Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon as well as American percussionists Don Alias and Barbara Burton. The band was initially co-led by co-frontmen Zawinul and Shorter but, subsequently as the 1970s progressed, Zawinul largely became the sole musical leader of the group. Other prominent members at various points in the band's lifespan included Jaco Pastorius, Alphonso Johnson, Victor Bailey, Chester Thompson, Peter Erskine, Airto Moreira, and Alex Acuña. Throughout most of its existence, the band was a quintet consisting of Zawinul, Shorter, a bass guitarist, a drummer, and a percussionist.
Michel Petrucciani was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of the most accomplished jazz pianists of his generation despite his health condition and relatively short life.
Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš is a Czech jazz bassist.
Tony Oxley was an English free improvising drummer and electronic musician.
John Laird Abercrombie was an American jazz guitarist. His work explored jazz fusion, free jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Abercrombie studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He was known for his understated style and his work with organ trios.
Manfred Schoof is a German jazz trumpeter.
James Arthur Beard is an American jazz pianist and keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer who has worked with Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Dennis Chambers and Bob Berg, among others.
Jasper van 't Hof is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player.
Franco Ambrosetti is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker. He has recorded several albums for Enja Records, and worked professionally with his father in a group which also included George Gruntz.
George Mraz was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephane Grappelli, Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Raney, Chet Baker, Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, and Richie Beirach, among others.
Gary Valente is a jazz trombonist.
David Ronald Horler is an English jazz trombonist. He is the older brother of John Horler and the father of Cascada’s lead singer Natalie Horler.
Mike Richmond is an American jazz bassist.
Aalener Jazzfest is a jazz festival in Germany. It is held annually on the second weekend in November in Aalen and has about 13,000 visitors annually. Individual concerts in the spring and summer, add to the musical offerings; there are a total of approximately 25 concerts per year. From the beginning, the festival was marked by stylistic openness, accepting jazz fusion, classic hard bop, jazz funk, soul, blues, African music, jazz and world music at the heart of the program. The Aalen Jazz Festival always offers a stage for talent or for musicians who for years have disappeared from the spotlight. Among the sponsors of the Aalen Jazzfest are companies and institutions such as the City of Aalen, various newspapers and utilities.
John Lee is an American bassist, Grammy winning record producer and audio engineer.
Münchner Klaviersommer was a series of jazz concerts in Munich featuring various famous artists. Despite the name, not only pianists performed in these concerts. The concerts were usually held in July in the Philharmonic Hall Gasteig and they took place from 1981 to 1998. The sequel to the Munich Piano Summer is the Jazz Summer in the Bayerischer Hof at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof.
Andrew G. McKee is a New York-based, American bassist who has been performing and recording in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan since 1978. McKee's most important rhythm section mentors have included Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones and Idris Muhammad. He travelled widely in Europe with both Elvin Jones and with French pianist Michel Petrucciani. He played for about a decade with the Mingus Big Band and has had his own groups. He is the author of two books on upright bass technique and has taught at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music since 1993.
Harald Sokal is an Austrian jazz saxophonist.
First Prize is an album by pianist and composer George Gruntz's Concert Jazz Band, which was recorded in Switzerland in 1989 and released on Enja Records.
Gerry Brown is an American jazz drummer.
