Heavy Weather

4.0 - Sounds like the soundtrack to a 1981 cop comedy, maybe starring Dustin Hoffman and Danny Glover. They have to solve a murder case involving Colombian drug dealers. A wealthy heiress is the love interest. She’s modestly hot in a big-haired 80s way. There’s one sex scene where she’s wearing ridiculous lingerie and we see her tits for half a second. There’s a car chase, a couple explosions, one drunken evening that makes the main character question his choices, finally he cracks the case, the bad guys go to jail, he says goodbye to his partner and the girl. The last scene shows him moving back out West, giving up the cop grind, to work as a ranch hand.

It frustrates me that out of the limited amount of jazz on this list, we get this. With all due respect, it's the most background music, white-people-dinner-party type jazz you can get. Not that it's terrible, it's fine, but not engaging in the slightest. I wonder why this was included when so many others were left out? (reads the wiki entry) "the band's most commercially successful album"..."one of the best sellers in the Columbia jazz catalog"..."the opening track was a significant commercial success"... ah there we go...the creator of the book didn't know anything about jazz and so resorted to throwing in some Miles Davis and Coltrane that everyone knows, and then skimming the best sellers to pad it out. Of course.

in choosing to go through this list i thought i might broaden my musical horizons. what it has actually done has entrench my previous opinions and the list has become a chore of forcing myself to listen to things that i know quite quickly that i don't like. case in point, this jazz willy waving nonsense.

And today’s forecast is bland with possible schmooz later.

2.98 is the current rating as of Feb 2025. What the hell is wrong with you people? This is a landmark album and group in Jazz Fusion. The compositions, instrumentation, and performances are absolutely outstanding. This was cutting edge in the 70s and still holds up. Sure the synths sound a little cheesy thanks to getting overused in the 80s, but man, you got Jaco ripping it up on bass, Shorter on sax, and Zawinul on synth- these dudes are literally legends of jazz. Why does Headhunters have a higher rating? Is it because people recognize Herbie Hancock? More accessible? If the "I dont like jazz" crowd doesn't get it, then maybe we need to just give up on you trying to understand it. But this is the backbone for all the best popular music.

Well, Jaco Pistorious is an amazing bassist. The album is a bit meh though. Easy listening performed by geniuses.

Pretty good. Really great structure and song writing. Excellent musicianship. The songs aren't really my bag, but it's great music to analyze.

Jaco is so good. I had heard of him, and was familiar with his style, but didn't realize this was his band. I do love fusion jazz.

First song sounds like a knock off “Night Court” theme song but not in a good way. Second song sounds like Kenny G-tier quiet storm bullshit. Third song is background music for Axl Foley to chase bad guys to. Fourth song feels like I should be offering a woman with very large hair and shoulder pads a line of cocaine off my glass coffee table lit by neon light to try to get her “in the sack.” Fifth songs has drums and yelling. Sixth song I’m at a limbo contest on a cruise ship and everyone there is white except the staff. Seventh song sounds like a Renaissance fair needed background music but only had a Casio keyboard. Last song is just standard issue jazz fusion made by and for people wearing brightly colored polo shirts. This music is so lame they had to put a fedora on the cover to warn everyone. Sorry, it’s obviously a jazz hat. https://youtu.be/Ry1xNNgbkYw?si=BS9OlKJt2mJPCS2X

Mostly hooky with a 90% chance of sweet and tuneful melodies. The groves are ebullient and some of the crescendos nearly orgiastic – these cats were having a blast it seems and were fearless in charting a new course for jazz or pop music. It's not just a kinder, gentler approach to fusion, but precise and excellent on its own terms, with at times otherworldly playing.

"Heavy Weather" is a great example of a jazz fusion record that has such a good vibe that it's no wonder why it's one of the most successful and acclaimed records of the genre. The opener, "Birdland", has Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius mixing piano and fretless bass as the signiture sound of the band. Joined by Wayne Shorter, Alex Acuña and Manolo Badrena, what you have is a dream team of jazz, and songs like "Teen Town" and "Palladíum" are unforgetable classics of the style.

That's some crowd-pleasing, TV theme tune level of jazz going on. If I'd wanted to listen to this before I died I'd have just watched some studio-filmed sitcom from the age, then at least I'd have something to watch too. 1.5☆

somewhere between 80s sitcom opening credits and Mario Kart

Not in the mood, not sure what mood I would have to be in actually.

While I had heard Birdland before (in music history class), the rest of the album was not very memorable. Maybe I’d spin it again when I’m looking for upbeat work music, but honestly it just wasn’t that interesting.

