A quarter century after jazz fusion essentially choked and died — or was co-opted into something that eventually became smooth jazz — I feel safe in asserting that Weather Report is the only band from the genre still worth listening to. Bold words to you Return to Forever fans — but go 'head, bring it on.
All the proof of the band's brilliance and durability is found in Forecast: Tomorrow (Columbia/Legacy), a 3-CD+DVD boxed set that chronicles the band from late '60s/early '70s pre-WR songs by Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Cannonball Adderley, to its dissolution in the mid-'80s.
The key to the ensemble's artistic success was its willingness to evolve, shape-shifting with new sounds, new compositional approaches, new rhythmic emphases and, especially, new members that added distinct instrumental voices (the most noted being bassist Jaco Pastorius). Formed by keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, both of whom had done stints with Miles Davis (Shorter was a mainstay of the great '60s quintet), Weather Report started out as an extension of Miles' Bitches Brew-style open-ended, atmospheric jams. Shorter focused on his consummately expressive soprano sax and Zawinul hewed to Fender Rhodes (often with wah-wah accents) and primitive synths.
By 1975's Tale Spinnin' and, especially, '76's Black Market, Weather Report more prominently highlighted the finely wrought melodies of Zawinul, Shorter and newcomer Pastorius. The song "Black Market" is a triumph, a complex weave of overlapping melodic motifs and Zawinul's increasing palette of synth sounds; it also showcases the group's increasingly sublime penchant for building glorious crescendos.
With 1977's Heavy Weather, the band became, for a brief spell, akin to rock stars, spurred by the catchy Zawinul hit "Birdland" (which, while it is appropriately included here, I never need to hear again). The following year, Weather Report, perhaps discomfited by the fame, unleashed the far more abstract Mr. Gone.
By 1980, Zawinul was becoming increasingly enthralled with incorporating world-music sounds, especially African-derived rhythms, and the latter third of the band's run is considered its least important. I happen to disagree. After Pastorius' and drummer Peter Erskine's departures, a new rhythm team of drummer Omar Hakim and bassist Victor Bailey stressed deep groovemanship. The open-endedness had returned, with an increased concentration on slow-burn crescendo and a further blurring of the lines between composition and improvisation. Much of the result ("Procession," "Domino Theory," "Face on the Barroom Floor," "Indiscretions") is entirely rewarding.
Forecast: Tomorrow includes a handful of previously unreleased tracks, but its biggest bonus is the DVD, a professionally videotaped German concert of the Zawinul/Shorter/Pastorius/Erskine band in top form, playing radiantly and covering a wide swath of the Weather Report canon.
Over the course of many years, the Heartbeat label (www.heartbeatreggae.com) has released a slew of vintage reggae from Sir Coxsone Dodd's Jamaican hit factory Studio One. Here are a few highlights from recent installments:
Version Dread: Dub Specialist gathers 18 B-sides of mostly obscure Studio One singles by the likes of Ernest & the Soul Dimension, Willie & the Brentford Rockets and The Sound Vendors. The versions, culled from 1966 to 1982, range from relatively straightforward to effects-and-echo-heavy. This is a must-have for collectors of reggae arcana.
Bob Marley recorded an array of Jamaican singles for Studio One before becoming an international superstar with Island Records. The double-disc One Love: At Studio One 1964-1966 compiles 41 songs, mostly in the ska and rock steady mode. Marley's irrepressible charisma and distinctive vocal style are very much in their nascent stages, but there's a lot of very good music here. A few tunes — particuarly "Can't You See" — have a decidedly British Invasion feel. And while these tracks come from pre-Rasta Marley, you can hear glimpses of social consciousness, most notably his first successful Jamaican single, "Simmer Down." And let's not overlook the formidable contributions of his bandmates Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer.
Delroy Wilson came to Studio One as a 14-year-old and quickly became something of a child star. The songs on The Best of Delroy Wilson: Original Eighteen Deluxe Edition gather the singer's best work from the '60s, which homes in on rocksteady with a bit of ska. Backed by the crackshot Studio One house band, Wilson is a formidable vocalist who blends deep soul and touching innocence. The original 1991 issue of this disc earned a spot on the Rough Guide's Reggae: 100 Essential CDs.
Sick of being a rock star, sick of being God, Eric Clapton charted a drastic new course for his self-titled 1970 solo debut. Inspired by The Band's Music From Big Pink and working with a gang of rootsy American musicians led by Delaney Bramlett, Clapton adopted a more song-oriented approach. Eric Clapton, released now as a two-disc Deluxe Edition, is really the first evidence that the man had a future as a singer as well as a guitar slinger. His six-string work takes on a more pointed style, with a spikier tone. The album's most recognizable tunes are "After Midnight," "Blues Power" and "Let it Rain," but much of the rest of the material is particularly worthy, especially the acoustic ballad "Easy Now" and the exuberant, gospel-hued "Lonesome and a Long Way From Home."
This package includes a handful of rarities, the most intriguing of which are a previously unreleased early version of "Let It Rain" called "She Rides" and the 10-minute jam "Blues in 'A'" that really illustrates Clapton's newly roots-conscious, more circumspect guitar approach. The Deluxe Version's centerpiece is the inclusion on Disc Two of Bramlett's original mix, which ultimately gave way to one by producer Tom Dowd (featured on Disc One). Bramlett's is more sonically integrated and features the horns more, while Dowd's pushes the vocals out front. In all, though, parsing the relatively subtle differences in the mixes is probably best left for Clapton freaks.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 4, 2006.