Customer Reviews

Heavy Weather

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Besides being perhaps the greatest ever jazz/rock supergroup, Weather Report actually managed to live up to their billings, without reservation.

They produced two astoundingly brilliant documents of their prowess, Black Market and Heavy Weather. Of the two--and this is more personal preference than anything clearly discernable--I believe Heavy Weather shines brightest.

Why?

Their ability to perfom at the highest levels of musical endeavor and innovation and still create a record that would appeal to the largest possible audience.

Surely "Birdland" and "Teen Town" are among the very highest accomplishments of what might be dubbed "accessible jazz." Combining simple, catchy melodies with progressive chord voicings and impossibly bubbly rhythms, they lend themselves both to extensive radio play and extended musical contemplation. Quite a feat.

The remainder of the disc, featuring a couple of Wayne Shorter's catchier compositions, "Harlequin" and "Palladium," also features "The Juggler," a magically mysterious offering from the pen of Zawinul, and "Havana," a stone rocker courtesy of Jaco Pastorius at the absolute height of his compositional prowess.

The absolute pinnacle of jazz/fusion, casually, effortlessly, blowing out of the water the entire jam band scene, Heavy Weather is not to be missed.

This excellent 1977 release opens with the highly popular Birdland, a synthesizer-heavy piece that introduces the awesome talents of the greatest bassist in the world, Jaco Pastorius. As a bass player myself that was heavily influenced by Jaco, I was floored by his incredible technique on this recording, which includes a heady brew of harmonics, false harmonics, chords, and occasional bursts of lightning fast 64th note triplets. This is not to say that Jaco could not lay back - the moody and haunting Zawinul composition A Remark You Made features some very tasteful and restrained playing. The Wayne Shorter tune Harlequin and Zawinul's The Juggler are also very nice and similar in texture to A Remark You Made. The truly odd track is the the percussion driven piece Rumba Mama, which features a live performance by a duo comprised of excellent drummer Alex Acuna and percussionist Manola Badrena, who also "sing-shouts" in Spanish at the beginning of the piece. Although I really enjoy the entire disc, for me the highlights of Heavy Weather include Birdland, A Remark You Made, the Jaco tunes Teen Town and Havona, along with Wayne Shorter's superb Palladium. Although Joe Zawinul's use of synthesizers is heavy (a lot of Oberheim Polyphonic and ARP 2600) the sounds are natural and blend well with the jazzier and "straighter" aspects of the music. Then again, I am a huge prog rock fan so the synthesizers probably would not bother me much. If you like this recording, Black Market (1976) is also superb and in addition to Zawinul and Shorter, features a large and revolving rhythm section including: Narada Michael Walden (drums), Chester Thompson (drums), Jaco (bass), and Alphonse Mouzon (bass).

This album is a 180 degree about face from Weather Report's earlier masterpiece, 'I sing the body electric'. The earlier relase features extensive improvisations and free jazz type techniques. Heavy Weather is most often rigidly arranged. The arrangements are good, and the tunes are catchy and infectious. There are some improvised solos here for sure, but in the context of largely pre-determined compositions. This is essentially a collection of extremely well-crafted pop tunes. One would be hard pressed to recognize this band as the same Weather Report that recorded 'I Sing the Body Electric'.

I enjoyed this album tremendously when I was first getting into jazz as a teenager. Having been an electric bass player at the time, I particularly appreciated Jaco Pastorius's considerable contributions. However, now that I have delved deeper into jazz, done a lot more listening and even some performing of jazz, I miss the continual interaction on this album that often happens between a combo of jazz musicians in a more liberated setting.

This is a great introduction to the Fusion genre and will probably be remembered as one of its defining moments.

On the one hand, those who don't remember the 70s don't have to deal with any of the negative associations with the memories of the decade and the cultural things to come out of it. But we young people also don't have the benefit of remembering when something was fresh and new, revolutionizing that particular part of the culture. This pertains to this album in terms of the second track, "A Remark You Made." It's a ballad with some really pretty melodic lines and interesting harmonies. The problem is, this album (and this tune in particular) was apparently so popular that it spawned an entire wave of what we today call "smooth jazz." Today, one has to listen to "A Remark You Made" through the filter of Kenny G and those who took more lyrical fusion and watered it down for commercial success. Joe Zawinul is a musical genius to the extent that he could pull off a tune like this and have it not be sappy or cheezy. Kenny G is not. But the latter drags down the work of the former in that association. I cannot listen to Wayne Shorter's beautiful soprano saxophone without lamenting that to which it gave way, and so I don't like "A Remark You Made."

