Heavy Weather

Heavy Weather is Weather Report’s seventh album, released in 1977 through Columbia Records. It is the band’s second album with bassist Jaco Pastorius. On Black Market, Pastorius played on two of the seven tracks, but here he is a full member of the band.

Featuring the jazz standard “Birdland”, the album is one of the best-sellers in the Columbia jazz catalog. Heavy Weather is considered a landmark album in the jazz-rock or fusion movement of the 1970s. Its opening track, “Birdland”, was a significant commercial success, something not typical of instrumental music. The Birdland melody had been performed live by the band as part of Dr Honoris Causa from Zawinul’s eponymous solo album predating the formation of Weather Report which was often coupled with Directions which appeared on I Sing the Body Electric. A striking feature of Birdland is Pastorius picking harmonics on his fretless bass, although recordings exist of live performance of the theme prior to Pastorius joining the band when it was purely a keyboard section.

Weather Report: Heavy Weather 1977

1. Birdland (Zawinul)(6’)
2. A Remark You made (Zawinul)(6’52)
3. Teen town (Pastorius)(2’53)
4. Harlequin (Shorter)(4’)
Side 2
5. Rumba Mama (Paderna-Acuna)2’12
6. Palladium (Shorter) 4’45
7. The Juggler (Zawinul)5’05
8. Havona (Pastorius)6’03

Joe Zawinul (ARP 2600, Rhodes electric piano, acoustic piano,
Oberheim polyphonic synthesizer, melodica),
Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones),
Jaco Pastorius (Fender bass, steel drums & Mandocello),
Alex Acuna (drums & congas),
Manola Badrena (congas & percussion)