"Jazz Odyssey." That was the answer offered by Spinal Tap bassist when the band found themselves short of a guitar player. The result was a hilarious mix of well-intentioned attempts at virtuosity and well-pissed fans. This time though, a Spinal Tap fan was not giving a disapproving thumbs-down to a vision quest of jazz and psychedelia. Weather Report featured Jaco Pastorius, the man who was oft deemed the Hendrix of bass, and Heavy Weather is chock full of reasons why and how he earned that title. Melodic one moment, and tastefully dissonant the next, with a good amount of percussivity, Pastorius managed to display his range while still playing well with others. Tracks like Harlequin gave free reign to the sax, piano and keyboards (?) all laying atop snaking basslines that were melodic in their own right. If the first listen was a monolithic odyssey, the second run on this record allowed for this writer to be introduced to each track as individual works, whether it was the frenetic, tambourine-driven Birdland or the contemplative Rumba on side-B, this record proves to be one that keeps on giving. There will be something new to take away from each listen, from each instrument. I can't wait to do this a third time.

This album is great but I don't think it's the best fusion album of all time. That being said, Birdland is a pretty iconic first track (even if I do prefer the Maynard Ferguson version). A Remark You Made is likewise a standout track.I really love Pastorius' tone and it's just an excellent ballad. My other favorite track is the final song Havona, which is a really unique song and a great way to end the album. Overall, I think the production limits the album. Compositionally it's amazing, but some of the songs don't hit quite as hard as they ought to. That being said, there is certainly a reason it's a classic fusion album. Birdland: 9.5/10 A Remark You Made: 9.5/10 Teen Town: 7.5/10 Harlequin: 7.5/10 Palladium: 8.5/10 The Juggler: 8/10 Havona: 9/10 Decent 8/10

Weather report: cloudy sky with little visibility of the stars

Not into elevator music

INPUT = {"artist": "Weather Report", "album": "Heavy Weather"} LINEUP = {"men": 5, "women": 0} FEATURED_ARTISTS = {"men": 0, "women": 0} TOTAL_MEN = 5 TOTAL_WOMEN = 0 WOMEN_PERCENTAGE = 0 OUTPUT = "Maximum score awarded. 5/5"

Sick-ass album cover. 5/5

When I was in High School, I went through an 80s jazz fusion phase from Youtube recommendations. I'm sure the likes of Casiopea blew up in other people's feeds as well. Jazz tried to be pop-accessible a couple decades earlier, but that style has long since sounded dated: barebones, predictable, and repetitive. The mid-60s brought a wave of rock musicians incorporated jazz into their music for various purposes, but those songs were either catchy pop tunes, grand prog or jam compositions, or just straight out weird (Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Miles Davis). What Weather Report does here is smoothly incorporate rock instrumentation and recent synth developments to enhance the cool jazz experience. It's not like they're the first to do this, but I consider them to be the strongest out of everyone who came before them. With Jeff Beck, I'm focused on the guitar work and atmosphere. With Steely Dan, it's about the pop hooks and mood. But here, I can appreciate the whole group and the development of their compositions over time. It's smooth and natural with quiet and loud moments, funky grooves and electrifying synths, to make each track feel alive. Song structure is surely inspired by TV and movie soundtracks. "Teen Town" definitely sounds like a theme for some crime show. Only weak song is "The Juggler" but it couldn't even annoy me at my worst with how low key it is. The record works as a coherent experience. Starts off with one of the most popular jazz standards of all time, and from there takes you through an easy-going, short (37 minutes), yet fun adventure. You're free to pay attention or space out: it's all the same enjoyment. Giving it 5 stars for being the most put-together jazz fusion record I've heard. Besides "Birdland", none of the songs blow away my expectations, but it's all unique, intriguing, and well thought-out, offering diversity and innovation.

It ain't for everyone's taste, but I like it. Fave Tracks: Birdland, Havona 4/5

Truly innovative: This Weather Report accurately predicted the sound of mid-80’s cheese in 1977. (The second half of this record is really good, though)

- easy listening, some spicier tracks but overall chilled. - bigband not my thing, solos a little muddy. - Drums are the standout, maybe followed by piano.

