American jazz-rock group. It was founded in December 1970 by original members Joe Zawinul (keyboards), Wayne Shorter (soprano and tenor saxophone), Miroslav Vitous (double bass), Alphonse Mouzon (drums) and Airto Moreira (percussion). Over the years the group has undergone many personnel changes, with Zawinul and, until 1985, Shorter serving as the only constant members; the electric bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius gave the ensemble its most significant new instrumentalist (1976–81). In 1986 the quintet performed briefly under a new name, Weather Update, and then disbanded.
Weather Report’s first albums provided several remarkable instances of unconventional collective playing, though their music remained accessible to a large audience. Discarding the traditional jazz roles of soloist and accompanist, the players took the lead by turn and created textures that were continuously changing; they elided tonal ostinato themes with improvisations, and alternated unmetred passages with others underpinned by rock or Latin rhythms. Excellent examples of this novel approach to ensemble improvisation are Seventh Arrow and Umbrellas (on Weather Report, 1971, Col.), or Crystal and Surucucú (on I Sing the Body Electric, 1971–2, Col.). By 1972 Zawinul dominated the group, which had moved towards rock. He had a preference for dance rhythms and fixed arrangements featuring complex electronic effects. His striving for commercial success precipitated the many personnel changes in the group, but also led to its resounding hit Birdland (on Heavy Weather, 1976, Col.). Havona (also on Heavy Weather) demonstrated Jaco Pastorius’s unique command of the electric bass guitar, as well as the group’s continuing ties to improvisation.
D. Morgenstern: ‘Weather Report: Outlook Bright and Sunny’, Down Beat, xxxviii/11 (1971), 14–15, 42
B. McRae: ‘Weather Report’, Jazz Journal, xxix/6 (1976), 10–11
K. Dallas: ‘Weather Report’, Melody Maker (29 Oct 1977)
L. Birnbaum: ‘Weather Report Answers its Critics’, Down Beat, xlvi/3 (1979), 14–16, 44–5
L. Blumenthal: ‘Weather Report’, Down Beat, xlviii/2 (1981), 14–15
A.J. Liska: ‘On the Road with Weather Report’, Down Beat, xlix/10 (1982), 21–3, 66
J. Zawinul and G. Armbruster: ‘The Evolution of Weather Report’, Keyboard, x/3 (1984), 49–51
BARRY KERNFELD