Weather Report The Best of Weather Report Columbia/Legacy By David Chiu

Weather Report was one of jazz music's most important and popular group of the '70s. Accounting for the group's fusion-driven sound were its driving forces, keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, both educated in the school of jazz rock under Miles Davis in his electric period. The Best of Weather Report, though not completely painting a complete portrait of the band (its early and later phases are not represented here), captures the group at its commercial peak between 1973 and 1980. Zawinul's wizardry behind the keyboards and Shorter's mellifluous, breathtaking solos dominate the band, though its supporting cast of players including percussionist Alex Acuna and of course legendary bassist Jaco Pastorious provided the dynamic rhythmic backbone. Weather Report can get the feet and heart moving with exuberant workouts in "Black Market," "Boogie Woogie Waltz,," and the epic "The Elders"; other times it can set the perfect mood as reflected it the elegant A Remark You Made and the wondrous "Mysterious Traveller." The group's most popular track of course is the poppy "Birdland," later which was later remade with vocals by the Manhattan Transfer. The Best of is a good overview but given the amount of albums and unique phases of the group's history, Weather Report deserves a multi-CD retrospective. Don't be surprised if that happens in a couple of years.

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