Don’t love 70s jazz but it felt capable

No. 70/1001 Birdland 3/5 A Remark You Made 3/5 Teen Town 3/5 Harlequin 2/5 Rumba Mama 2/5 Palladium 2/5 The Juggler 2/5 Havona 2/5 Average: 2,38 Jazz album that is ok, but didn't really excite me at all.

poucas coisas me trazem mais paz de espírito do que jaco pastorius tocando baixo e wayne shorter quebrando tudo no sax esse é marco essencial do jazz fusion, num tem nem mto o que dizer sobre

9.3/10

Bien.

(5) 1977 yes yes yes! I love me some weather report. This is the first album I heard of them. I found it in the music library at Pacific university, next to miles Davis’s Bitches Brew and Dave Brubeck’s” take five”. I fell in love with all three! I passed Western Civ. that semester because of this love affair. I often preferred “heavy weather” over the three probably because of Jaco Pastorius, and that groove got me through the Battle of Thermopylae.

Just in terms of album art, this is one of the deadest certs for the list. So cool. And it helps that the music is pretty cool n awesome n essential as well as well as the band being on totally top form. Birdland is sort of a proud and loud national anthem for Jazz and A Remark You Made is so dizzyingly smooth and sensuous it’s totally spellbinding. Teen Town is a perfect sleuthing soundtrack that I could happily listen to for 10 hours never mind two minutes and even with the Sabu style 5th track the rest of the album is Joe Camel smooth. Definite 5 stars for the site.

This was always going to be quite a subjective one, because I grew up listening to this record - both of my parents (especially my dad) were huge fans of Weather Report. I tried to approach this as objectively as possible, but yeah, it still totally slams. Just LISTEN to those basslines, courtesy of the late, great Jaco Pastorius. Incredible. Favourite tracks: Birdland, A Remark You Made (which was played at my dad's funeral and is just SO evocative), Teen Town, Palladium.

Jaco Jaco Jaco!!!

music is love

funkyyyyy - i like it. more like this please mr generator bot.

Amazing weather!

GOAT in fusion jazz!

This is a gem. So cool. Its super varied and kind of trippy. I like the moments where it kind of feels conventional and then it totally switches to weird keys and synths. Birdland is obviously incredible. I really loved all of the live tracks too. I had a blast with this one. I listened to it twice this morning.

This is a landmark album and group in Jazz Fusion. The compositions, instrumentation, and performances are absolutely outstanding. This was cutting edge in the 70s and still holds up. Sure the synths sound a little cheesy thanks to getting overused in the 80s, but man, you got Jaco Pastorious ripping it up on bass, Shorter on sax, and Zawinul on synth- these dudes are literally legends of jazz. 5⭐️

so great to hear birdland how it’s supposed to sound and not the high school marching band version

Listening notes: - Love the vibe of the album art and that the album cover tells us exactly what we're in for. - I ! LOVE ! WEATHER ! CHANNEL ! MUSIC ! - Rumba Mama in the middle of all of this? Incredible. Mixes it up then gets back to regularly scheduled programming. - I love every single song on this album Final thoughts: Perfect album. I have zero criticism.

The addition of bassist extraordinaire Jaco Pastorius to an already stacked Jazz supergroup does make this an absolute must-listen. During my stint at a Jazz and Classical radio station, this album was a staple on both my afterhours and daybreak shows.

out and out banger

Pretty Great Album! Was not expecting to find Jaco on here, but knew withing the first 4 bars that i was hearing bass greatness!

Yess pure fusion goodness, early snarky puppy vibes. Great musicianship. Perfect to do some work or just vibe with a proper barrel aged!

This pops up and it’s from 1977 and I have zero recognition so I’m immediately assuming this is some weird underground rock group I missed through the years and I’m about to subjected to 40 minutes of mediocrity- boy was I wrong - this is 38 minutes of the coolest Jazz ever put on vinyl. Good stuff.

Another track that I knew by heart, couldn't tell you exactly where or when I've heard it, and had no idea who the artist was. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and this is why I love this list!

This is it. The big kahuna, the maui wowie, big bertha, the meal with all the fixings. Weather Report is a defined supergroup with remenants of Miles' great quartets and the new addition of Jaco. Its hard to sell this album to those who don't know but if you like powerful, complex, and wonderful jazz fusion. Look no further. Fully deserves 5 stars. No contest.

Legend.

Now this was a banger.