However, with an open mind, the rest of this album does not suffer from the spectre of Kenny G, with the possible exception of "Harlequin," though the tune is interesting enough to escape that association. "Birdland" of course is a classic (though I've heard it so many times that I just start this album at "Teen Town" whenever I listen to it). I think "The Juggler" is the best of Zawinul's world music atmospheric projects. But the real gem of this album is the closing track, "Havona." Penned by Jaco Pastorius, it begins with the usual Weather Report synthesized fanfare but breaks into a jazz pseudo-samba with harmonies pulled from post-bop but a section with rock sensibilities and propulsion. The tune is merely good, but the musicianship on display is absolutely PHENOMENAL. Listen to Jaco's brilliant bass lines behind Wayne Shorter's solo (that's right, there are individual solos in which Zawinul plays acoustic piano, Shorter cuts loose, and Jaco just kills everyone). The tune absolutely cooks, looking back at post-bop performances of the highest caliber, looking ahead to new sounds and technology, and all the while remaining totally within the scope of the Weather Report sound. I do not hesitate to call this performance my favorite in Weather Report's entire discography.

I would give this album 5 stars but for the fact that I no longer listen to "Birdland" (overkill) and I could never listen to "A Remark You Made." I highly recommend this album (it's a classic) BUT not as a bridge into fusion from rock or classic jazz. I came from hard-bop and heard this as very cheesy the first couple of times through. It was a year later before I listened closely and found the creative brilliance that exists here. From a jazz background, start with the early Weather Report albums, their self titled debut and "I Sing The Body Electric." They are very different, and more of an extension of electric Miles. Then work your way on up to this album to appreciate the growth this band underwent. From rock, try "Tale Spinnin'" and "Black Market," the two albums before this one. They are funkier and prepare you for the colors and textures used on this album. But be sure to do whatever is necessary to appreciate this album, because it's worth it.

Back in the late 70's, I just started to venture out and expand my musical tastes from just rock and bought my first jazz records; George Benson's "Breezin'", Stanley Clarkes' "School Days", and by sheer luck due to hearing that particular day the vast, unified wall of beautiful developing sound with the electronic keyboards of Joe Zawinul and the funkified, dancing bass of the masterful Jaco Pastorius both leading in a full, somewhat Big Band style, the now classic jazz perennial standard, "Birdland" (as well as this impressionable teenager checking out the cool album cover) of this landmark album, "Heavy Weather".
Not a bad start to enjoy the beauty of Jazz with these three album gems for initiation !!!

"Heavy Weather" expanded my listening pleasures in further understanding and appreciating craft and artistic musicianship as it further defined Weather Report as a "supergroup" in an at-the-time stale jazz-rock movement suddenly being revamped with the help and popularity of this now classic.

Lead by an ultra-talented trio of co-founder Zawinal, Pastorius - who brought a new breath of fresh air in bringing a moving, funky, staccato bass and creating another melodic voice, and the sizzling saxophonist, Wayne Shorter, "Heavy Weather" contains remarkable and timeless songs like the ingenious classics "A Remark You Made", "Teen Town", "Harlequin", "Palladium", "The Juggler" and the spectacular ending workout "Havona". This band creates by no means mainstream, commercial jazz but an extremely clever, interesting, sometimes complex fusion textured yet smooth, dreamy approachable jazz sophisication for the listener to really sit back, close their eyes and truely appreciate the beauty of the musicianship of what they are hearing.

This album is an absolute must for all who appreciate rock and jazz fusion !!!

There's energy and drive to spare in this landmark work from the premier jazz fusion act of the 70s, the impeccable Weather Report. A remarkable blend of style, hip grooves, and smoking hooks, "Heavy Weather" dragged jazz kicking and screaming from the doldrums of the early 70s (look into the jazz works of that period and you'll see what I mean, though there are a few gems) into an era where jazz would ultimately meet (and fuse) with pop/rock elements, evident on tracks such as "Birdland" and "Harlequin." There's even a little disco present in the sharp hooks of "Teen Town." That doesn't mean that Weather Report sacrificed their roots for the sake of a modern sound; rather, they integrated the improvisational nature of jazz into the standard rhythms and sounds of the day. There are moments when the music shows its age, though it's not from the arrangements or the traditional instruments, but from the synthetic sound of the period's keyboards, which have a harsh edge typical of the time. That in no way detracts from the overall quality of this remarkable work. The core of the group--keyboardist Joe Zawinul and sax artist Wayne Shorter--provide the basis for "Heavy Weather's" multi-layered sound, but it's the late Jaco Pastorius who nearly steals the show with magnificent efforts on bass and drums. This is one of the great jazz works of any era, and is highly recommended.

When Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul teamed up with the late, great Jaco in 1976, fusion fans were stunned. The new band released what I consider their best record, 'Black Market', with drummer Alex Acuna. Then, with percussionist Molono Bandera, they released their most popular record, Heavy Weather'. And it's pretty good.
"Birdland" was the big single, but it's too weird. The live version is much better. "A Remark You Made" and "Harlequin" and two beautiful pieces of music. "Rumba Mama" is a duet between Acuna and Bandera, and is interesting if you have a broad taste in music. However, the real gem of the album is Jaco's "Teen Town". It is 2 minutes and 51 seconds of amazing fretless bass. (Jaco also plays drums on it.) All in all, this is a great Weather Report album and a landmak reocrd in jazz fusion.

Weather Report was one of the first fusion bands. The founders, Joe Zawinul & Wayne Shorter both played with Miles Davis on some of his fusion efforts. They released a few very good albums, but hit their peak with Heavy Weather. Combining jazz, rock, soul and latin rhythms, the album reaches out to many different audiences. It has a strong commercial appeal, but it doesn't compromise any of the band's musical integrity. The playing is smooth and easy, with bassist Jaco Pastorius particularly standing out. His bass provides the album's backbone and shows why he was truly one of music's best. Listen to his work on "Birdland" and "Harlequin" and you'll see why. Heavy Weather is a must for any jazz fan and is a great introduction for anyone not familiar with the artform.

The earlier reviewer's comment, "I especially like the guitarist", may be attributed to the opening track on this album, "Birdland". The false harmonics of Jaco Pastorius, on BASS guitar, could easily mislead one who doesn't know that WR had no guitarist. The Pastorius compositions on this album are most stunning: from the original, finger-ripping "Teen Town" to the mind-boggling "Havona" that closes the album, Jaco makes his presence felt in a way even he couldn't match on his solo albums. Shorter's "A Remark You Made" combines his sax with Jaco's bass to produce a theme so beautiful, it may never be matched by these two instruments ever again. Zawinul, of course, exerts an influence that cannot be denied, but it's the blend of these three that really that the album great, such as on Zawinul's hit "Birdland". The rhythm combo of Alex Acuna and Manolo Badrena are showcased nicely on "Rumba Mama", which begins with an unintelligible chant by Badrena that bleeds into a far-too-short groove. (This may have been one of those cases in which Weather Report recorded in a studio, and brought audience into the studio to combine the effects of the two environments.) In sum, this album is simply the greatest fusion album ever made, and arguably one of the best albums outright.

Gosh when I got this LP of Weather Report,this was the
breakthrough of all breakthroughs of jazz fusion. I had read a review in this review section, and one person's wife said Wayne Shorter sounded like John Klemmer and Jaco a "run if the mill"bass player. I am sorry you must be beginner jazz listeners!!! When I was attending NTSU in Denton,Tx. This is all the students were trying to imitate. Especially Jaco's rip roaring "Teen Town". Everybody in the school "pulled their frets"(Jaco plays a fretless bass)Wonderfull ballads such as "A Remark you Made".The hit ofcourse was "Birdland",but even this song was played by everyone from Manhaten Transfer to Maynard Ferguson. This whole album was a musical explosion!It gave way to other fusion artists to gave them the freedom they needed! So dont give this audience and readers that this album was "lame". In its first couple of weeks of sales(I worked in a record store,getting my Jazz degree),it went to gold in a matter of a month. The musicians ,you could not find better musicians!!! John
Klemmer,had the most lame musicians and would put me to sleep!
So you people that have never heard of this band and were
wondering,this is the CD to buy!!! Listen to different textures
in the music,Jaco's bass,sounds like its talking to you ,Shorter
sax,well this man goes way back in doing jazz,JoeZawinul,
wrote "mercy,mercy" in his " hey day" in the 60's. Songs
like Havona,a true example of expression and quality in the pure
sense. With Jaco's "Teen Town",you bassist out there,try to
write this out ,then play it. Thats what my instructor of
theory class senior year wanted me to do at my college.
I am sorry, but some of these writers of doing a review,some
are really good in telling you history or what to listen to,
but it chaps my_______, when someone says this band is lame.
Go get and enjoy the different tunes on this CD! You other guys are all wrong!!!!