Miroslav Vitous - Music Of Weather Report (2016) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/96kHz]

The great Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš returns once more to the music of Weather Report, the group he cofounded with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter in 1970. Vitouš and his band revisit well known Weather Report repertoire including Birdland, Seventh Arrow, Scarlet Woman and Morning Lake along with Acrobat’s Issues, a piece which the first Weather Report lineup played but never record. Interspersed along the way are recent blues tunes from Vitouš’s pen. The band, driven by the astounding double drumming of Gerald Cleaver and Nasheet Waits, is energetic and daring, juxtaposing time playing and rhythmically free pulses, with Vitouš’s arco bass playing sometimes sounding like a third horn in between the two saxophones.

Bassist and composer Miroslav Vitous was one of the founding members of Weather Report. He left after 1973's Sweetnighter, disgruntled over a change in direction toward funk. However, as evidenced by 2009's Remembering Weather Report, an homage based on WR themes and ideas, his respect for the music never diminished. On The Music of Weather Report, Vitous and his sextet offer exploratory variations of compositions he recorded them during his tenure with WR, and key tunes created after his departure. Drummer Gerald Cleaver and saxophonist Gary Campbell return from the 2009 session, but Vitous recruits seconds at each instrument – saxophonist Roberto Bonisolo and drummer Nasheet Waits – and adds the massive keyboard talent of Aydin Esen. Vitous' signature upright bass is often played arco with a wah-wah pedal, and he adds additional keyboards.

There are two "Scarlet Woman Variations" with slightly different titles. Vitous uses Joe Zawinul's melody, but extrapolates the harmonics, opening them wide to expose a bluesy balladry underneath, articulated by a haunting synth, and saxes in sparse call and response. His woody plectrum upright and arco playing flit amid ghostly rhythm traces and ambient electronics. "Birdland Variations" uses its memorable melodic theme, breaks it down to its essences, and rebuilds it radically without losing the hook. Its notion of time is stretched, with one drummer playing 3/4 while the other swings in 4/4, leaving the saxes free to decide whom to follow. His wah-wah expressionism bridges all four players and he delves into funk as Esen's keys illuminate the interior and color the margins. Vitous uses familiar WR themes in his own three "Multi Dimension Blues" interludes that bind these tunes together. The reading of Wayne Shorter's "Pinocchio" (first recorded on Miles Davis' Nefertiti in 1967, then in 1978 on WR's Mr. Gone), juxtaposes Vitous' effects-laden arco playing along with a soprano and tenor sax engagement that relays the primary melody in elemental statements. Esen reconstructs the harmony using fragmentary notions in striking progressions. Vitous' tenure with WR is reflected in "Seventh Arrow" (captured in studio on their 1971 self-titled debut and in concert on 1972's Live in Tokyo). This version is closer to the latter, offering a forceful exchange between drummers and head-to-head conversation from the saxophonists. Esen and Vitous crack open color and textural palettes from the inside, illuminating both poles. "Morning Lake" is darker than its 1971 original, as ambient synth swirls, shimmering Rhodes, and skittering alternate drum patterns create its elusive spine. Intermittent interplay between horns offers modal melodic fragments. The bassist's wah-wah pedal is the pulse. The piece floats, simmers, and eventually explodes with the sample of a thunderstorm to close. While WR's rock and funk fans may require a couple of listens to find the grooves, they are certainly there. Jazz fans should readily embrace The Music of Weather Report as top-flight 21st century fusion, rife with canny improvisation by an excellent group with an inspired leader.

Tracklist:

01 - Scarlet Woman Variations
02 - Seventh Arrow
03 - Multi Dimension Blues 2
04 - Birdland Variations
05 - Multi Dimension Blues 1
06 - Pinocchio
07 - Acrobat Issues
08 - Scarlet Reflections
09 - Multi Dimension Blues 3
10 - Morning Lake

Producer & Engineered by Miroslav Vitouš. Executive producer: Manfred Eicher.
Recorded in March and May 2010, February and March 2011 at Universal Syncopations Studios.

Musicians:
Miroslav Vitous - double bass, keyboards
Gary Campbell - soprano, tenor saxophone
Roberto Bonisolo - soprano, tenor saxophone
Aydin Esen - keyboards
Gerald Cleaver - drums
Nasheet Waits - drums


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