Weather Report
Mysterious Traveller

‘This is the baddest shit on the planet!’ said Joe Zawinul when, at CBS, he heard the lacquer of the record before it went to print. The record company released it to the market, and it was a massive success in the small universe of music lovers in the skeptical, gray, and snobbish area of the 'crossover' jazz avant-garde, as well as among all men of good will. The missing link between jazz, funky, critics, and the public had been created.

Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter had already created three unique and unrepeatable works, each of them had caused a stir, upheaval, and epileptic crises among those who remained entrenched in old jazz models and those who still needed the security of mother's milk; all the others, however, dropped their jaws and spread a wide and grateful smile while their hips began to move in time. The two had just recorded three albums (studio, plus a double 'Live in Tokyo'), each more beautiful and unique than the last: “W.R.”, “I Sing the Body Electric”, and “Sweetnighter”. Finally recorded as main performers, each after an intense and lived period in the eye of the world's top jazz: Joe after nine years with Cannonball Adderley (a major exponent of soul jazz, who himself came from a long stint in Davis's sextet) and Wayne (would you believe it?) directly from Miles' second quintet. Both somehow survived the sessions of “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew”, where they met, sniffed each other out, and respected each other. Therefore, both were ready to break down barriers and enclosures, keeping the quality of the music extremely high.

A separate discussion must be made for Miroslav Vitous, the third member, actually the first creator of Weather Report, who was ousted by Zawinul for being too ethereal and experimental compared to the needs for a more solid time and groove required by the history already written in the future of this unique group. Miroslav, in fact, has his swan song in this album by playing only in American Tango, and still demonstrating the caliber he was and where the music of W.R. could have gone if he had stayed. Who knows. He would be temporarily replaced by a monster of the electric bass: Alphonso Johnson.

The tracks: 1) ‘Nubian Sundance’ truly seems like a Nubian sun dance where the instruments start and continue with a hypnotic progression in front of a cheering and shouting crowd. The electric piano with wah, the unisons between Joe and Wayne, as well as the melody, the screams lost in the void, Joe's vocalese, and the percussion that 'take no prisoners' make it an exemplary track of the entire W.R. discography. 2) ‘American Tango’ is a track constructed with uncommon intelligence, where there's a broken but continuous dialogue between Joe's galactic synthesizer, Wayne's sax, and Miroslav's wah double bass. Epic choruses intervene in the background from time to time, conferring extreme and high dignity to the whole. Reminiscences of the classic European style of the Viennese pianist. 3) ‘Cucumber Slumber’ is now an iconic funky piece, sampled and pirated by thousands of rappers, with its bass riff that gets into your head, with sax and synth lines improvised on the spot but now memorized by thousands of enthusiasts as an unforgettable imprinting. The piece was born in two minutes, there in the studio: from a riff conceived by Alphonso and elaborated on the spot, just to warm up. At a certain point, in fact, you also hear Johnson deciding to change the tonal center of the piece, but Zawinul still doesn’t grasp it, and for a couple of bars, there’s dissonance, which then immediately resolves. Everything was kept, as this piece of music is so amazing. 4) ‘Mysterious Traveller’ truly gives the idea of a lone alien traveling in intergalactic space. The introductory riff is so captivating, and its elaboration throughout the duration likely had the molds thrown away because not even in a million years would it be possible to achieve such osmosis at such a high-quality level while being so enjoyable. Nothing more to say. 5) ‘Blackthorne Rose’ is a delicate and absolutely intimate duo piece between Wayne and Joe; only sax, piano, and ‘melodica’ for a piece that will stay in your heart from the moment you hear it until eternity. 6) ‘Scarlet Woman’ is theoretically Alphonso Johnson’s; in reality, the W.R. will only use the initial phrase and then creatively contribute, as a collective, to the improvised melodic and harmonic development, so much so that in the end, it will be credited to Zawinul and Shorter as well. A majestic progression and wise use of pauses and silence, stops and quick ambushes, in an almost Mozartian final crescendo. 7) ‘Jungle Book’ is the closing track, recorded solo and in peace by Zawinul in his living room with subsequent overlays of percussion, ocarina, and Pan flute. Very characteristic. It truly seems like the soundtrack of a journey in an unexplored jungle with possible background sounds. Predominant use of major chords and a dreamy-Indian atmosphere. The piece develops quietly on a light and bouncy 4/4 rhythm. Intense but discreet use of small percussion. The search for a stable drummer has always been a huge problem for W.R., and there has always been a continuous turnover, at least until Alex Acuna first and Peter Erskine later contributed to a semblance of stability.

Two words in general about W.R. and their trajectory: if I had to recommend three or four representative albums, I would suggest Sweetnighter, Mysterious Traveller, Heavy Weather, 8:30, Tale Spinnin’, and Black Market. But it's really unfair to maim the entire work: it’s like asking a mother which of her children are her favorites, such is the quality infused in their entire discography. Personally, I love everything they have done, even the last 'This is This': farewell album, recorded only for contractual obligations, with a Santana in great shape!

From the early seventies, for about fifteen years, the music of Weather Report traversed the international music scene without anyone being able to capture its essence and freeze it in time to be deciphered, just as happens with every respected Mysterious Traveller.