Sweetnighter

Last updated
Sweetnighter
WRsweetnighter.jpg
Studio album by
Weather Report
ReleasedApril 27, 1973
RecordedFebruary 3–7, 1973
StudioConnecticut Recording Studio, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Genre Jazz fusion
Length44:41
Label Columbia
Producer Bob Belden (Reissue producer)
Weather Report chronology
I Sing the Body Electric
(1972)		Sweetnighter
(1973)		 Mysterious Traveller
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide B [2]
Rolling Stone (not rated) [3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5 [5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]

Sweetnighter is the third studio album by American jazz fusion band Weather Report, released by Columbia Records in 1973.

Contents

Writing and recording

The group had recorded the songs in a five-day stretch during February of the same year. It was to be the last album to feature founding member Miroslav Vitouš as the primary bassist.

Zawinul began to assert greater control of the band, steering it away from the collective improvisation that marked its live performances toward more structured compositions emphasizing funk and groove. This was exemplified by the album's two dominant tracks, "Boogie Woogie Waltz" and "125th Street Congress," as well as the closer, "Non-Stop Home." Other tracks were reminiscent of Weather Report's previous albums. Sweetnighter is considered to be the most stylistically transitional release by the band as it bridged the gap between the more open, improvisational earlier style to a more compositionally structured format. Also, the more prominent use of electric bass is evident here. Zawinul had taken the decision to add some funky beats in the band's sounds, so he recruited drummer Herschel Dwellingham and percussionist Muruga Booker to play on the album. Andrew White was hired to play the English horn, but also handled the bass for three tracks here.

Sweetnighter was recorded at a Connecticut recording studio in less than a week, and was released in April 1973.

Critical reception

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Ask yourself: What kind of a jazz (or rock) (or jazz-rock) group would conceive its sonar identity around electric keyboards and soprano sax? A pretty dinky (not dunky) one, right? So while I'm pleased that they're going for a drum groove a little solider than anything Dom Um Romao can move and shake, I'm not surprised that they get it only—just barely, in fact—on '125th Street congress.' And that 'Boogie Woogie Waltz' is fatally cute, ace improvisations and all." [2]

Legacy

"Boogie Woogie Waltz" was frequently in the band's live sets through the 1970s, and a live version from 1978 appeared on the album 8:30. Also in 1978, Vitouš recorded a new version of "Will" with Terje Rypdal and Jack DeJohnette on their collective album for ECM.

Track listing

  1. "Boogie Woogie Waltz" (Josef Zawinul) – 13:06
  2. "Manolete" (Wayne Shorter) – 5:58
  3. "Adios" (Josef Zawinul) – 3:02
  4. "125th Street Congress" (Josef Zawinul) – 12:16
  5. "Will" (Miroslav Vitouš) – 6:22
  6. "Non-Stop Home" (Wayne Shorter) – 3:53

Personnel

Weather Report

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weather Report</span> American jazz fusion band

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miroslav Vitouš</span> Czech jazz bassist

Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš is a Czech jazz bassist.

<i>8:30</i> 1979 live album by Weather Report

8:30 is the second live album from the jazz fusion group Weather Report, issued in 1979 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and No. 47 on the Billboard 200 chart. 8:30 also won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance.

<i>Heavy Weather</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Weather Report

Heavy Weather is the seventh album by Weather Report, released in 1977 through Columbia Records. The release sold about 500,000 copies; it would prove to be the band's most commercially successful album and one of the best sellers in the Columbia jazz catalog. DownBeat magazine gave Heavy Weather a 5-star review, and later its readers voted it jazz album of the year.

<i>Black Market</i> (Weather Report album) 1976 studio album by Weather Report

Black Market is the sixth studio album by American jazz fusion band Weather Report. Released in 1976, it was produced by Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter. It was recorded between December 1975 and January 1976 and released in March 1976 through Columbia Records. Columbia released it again as a digitally remastered CD in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muruga Booker</span> American musician

Steven Bookvich known as Muruga Booker is an American drummer, composer, inventor, artist, recording artist, and an autonomous Eastern Orthodox priest.

<i>Weather Report</i> (1971 album) 1971 studio album by Weather Report

Weather Report is the debut studio album by American jazz fusion band Weather Report, released on May 12, 1971, by Columbia Records. The album was reissued by Sony and digitally remastered by Vic Anesini in November 1991 at Sony Music Studios in New York City.

<i>I Sing the Body Electric</i> (album) 1972 studio album with 3 live recordings, by Weather Report

I Sing the Body Electric is the second studio album released by the American jazz fusion band Weather Report in 1972.