While jazz fusion is moreso known for what the Japanese did with it, this is still pretty damn good. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 5. This album has a 2.98 average on the site (criminally low), with the second highest review calling it “the most background music, white-people-dinner-party type jazz you can get” – what fucking white people parties are you going to where people are playing THIS type of synth-heavy jazz fusion? I want a fucking invite, immediately. This album is fucking awesome, especially for 1977. The only track that felt a little abrasive was “Teen Town”, but that’s just because of the super punchy percussion, and even still, I liked it. This entire package is, from top to bottom, a remarkable vibe, and one that I loved just sitting in, soaking in, and occasionally jumping around in. I can’t even really give super detailed track notes, because I was just caught in the groove of this thing. The keyboard melodies are complex yet digestible, the percussion & rhythm knows exactly when to punch up to pull one’s attention back in, the guitar work (especially in the bass, my GOODNESS, the bass) is incredible, and as a whole, it’s 38 minutes that blink by in a heartbeat. Yes, there are other bands that would take this style of jazz fusion (especially in Japan) & refine it to its finest form, but for a 1977 album, this feels like it’s leading the way, and I can’t help but give this a 5. Sure, it’s not as evocative to the emotions as say, Miles Davis, but it’s just as energetic, just as technically complex, and just as melodically sound, with my ears fully amazed at certain points. I loved this whole thing, and to my tastes, it’s a 5, through and through.

I love this album, as the title suggest I will recommend it to be listen when it is reining outside.. I think this album makes a great atmosphere 5/5

One of the greatest jazz album of the last 50 years! Amazing musicians, with a top of the class saxophonist and bassline! Birdland became a standard, known by every jazz player

Classic album

Probably not something I'd listen to regularly, but it's a joy to listen to. Especially with good headphones. Jaco Pastorius was one of the most talented and influential bassists ever and the rest of the music is also really great.

Very nice

I'd completely forgotten about Birdland, took me straight back to high school jazz band. So glad to come across this and listen to the whole thing!

very groovy

I love Weather Report and Jaco Pastorious and this was my introduction to them both. Sublime stuff.

Originally purchased this album as Jaco, my bass idol, was on the line up. This connection allowed me the patience to "understand" the music and the sound. Still have my vinyl copy <3

Great album

Excelente álbum, siendo bajista es una obra esencial ya que es el primer álbum de Weather Report junto a Jaco Pastorius. Su presencia es innegable desde el primer tema. Creo que el álbum es fantástico, una representación clara de lo mejor del jazz fusión de la época. Los sonidos que utilizan, la instrumentación, los ambientes que generan, la capacidad de producir temas con mucho funk y rock a baladas melancólicas es sobresaliente. El único tema que me parece despegado del álbum es "Rumba Mama". Una versión en vivo de una interpretación predominantemente percusiva de estilo afrolatino. Aún siendo un álbum ecléctico siento que esta pieza que muy por afuera de lo que el álbum propone, por lo que no entiendo muy bien porqué lo agregaron. Sin embargo no le quita mérito ni solidez a la experiencia que ofrece esta obra.

An essential album from a band that hardly put out anything less than essential.

so so good. i knew some of the songs already, but love it.

It was very good and was a great jazz/fusion album

Fantastique album! Une de mes entrées dans le monde du Jazz et un des meilleurs élèves du mouvement fusion. Je recommande à tous les intéressés, c’est d’la bombe en barres!

This is a fantastic album that everyone should hear.

Oh my god where has this album and band been all my life. It was amazing, didn’t expect much but no. Blown away. Will listen again definitely

Top notch fusion! Legendary line-up as well. Very accessible fusion album overall and has some pop and period production elements to it.

A surprise new favorite, it was a great jam. I had never heard of them before but it all grooved and sounded awesome

Jaco. That’s it.

Great 70s jazz album.

Very funky

This was way better than I had imagined it would be. Jazz fusion is the genre. It was lovely. Yeah, this is absolutely great and I can't really say anything bad about it at all. It never gets boring, sometimes is sublime, and remains way up there as far as generally entertaining music is concerned. There are few lyrics, few bells and whistles, but it is a thing of beauty.

