Music Book Review: Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report by Curt Bianchi

Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report
by Curt Bianchi (Music 781.65 Wea)

There hasn’t been a lot of critical writing about the jazz fusion movement in general or pioneering fusion band Weather Report specifically, but Curt Bianchi, a longtime host of a couple of websites dedicated to Weather Report, has just published the first major account of the band’s history this year with his book Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report. While a former software engineer might seem like an unexpected choice for biographer of one of the most significant jazz bands of the last 50 years, Bianchi’s introduction explains that he somewhat fell into the project after being invited to write an article on co-founder Zawinul for Wax Poetics. From there, he went on to interview almost everyone who had played in the band.

 

Elegant People” is a pretty traditional chronological history in terms of format, but Bianchi uses a great technique of starting with individual band members in the years leading up to formation of the band. In part 1, “Roots,” We get chapters on the early history of cofounders Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, and Miroslav Vitous, along with chapters detailing their tenure in other bands. In a chapter titled “Shoviza,” we arrive at their early solo efforts, which had them playing on one another’s albums, and finally starting a production company together called Shoviza, combining bits of their last names. From this foundation, Weather Report was born.

 

The rest of the book’s parts are divided into the three main stages of the band’s development. In part 2, the earliest efforts of the band are documented, covering the years from 1971-1975. During this period, the band was still fairly experimental in nature, with lots of group improvisation. You never knew what might happen on some of these early albums, and to my ears they feel like a logical musical progression from what happened on the Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” sessions that included Zawinul and Shorter. And during this early period, the band acted the most as a collective, with no obvious musical leaders.

 

However, Weather Report is also known for having quite a revolving door of band members over time, and this practice started even within this period. Most notably, co-founder Miroslav Vitous was asked to leave the band during the “Mysterious Traveler” recording sessions in December of 1973. In some ways, this is one point in the book where different fans of Weather Report might argue over how best to define beginning, middle, and late periods of the band. While some would agree with the first stage going through 1975, and switching to a middle period with the appearance of bassist Jaco Pastorious on bass in 1976, others would end the first period after “Mysterious Traveler” and the departure of Vitous. The music generally changed direction post-Vitous, with bass players taking a more groovy, funky role rather than playing all around the instrument as an equally melodic co-improviser. A minor quibble, though.

 

Next Bianchi explores that middle period which has perhaps two important signposts: Jaco on bass, and more commercial success for the band. Their 1977 release “Heavy Weather,” with its “Birdland” single, was critically acclaimed, and became their best-selling album. And like many rock and pop acts after a taste of success, this was both a blessing and a curse for the band. Success causes record labels to want another hit, which is perhaps an appealing concept in rock and pop, but wasn’t quite the way a forward-thinking fusion band was approaching their work.

 

Part 3 starts with the 1982 self-titled Weather Report album, which was the last to feature Jaco Pastorious and popular drummer Peter Erskine. This album was especially keyboard-heavy in its orchestration, and its sound, combined with Jaco’s interest in going solo, led to more lineup changes. Their next album, “Procession,” had three new members, with only Zawinul and Shorter remaining from the early days of the band. And the final years of Weather Report consisted of more lineup changes and a musical emphasis on keyboards and world percussion.

 

The Epilogue section has some interesting chapters, too. We learn more about the mental health decline of Jaco Pastorius and his premature death, some reflections on the legacy of Weather Report and its importance to jazz and fusion music more generally, the final duet performance of Zawinul and Shorter, and some written reflections from many previous members of the band.

 

All told, it’s a pretty thorough and balanced look at a band that was very influential in jazz history, and continues to cast an influence over modern jazz and fusion musical forms.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Jazz-Rock Fusion: The People, the Music by Julie Coryell or Jazz in the 1970s: Diverging Streams by Bill Shoemaker.)

 

( official Elegant People blog )

 

Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful? 

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Check out this, and all the other great music resources, at the Polley Music Library, located on the 2nd floor of the Bennett Martin Public Library at 14th & "N" St. in downtown Lincoln. You'll find biographies of musicians, books about music history, instructional books, sheet music, CDs, music-related magazines, and much more. Also check out Polley Music Library Picks, the Polley Music Library's e-mail newsletter, and follow them on Facebook!