, including The Apocalypse Now Sessions, Dafos, Supralingua, and Planet Drum which won a World Music Grammy in 1991.[1] He can be heard playing congas on Eumir Deodato's 1970s space-funk berhit Also sprach Zarathustra on the Prelude album. Airto has played with many of the greatest names in Jazz including Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, Paul Desmond, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Al Di Meola, Zakir

Airto Moreira Hussain, George Duke and Mickey Hart.[1] He also has played with the Latin/fusion rock band Santana and with symphonic orchestras and as a solo percussionist, and during live performances often includes a samba solo, where he emulates the sound of an entire band using just a single pandeiro. In addition to jazz concerts and recordings, he has composed and contributed music to film and television (including scores for Apocalypse Now and Last Tango in Paris), played at the re-opening of the Library of Alexandria, Egypt [3] (along with fellow professor of ethnomusicology Halim El-Dabh[4] ), and taught at UCLA and the California Brazil Camp. In 1996, Airto and his wife Flora Purim collaborated with P.M. Dawn on the song "Non-Fiction Burning" for the AIDS-Benefit Album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization.

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Awards Airto was voted the number one percussionist in Down Beat Magazine's Critics Poll for the years 1975 through 1982 and most recently in 1993.[5] In September 2002, Brazils President Fernando Henrique Cardoso named Airto Moreira and Flora Purim to the Order of Rio Branco, one of Brazil's highest honors.

DiscographyAs leader 1970: Natural Feelings - One Way Records - Flora Purim, Hermeto Pascoal, Ron Carter and Sivuca. 1971: Seeds on the Ground One Way - Purim, Pasocal, Carter, Sivuca, Dom Um Romo, and Severino de Oliveira. 1972: Fingers (CTI Records)- Purim, David Amaro, Hugo Fattoruso, Jorge Fattoruso and Ringo Thielmann 1972: Free (CTI Records) - featuring Purim, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Stanley Clarke 1974: Virgin Land (CTI Records) Purim, Amaro, Clarke, Alex Blake, Eddie Daniels, Gabriel DeLorme, George Duke, George Marge, Jane Taylor, Kenny Ascher, and Milcho Leviev 1975: Identity - Purim, Amaro, Egberto Gismonti, Herbie Hancock, John Heard, John Williams, Luis Johnson, Ral de Souza, Roberto, Ted Lo and Wayne Shorter 1976: Promises of the Sun Arista - Purim, de Souza, Hugo Fattoruso, Milton Nascimento, Novelli, and Toninho Horta. 1977: I'm Fine, How Are You? Warner Music Japan - featuring Fattoruso, de Souza, Ruben Rada 1979: Touching You Touching Me Warner Music Japan - Purim, Fatturoso, Al Ciner, Alphonso Johnson, Bayette, George Duke, George Sopuch, Herb Alpert, Joe Farrell, Jose Bertrami, Laudir de Oliveira, Manolo Badrena, Marcos Valle, Michael Boddicker, Nivaldo Ornellas, Peter Bunetta, Richard Feldman and The Sweet Inspirations. 1984" Misa Espiritual:Airto's Brazilian Mass Harmonia Mundi - Gil Evans, WDR Big Band, WDR Strings, Marcos Silva 1985: Three-way Mirror w Purim and Joe Farrell (his last recording) 1986: Latino: Aqui Se Puede Montuno - Purim, Alphonso Johnson, Cachete Maldonado, Donaldo Alias, Frank Colon, Geni da Silva, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jeff Elliot, Farrell, Jorge Dalto, Kei Akagi, Keith Jones, Larry Nass, Laudir de Oliveira, Neves, Rafael Jose, de Souza, Tite Curet Alonso and Tony Moreno. 1988: Samba De Flora Montuno - Purim, Johnson, Angel Maldonado, Bruce Bigenho, David Tolegian, Dom Camardella, Alias, Colon, Hidalgo, Eliot, Jill Avery, Farrell, Dalto, Akagi, Jones, Nass, de Oliveira, Luiz Munoz, Michael Shapiro, Jose, Randy Tico, de Souza, Roland Bautista, Rolando Gingras and Moreno 1989: Struck by Lightning Venture Records - Purim, Bob Harrison, Chick Corea, Gary Meek, Herbie Hancock, Jose Neto, Junior Homrich, Marcos Silva, Mark Egan, Mike Shapiro, Randy Tico and Stanley Clarke

Airto Moreira 1989: Killer Bees B&W - Purim, Corea, Meek, Hancock, Hiram Bullock, Egan and Clarke 1992: The Other Side of This Rykodisc - for Mickey Hart's The World series 1993: Revenge of the Killer Bees (remix of Killer Bees) Electric Melt 1999: Homeless Melt 2000 1999: Code: Brasil Target: Recife Melt 2000 2003: Life After That with daughter Diana, wife Flora plus Oscar Castro Neves and others.

