Weather Report - Heavy Weather


Legend has it that if Wayne Shorter told Miles Davis to play a note, that is the note Miles Davis played. Wayne has more than a couple important votes for both Best Jazz Composer and Best Improviser of All Time. Who am i to argue? Here's his own band's most popular album. I'm not saying it's their best because Jaco Pastorius is on bass, but i am wacko for Jaco. I guess you could say it with a long A, but Waco for Jaco is definitely not the implication i'm going for here. It's "jock-o" by the way, because he was tall and athletic, and that's how nicknames work. 

Jaco's favorite instrument was a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass with the frets removed. You know what he called it? Take a guess. The Bass of Doom. It was stolen in 1986 and was found at an instrument shop 20 years later. Robert Trujillo helped Jaco's family buy it back from the store owner, 'cause Metallica money. You can go find a cheap clone right now if you want a cheap clone. Or, you could just buy a Fender Jazz Bass and beat the crap out of it. That's up to you. Let's just check out Weather Report's Heavy Weather. 

A lot of people use Jazz Fusion and Jazz Rock interchangeably, but all we're really talking about is an electric ensemble as opposed to an acoustic combo. For me the difference is Fusion is Jazz in a Rock band format, while Jazz Rock is Rock that incorporates Jazz. A subjective distinction, but i'm sticking to it. This is Fusion, and it's good. Really good. It's not quite as close to Prog as Ponty, but there's a lot of sonic experimentation in terms of synths in a Jazz context. The playing is phenomenal across the board. 

I don't think i have a point for this album specifically, it's just the perfect way to round out this little not technically an Adventure Time. Go give it a listen, i think you'll be quite happy that you did.

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