<i>Mysterious Traveller</i> 1974 studio album by Weather Report

Mysterious Traveller is the fourth studio album by the jazz and jazz fusion ensemble Weather Report and was released in 1974. This was their final recording with founding bassist Miroslav Vitouš, who left due to creative differences. Vitouš was replaced by Alphonso Johnson. Another addition to the line-up is drummer Ishmael Wilburn. Greg Errico was the drummer for the tour between the previously released Sweetnighter and this album, but declined an invitation to be a permanent member of the band.

<i>Tale Spinnin</i> 1975 studio album by Weather Report

Tale Spinnin' is the fifth studio album by Weather Report, recorded and released in 1975, featuring the addition of drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, who was recruited after Josef Zawinul heard him play with Carlos Santana. Weather Report was recording in the studio next door to Ndugu, and asked him to join them for “one session”. That session ended up lasting a week and produced Tale Spinnin'. Ndugu was asked to join as a permanent member, but decided to stay with Santana.

<i>Mr. Gone</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Weather Report

Mr. Gone is the eighth studio album by jazz fusion band Weather Report released in 1978 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album reached number one on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

<i>Night Passage</i> (album) 1980 studio album with a live track, by Weather Report

Night Passage is the ninth studio album by Weather Report, released in 1980. The tracks were recorded on July 12 and 13, 1980, at The Complex studios in Los Angeles, except for "Madagascar", recorded live at the Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan on June 29 of the same year.

<i>Weather Report</i> (1982 album) 1982 studio album by Weather Report

Weather Report is the tenth studio album by the American jazz fusion band Weather Report, released in January 1982. The band's first album is also self-titled, causing confusion among consumers and retailers upon its release. It is the final album featuring bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius and drummer Peter Erskine in the rhythm section.

<i>Procession</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Weather Report

Procession is the eleventh studio album by the jazz fusion band Weather Report. It was released in 1983 through Columbia Records. Although several previous Weather Report tracks included wordless singing, and "And Then" from Mr. Gone included brief lyrics, "Where the Moon Goes" was the band's first track including lyrics throughout, sung by members of The Manhattan Transfer. The band would continue to feature vocals on the next three studio albums.

<i>Domino Theory</i> (album) 1984 studio album using 3 live recordings, by Weather Report

Domino Theory is the twelfth studio album by jazz fusion band Weather Report, released in April 1984. It is the second studio album to feature the Hakim-Bailey-Rossy rhythm section. In actuality, three tracks are using live recorded source.

<i>Live in Tokyo</i> (Weather Report album) 1972 live album by Weather Report

Live in Tokyo is the third release, and first live album by Weather Report. Originally released by CBS/Sony in Japan only, it was not released in the US until a 2014 CD reissue by Wounded Bird Records. Recording took place on January 13, 1972, one of five sold-out concerts played in Japan during that January. I Sing the Body Electric (1972) contained several tracks that were edited for the studio album, but can be heard as they were performed, in their entirety, on this live album.

<i>Live and Unreleased</i> (album) 2002 live album by Weather Report

Live and Unreleased is a compilation of live recordings of the jazz fusion band Weather Report, released on Legacy Recordings in 2002. The tracks are taken from live performances that took place from November 27, 1975 to June 3, 1983. It is their third official live recording after the Japan-only Live in Tokyo from 1972 and 8:30 from 1979, although previous albums such as Heavy Weather (1977) and Night Passage (1980) also included occasional live tracks.

<i>Super Nova</i> (Wayne Shorter album) 1969 studio album by Wayne Shorter

Super Nova is the twelfth album by Wayne Shorter, recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label. The album features five originals by Shorter and an arrangement of "Dindi" by Antônio Carlos Jobim. "Water Babies", "Capricorn" and "Sweet Pea" were originally recorded in 1967 during sessions with Miles Davis that would eventually be released in 1976 as the album Water Babies.

<i>Zawinul</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Joe Zawinul

Zawinul is the third studio album by jazz composer and pianist Joe Zawinul recorded in 1970 by Zawinul performing music arranged for two electric pianos, flute, trumpet, soprano saxophone, two contrabasses, and percussion. The album reached number 17 in the Billboard Jazz album charts.

<i>Spaces</i> (Larry Coryell album) 1970 studio album by Larry Coryell

Spaces is an album by jazz guitarist Larry Coryell that was released in 1970 by Vanguard Records. Coryell is accompanied by John McLaughlin on guitar, Chick Corea on electric piano, Miroslav Vitouš on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums. The album was produced by Daniel Weiss and engineered by David Baker and Paul Berkowitz.

References

  1. ↑ Ginell, Richard S. "Sweetnighter - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 22, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ↑ "Weather Report : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2011.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 204. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  5. ↑ Campbell, Hernan M. (15 July 2012). "Review: Weather Report - Sweetnighter | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1474. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  7. ↑ Andrew White Talks About Coltrane, Funk & Local Scene: Swing Journal June 1974 p. 121. ISSN   0039-744X
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.