Weather Report was an influential jazz fusion band of the 1970s and 1980s. Along with Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra and some of Herbie Hancock's line-ups, it is seen as a definite representator of jazz fusion in the 1970s.
The band was originally a spin-off from the group of musicians associated with Miles Davis in the late sixties and early seventies. The stable core of the group was the duo of pianist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, while the other musicians were rotated with almost every album.
Initially, the band's music featured extended improvisation, similar to Davis' Bitches Brew-period work, and instrumentation included both a traditional trap set drummer and a second percussionist (first Airto Moreira, later Dom Um Romão). The group was unusual and innovative in abandoning the soloist-accompaniment demarcation of straight-ahead jazz and instead featuring continuous improvisation by every member of the band.
Reedman Wayne Shorter furthered on his pioneering soprano sax work and both Zawinul and original bassist Miroslav Vitouš experimented with rock guitarists' electronic effects, Zaw...
| years active | 1970–1986 |
| status | Disbanded |
| country | New York City, USA |
| music genre | Jazz Fusion |
| current members | Joe Zawinul Wayne Shorter Victor Bailey Peter Erskine Mino Cinelu |
| past members | Jaco Pastorius Miroslav Vitouš Chester Thompson Manolo Badrena Airto Moreira Robert Thomas Jr. Omar Hakim Alex Acuña Eric Gravatt Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler Alphonso Johnson Dom Um Romão Alphonse Mouzon Greg Errico Erich Zawinul Jose Rossy Skip Hadden Alyrio Lima Michael Walden Don Alias Ishmael Wilburn |
