Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular
and artistic success -- and for the same reasons. For one thing, Joe Zawinul
revealed an unexpectedly potent commercial streak for the first time since
his Cannonball Adderley days, contributing what has become a perennial
hit, "Birdland." Indeed, "Birdland" is a remarkable
bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes,
without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big
band. The other factor is the full emergence of Jaco Pastorius as a co-leader;
his dancing, staccato bass lifting itself out of the bass range as a third
melodic voice, completely dominating his own ingenious "Teen Town"
(where he also plays drums!). By now, Zawinul has become WR's de facto
commander in the studio; his colorful synthesizers dictate the textures,
his conceptions are carefully planned, with little of the freewheeling
improvisation of only five years before. Wayne Shorter's saxophones are
now reticent, if always eloquent, beams of light in Zawinul's general
scheme while Alex Acuna shifts ably over to the drums and Manolo Badrena
handles the percussion. Released just as the jazz-rock movement began
to run out of steam, this landmark album proved that there was plenty
of creative life left in the idiom.
(by Richard S. Ginell, All
Music Guide)
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