''Night Passage'' is the ninth studio album by

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...

, released in 1980. The tracks were recorded on July 12 and 13, 1980 at The Complex studios in Los Angeles (before a crowd of 250 people who can be heard on a couple of tracks), except for "Madagascar", recorded live at the

Festival Hall, Osaka is a concert hall located in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is run by the Asahi Building Co., Ltd., a Japanese real estate company controlling properties of the Asahi Shimbun Company, and is housed in the Festival Tower, a skyscraper. The opening ce ...

, Japan on June 29 of the same year. The album introduces a new member to the band, namely percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. ''Night Passage'' dials back the elaborate production of some of Weather Report's earlier releases (most notably 1978's '' Mr. Gone''). What is lost in overdubs is made up in solo improvisation in the classic jazz tradition.

Trivia

The 7th track on the album "Three Views of a Secret" would be re-recorded for

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bass guitar, bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1 ...

' second solo studio album entitled ''

Word of Mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...

'' (1981).

Critical reception

Richard S. Ginell of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave a four out of five stars review saying "All things being relative, this is Weather Report's straight-ahead album, where the elaborate production layers of the late-'70s gave way to sparer textures and more unadorned solo improvisation in the jazz tradition, electric instruments and all." Don Heckman of High Fidelity called Night Passage "one of the finest albums Weather Report has ever made". Night Passage was

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated in the category of Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental. However, the album did not win the award in this category.

Track listing

Personnel

Weather Report *

Josef Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

– keyboards and synthesizers *

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

– saxophones *

– fretless bass *

Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the drum ...

– drums * Robert Thomas Jr. – percussion Production * Brian Risner – engineer *

George Massenburg George Y. Massenburg (born Baltimore, Maryland c. 1947) is a Grammy award-winning recording engineer and inventor. Working principally in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Macon, Georgia, Massenburg is widely known for submitting a paper to ...

– engineer * Jerry Hudgins – engineer * Joseph Futterer – art direction * Richie Powell – art direction * Nicholas DeVore III – cover photography * Pete Turner – cover photography

References

External links

Weather Report Annotated Discography: ''Night Passage'' (1980)

Weather Report - ''Night Passage'' (1980) album releases & credits
at

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Weather Report - ''Night Passage'' (1980) album to be listened
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{{Authority control Weather Report albums 1980 albums Columbia Records albums ARC Records albums