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As sidemanWith Duke Pearson How Insensitive (1969) With Edu Lobo Cantiga de Longe (1971) With Return to Forever Return to Forever (1972) Light as a Feather (1972) With Weather Report Weather Report (1971) With Stan Getz Captain Marvel (1972) With Eumir Deodato Prelude (1972) With Flora Purim Butterfly Dreams (1973) With Santana Borboletta (1974) With Opa Goldenwings (1976) With Al Di Meola Soaring Through a Dream (1985) With Fourth World Fourth World Recorded live at Ronnie Scott's (1992) Fourth World (1994) Fourth World [live] (1995) Encounters of the Fourth World (1995) Last Journey (1999)

With Mickey Hart The Apocalypse Now Sessions: The Rhythm Devils Play River Music - Rhythm Devils (1980) Dafos (1983) At the Edge (1990) Planet Drum (1991)

Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (1996) Supralingua - (1998)

Airto Moreira With Hermeto Pascoal Slaves Mass (1976) With Andreas Georgiou Asate (2003) With Stephen Kent Stephen Kent Live at Starwood (2005) With Belinda Underwood Underwood Uncurling (2005) With Jacob Anderskov Ears to the Ground (2008) With Dizzy Gillespie Rhythmstick (1990)

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Filmography 2006: Airto & Flora Purim: The Latin Jazz All-Stars[6]

References[1] [2] [3] [4] allmusic Biography (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p36965/ biography) M.E.L.T. 2000 artist's bio (http:/ / www. melt2000. com/ page. html?chapter=0& id=6) Europe Jazz Network Bio (http:/ / www. ejn. it/ mus/ moreira. htm) Seachrist, Denise A. (2003). The Musical World of Halim El-Dabh. Kent, Ohio, United States: Kent State University Press 296 pp ISBN 0-87338-752-x [5] Downbeat Magazine: check the years mentioned (http:/ / www. downbeat. com/ artists/ artist_main. asp?sect=archives& aid=712& aname=Down+ Beat+ Critics+ Poll) [6] VIEW Listing (http:/ / www. view. com/ airto_and_flora_purim_the_latin_jazz_all-stars_dvd. aspx)

External links Airto's Official Website (http://www.airto.com) Europe Jazz Network Bio (http://www.ejn.it/mus/moreira.htm) Airto's interview (http://www.clubbity.com/charts_fea_roots.asp?ID=502&tipo=interviews) Airto Moreira interview at Allaboutjazz.com (http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=52491)

Alphonse Mouzon

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Alphonse MouzonAlphonse Mouzon

Alphonse Mouzon Background information Born November 21, 1948 Charleston, South Carolina Musician, Songwriter drums, percussion

Occupations Instruments

Associated acts Weather Report, Eleventh House, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, many others

Alphonse Mouzon (born November 21, 1948) is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts. Alphonse Mouzon's popularity as a performing artist first became realized in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[1]

BiographyEarly lifeMouzon, of African-American, French and Blackfoot Indian descent, was born on November 21, 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. He received his first musical training at Bonds-Wilson High School and moved to New York City upon graduation. He studied drama and music at the City College of New York as well as medicine at Manhattan Medical School. He continued receiving drum lessons from Bobby Thomas, the drummer for jazz pianist Billy Taylor. He played percussion in the Broadway show "Promises, Promises", he then worked with pianist McCoy Tyner, then he was a member of Weather Report with Joe Zawinul on keyboard and Wayne Shorter on saxophone. After that Mouzon signed as a solo artist to the Blue Note label in 1972.

Alphonse Mouzon

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CareerPerhaps Mouzon's main claim to fame was his tenure with guitarist Larry Coryell's Eleventh House fusion band f