Weather Report Black Market 1976 Rare Japanese Import Jazz Vinyl/LP

Another key turning point in the colorful evolution of Weather Report (Heavy Weather, Mysterious Traveller). Around the same time that Alphonso Johnson replaced founding bassist Miroslav Vitous in 1974, the band moved towards a new sound centered around electronic instruments and studio experimentation. The vital funk and soul grooves that Johnson brought into the band helped them pull off that extreme paradigm shift. Black Market is part of a record trilogy (along with Tale Spinnin' and Mysterious Traveller ) with which Columbia/Legacy honors the now-neglected Al Johnson years. In 1976 Johnson departed and another bass legend took the throne: Jaco Pastorius. Black Market documents the effects of that momentous personnel change, as both bassists perform here on different tracks.
Besides the revolving door of bass, Weather Report always had a helluva time maintaining a steady drummer. Ex-Zappa sideman Chester Thompson was as fine a choice as any for the couple of years he served, and this disc shows just how suited his approach was to the Report's overall sound. The second track, however, features the almost equally fluid Narada Michael Walden instead, and the title track features both of the drummers in turn. Their technical prowess and bare restraint help propel the insistent groove, one of the band's most memorable works. The long fade-in is kind of annoying, but once the tune arrives it grabs onto your frontal lobe and won't let go. Johnson's snaky, sweaty bass groove is another highlight of the song, and it points toward the more prominent role that Pastorius would soon demand for the bass.

- All About Jazz

Sleeve Condition: EX

Record Condition: EX

Obi Condition: None