"Heavy Weather" is the seventh album by American jazz fusion band Weather Report. This album was their most successful album reaching #30 on the US Billboard 200 and is one of the best selling albums in the Columbia jazz catalog. The powerhouse jazz band included Joe Zawinul (synths, pianos, mellotron), Wayne Shorter (tenor and soprano sax), Jaco Pastorius (fretless bass, mandocello), Alex Acuña (drums, congas, tom-toms) and Marolo Badrena (tambourine, congas, vocals, timbales, percussion). "Birdland" opens the album with the music coming in very slowly. A constant beat. A lovely mix of the synth and horns. Every instrument is loud and clear. This song was a tribute to the nightclub where Zawinul saw a number of great jazz performers. This is one of the jazz songs that most everyone has heard at some point. "A Remark You Made" is softer. High-pitched piano keys. A sultry sax solo. Very relaxing. And, oh, a keyboard jam. Pastorius wrote and performed lead bass on "Teen Town." A kicking drum beat by Acuña. Jammy and funky. Pastorius' bass plays off of and with the keyboards and horns. Brilliant. "Palladium" is another great example of the musicians playing off of each other. It's more smooth jazz. Complex drumming. Multiple concurrent melodies. It's easy to see why this album was so successful. Easy and smooth listening. It's dreamy and relaxing. Just excellent musicianship of all instruments. There's really not any long songs which might deter some from a jazz album. There's also great melodies and solos. The fusion I heard was between jazz and rock and progressive rock. Even though I am in no way a jazz expert, I do believe I can tell a really good album and this is one of those.

A classic jazz fusion album from the 1970's. great musicianship especially from Jaco Pastorius and Joe Zawinul.

Jazzy but also synthy. Spotify description called it Jazzy rock so i believe it.

This was fun. Jaco and the boys gettin down on some polished crystal smooth jazz

Love this sound,

Love “Birdland” from my band days - glad to hear the rest of this classic album!

tasteful compositions, groovy, suggestive & moody. rly happy with this one, one more added to the list of records i will be coming back to.

5/5

Excellent

Yes

Funky! Jaco good

in the jazz world, there's often a negative vibe associated with the idea of achieving a certain level of commercial success, especially if your music leans electric. Weather Report, perhaps one of the most electrified groups in jazz history, proved with their first run of albums that an interest in amplification and synthesizers didn't necessarily mean you had to suddenly start writing pop songs. with Heavy Weather, though, Jaco Pastorius joins the battle. his signature fretless bass sound definitely swung the band's focus a little towards the mainstream (you could call this album a progenitor of smooth jazz), but in a way that feels less like a cash grab and more like a group of high-level jazz performers earnestly trying their hand at instrumental pop music. the opener, "Birdland", is one of the most iconic songs of the fusion era for good reason. hearing the melodies in the keys, horns and bass trading back and forth is a joy, and the whole thing builds to a tremendous climax. then you get hit with "A Remark You Made", a gorgeous ballad that puts Wayne Shorter's tenor saxophone in the center of some incredible harmony. these first two songs were written by Joe Zawinul, Weather Report's de facto leader, and are a fantastic display of how this band went about walking the line between jazz virtuosity and pop accessibility. the run of three tracks that closes the LP out are also stupendous, especially "Havona" with its epic introductory bass/synth chorale which comes back at the end to tie everything up. these three tracks also give Alex Acuña lots of opportunities for some tremendous drumming. as of the day I'm writing this, the 1001AG average on this album is a mere 2.98/5. I won't stand for this! decent 9/10.

Album 634 of 1001 Weather Report - Heavy Weather (1977) Rating : 5 / 5 Some awesome jazz fusion. Enjoyed this, very much. It was a real nice listening experience and great to start the day with. Not one negative.

That was quite excellent! I had not heard of them before but I'm definitely going to be hearing a lot more of them in the future.

Peak album

Great record. "Birdland" is a cracking tune, and it carries on from that opener. Saw them in 1984, without Jaco Pastorius.

It made me cry, it made me dance, this album is an all-timer and absolutely blew me away. Best Song: A Remark you Made Worst Song: The Juggler

Jaco on bass (esp: "Teen Town") is worth the admission alone. A classic - one of our Sunday morning vinyl staples. I do love good jazz fusion and although it's not quite up to my favourites in the genre (i.e. Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, George Duke) it is infinitely more accessible. That might be a drawback for HARDCORE FUSION HEADS but there's a lot of value in an album with tight songs that's not gonna drive away your family (sometimes...). Aside from Jaco's playing, my favourite individual moments/sounds are Joe Zawinul playing the ARP synth on "Palladium." 9/10 5 stars.

Not my favourite Weather Report album, but still very good of course. Zawinul and Shorter were total geniuses.

I can't imagine what this music sounds like to normal, non bass playing, people. Do you like it?

Definitely the Weather Report album I am most familiar with. Birdland and Teen Town are absolute jazz fusion classics. I came to this album through hearing about Jaco over and over in music magazines.

Funcionou demais como trilha do café da manhã do domingo.

What a vibe! And Jaco on bass... just great.

Klassieker en met reden! Geweldige nummers, origineel, en het begin van een nieuwe vertakking in de jazz.