Black Market

Weather Report - Black Market

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Music CD Cover

Artist: Weather Report
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-06-04
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:

Black Market
Cannon Ball
Gibraltar
Elegant People
Three Clowns
Barbary Coast
Herandnu

Free Music Notes for Black Market

Free Music Review: The best band Weather Report had--with or without Jaco
Hit: 5 Stars

Much has been made of Jaco Pastorius's impact when he joined Weather Report in 1976, in time for two tunes on this album. Some cite his inclusion into the band as the addition of a third creative voice that had been missing since Miroslav Vitous was a member. Some say that when Pastorius joined, Weather Report took a wrong turn in its musical direction, and that it's his fault. I really don't think either is the case; Jaco was indeed a third voice, at times redefining the bass's role to be a melodic instrument rather than accompaniment, but Alphonso Johnson, the bassist present for most of this album, is by no means a weak link or a missing voice that should have spoken. As for Jaco steering Weather Report down the wrong road, this is simply not true. For those who find later Weather Report ("Heavy Weather" and especially the albums after it) to be inferior, this is more aptly attributed to the fact that co-leaders Wayne Shorter and especially Joe Zawinul were having an increasingly difficult time coming up with creative new material. Jaco did not kill Weather Report; he merely joined at its peak and was with the band as it began to taper off in creativity. He did have the good fortune (or maybe it's our fortune) to be present on "Heavy Weather" and "Night Passage," two fantastic albums.

But for my money, the best unit Weather Report ever had was the one present on most of this album: Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Joe Zawinul on keyboards and synthesizers (and synthesizers, and synthesizers, and more synthesizers), Alphonso Johnson on bass, Chester Thompson on drums, and Alejandro Neciosup Acuna on percussion. Of all the drummers to play with Weather Report, Chester Thompson was the only one to really light a fire under the rest of the band and push it forward. This is his only studio album with the band and I believe the musicianship is at its highest due to his presence. He and bassist Johnson were apparently good friends and their rapport really propels the band to new rhythmic heights. Then Acuna is great here on auxiliary percussion (Shorter in particular seemed to like him a lot, based on what I've read) though he was never able to push and energize the band in the drum chair that he would occupy for the next album, at least not to the level Thompson does on tracks like "Elegant People." Incidentally, there is some phenomenal live material by this edition of the band on "Live and Unreleased" which begs the question why it wasn't released before, a la "8:30" by a later unit.

To complement the fantastic band assembled here, this album features some of the catchiest and memorable material, if not always the most creative, that the band ever recorded. As mentioned, "Elegant People" cooks and yet is beautiful and funky all wrapped into one package, and it gives Shorter some good solo space. The title track is funky (listen to how well Johnson grooves and even if you've heard Jaco, you won't miss him) and worldly. "Three Clowns" is one of the only ballads the band did that manages to not remind the listener of Kenny G (though it was never Weather Report's fault that some of the ballads did...it's Kenny G's fault for taking this beautiful music and watering it down to fit his utter lack of creativity). Then "Barbary Coast," one of two tracks on which Pastorius plays, features the funkiest bass playing on the planet, while breaking free of any kind of repetition or stagnancy associated with funk bass playing. Taken as a whole, the material on this album tells a story through its world themes and styles, and sound effect transitions. In a musical climate 30 years later which values one-hit wonders surrounded by 19 other fluff songs, this consistent quality and unity of material is extremely refreshing.

I've read that this album isn't considered as accessible as "Heavy Weather" but I wholeheartedly disagree. This music can be appreciated on many levels: it's danceable and funky, non-intrusive, and yet deep enough and done in enough colors to maintain interest. Plus the musicianship is phenomenal. Start here for a good introduction to Weather Report, especially if you are coming from a rock or pop music background.

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