Chicapah To be totally unique in the world of jazz rock/fusion is not an easy thing to accomplish but Weather Report achieved that with every album they released. Evolving from their personal and direct involvement with the highly complex and revolutionary late 60s experimental music of the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis, they were able to translate this radical movement into sounds that even unjazzified minds could absorb and enjoy. They were absolute masters at creating soundscapes that would take you to places you'd never thought of visiting. Keyboard man Josef Zawinul's "Boogie Woogie Waltz" starts things off perfectly. It's a song that mesmerized me instantly the first time I heard it. Within a matter of hours I had it spinning on my turntable with the volume cranked. It has a simple rhythmic beginning sparsely populated with instrumentation that pops up and then disappears like prairie dogs peering out of their holes. It's as if the musicians are feeling each other out in short, exploratory bursts. The beat becomes more defined after a while with conga and percussion joining the drums. After a change of key you start to decipher the vague outline of a musical theme like seeing the first strokes of an artist's sketch on canvas. It slowly takes shape bit by bit and then one of the most uplifting, delectable, infectious melodies you will ever hear rises to dominate the tune. To me it's just one of those magical, contagious airs that I can't get enough of so its repetition never grows old. Perhaps that's because Miroslav Vitous' and Andrew White's bass performances are so incredibly good underneath it all. I also love the dense, definitive ending. I (obviously) consider it to be one of the greatest songs they've ever recorded. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter's "Manolete" is next and it transports you to a more eclectic dimension at the start before it falls into a nice groove generated by drummer Eric Gravatt. It's an adventurous tune with a flexible, ever-changing melody that will challenge your ears. As they near the end Shorter's fluid Soprano Sax locates the heart of the song and takes an inspiring, triumphant stance. Then Zawinul's "Adios" leads you on a short, melancholy stroll that is both moody and meditative. It's a bit of a drone but it doesn't last long enough to get boring. "125th Street Congress" follows and it's like walking out of a dark tunnel into bright, warm sunshine. It has a cool funky beat and it's kind of a controlled jam where all the band members bounce continually off one another. There are so many great riffs to grab onto because each player is a virtuoso and they just keep topping themselves as the song progresses. White's electric bass work is particularly impressive and there's an overwhelming sense of joy embodied in this piece. Vitous contributes the next tune, "Will," that features a Middle Eastern ambience in the underlying feel. It's a welcome change of pace with a slow, hypnotic melody that wanders overhead but there's just not enough happening to keep this 6+ minute song from getting somewhat stale and you'll be glad when it ends. The closer, Shorter's "Non-Stop Home," is a brisk walk on the wild side. It starts fast with some strange keyboard effects, then accelerates to a slightly higher tempo. Wayne and Josef supply an off-the-wall theme as they zip along with the group stacking layer upon layer of sounds until it ends with an abrupt pop like a bottle rocket.

I would be the first to tell you that this album may not appeal to everyone. However, if you like interesting music that takes you on a short trip away from what you're familiar with but doesn't assault your senses with dissonance or ugly noises "Sweetnighter" might be a wise investment.

FunkFreak75 Joe and Wayne's third outing as "Weather Report" may be my favorite album of theirs as I really enjoy the textural approach to song-building over which the soloists are then given expansive room to experiment.

1. "Boogie Woogie Waltz" (13:03) R&B infusing Afto-Caribbean rhythm. I like the loose, airy feel of this: a "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"-like song that feels as if the musicians are adding their contributions in small doses, not constantly or into an already-established weave (other than the percussion play). Also, I see/feel this as a response to Deodato's "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Amazing how consistent is the restraint shown by the four core members: bassist Miroslav Vitous, keyboardist Joe Zawinul, soprano sax player Wayne Shorter, as well as Andrew White's electric bass guitar. Might be a stretch too long, but . . . (23/25)

2. "Manolete" (5:55) a very pleasant Wayne-Shorter soprano sax-led song that shows off some wonderful experimental wah-volume-controlled electric piano play by Joe Zawinul along with some great double bass and percussion play from supplemental percussionists Herschel Dwellingham on drums and Steve "Muruga" Booker on timpani. (9.25/10)

3. "Adios" (2:59) wind-chime-like hand percussives and serene keyboard washes provide the backdrop for Joe and Wayne to issue some very relaxing waves of their own. Nice tune. (9/10)

4. "125th Street Congress" (12:13) based on a free-form funk bass "line" that, for me, seems to preview all of the rap and hip-hop for the next 15 years. Another weave from the percussion section (and two drummers) is surprisingly open and spacious, creating the perfect groove for Miroslav and Wayne to create their magic while at the same time allowing for lots of room for meditation--at least until the fifth minute when Joe chimes in with some rather abrasive and aggressive keyboard "noise." This soon disappears, leaving the groovy percussive groove for Miroslav and Wayne to feed off. Joe's next reentries are a little less alarming and usually a little more reflective of the work that Wayne is doing though for a time becoming part of (or bouncing off of) the "percussion" weave. A very engaging and eminently entertaining song. (22.5/25)

5. "Will" (6:20) a textural weave of percussives, both hand and cymbal play, coupled with Joe Zawinul's steady chord arpeggi of wah-effected electric piano provide the steady foundation for Miroslav and Wayne to play with the presentation of their own inputs: one short bursts of creative bass chords, the other long-held sedating breaths of soprano saxophone. Very hypnotic. (9/10)

6. "Non-stop Home" (3:52) another amorphous exploration of texture built with experimental sounds over the tight drumming of Eric Gravatt. After 80 seconds, Andrew White's deep electric bass, a second drummer, and an uncredited organ accompany the main melody as delivered through Wayne's sonorous (background) soprano sax notes and Joe's electric piano. Interesting. I like it. It's like a sort of étude. (9.25/10)

Total time 44:22

As I gert to know the world and music of Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter I'm coming to believe that their vision is to explore textures more than form--to see how many permutations and combinations of textures they can come up with that will calm and/or soothe the audience/listener into contentment.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion--one that explores the gentler, more hypnotic groovin' side of said fusion. This may, in fact, be my favorite Weather Report album!

Warthur Sweetnighter is a strong fusion album from Weather Report which offers a notable improvement over its predecessor, I Sing the Body Electric. It's founder member Miroslav Vitous' last album with the group, and his bass playing is a particular highlight, laying down a funk-powered foundation over which the rest of the instrumentalists strut their stuff in dynamite fashion. This approach is particularly effective in the two longer songs on the album, 125th Street Congress and Boogie Woogie Waltz, which are surely highlight's of the group's repertoire. You can still perceive the influence of Miles Davis (who I think of as the musical "grandfather" of this band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and other groups founded by key members of the In a Silent Way/Bitches Brew sessions), but by this point Weather Report are pulling full steam ahead into their own distinctive musical terrain, the compromise between cutting-edge fusion and commercial reach that would characterise their mid-70s work becoming visible.

Sean Trane Third album and what I call a hinge-album (as in turning point/cornerstone) when Weather Report is abandoning their early torrid jazz-rock to go into a fusion jazz funk. Indeed the two-bassist formation is absolutely marvellous (catch it on the opening track of each sides), and this album equals Body Electric, in this writer’s book.

Obviously the odd man out was Miroslav Vitous (he would depart after this album), but he’s present on five of six tracks, but twice doubled by Andrew White on electric bass, and to be fair on the English horn as well. Percussion-wise, while Romao is still to be seen on two tracks, Gravatt already makes an appearance (he would be full time on the following Mysterious Traveller), but shares the drum stool with Dwellingham.

Starting out on a delicious “Papa Was A Rollin Stone”-type brass funk, you just know Body Electric is soon to be history as a good deal of the record follows suit, although with varying degrees of funkyness. If the Zawinul-penned Boogie Woogie Waltz is clearly pumped from the afore-mentioned Parliament vein, it is less the case with Manolete, which returns more to Body Electric and the debut, while retaining a clear funky groove, but has a definite experimental edge. The A-side closer Adios is a very ambient track that takes us back to the debut album.

The flipside is build roughly around the same canvas, with a lengthy funky Zawinul-penned opener (125th Street Congress), a shorter more progressive and adventurous piece, the Vitous-written and torrid, sun-roasted Will (my fave on the album) and a short improv closer, Non-Stop Home.

As I said, Sweetnighter is really the hinge-album, separating (or linking) their first two phases, and by itself, it is very excellent album, even if the funk grooves are indeed a little easy for progheads. Nevertheless, this album is thoroughly enjoyable and still very much indicated to progheads