''Sportin' Life'' is the thirteenth studio album by American

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

band

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 ...

which was released in March 1985 through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Although featuring many more vocal performances than any of their previous studio albums, words are rare and most vocals are chants from guest musicians such as

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

or Carl Anderson. The album is named after a character from ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

''. In addition, Sportin' Life was to be the last Weather Report studio album but, given contractual obligations with Columbia, the band had to release a follow-up in 1986 which was titled This Is This!.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joe Zawinul; except where indicated: # "Corner Pocket" – 5:46 # "Indiscretions" – 4:05 # "Hot Cargo" – 4:41 # "Confians" (Mino Cinélu) – 5:07 # "Pearl On the Half Shell" (Wayne Shorter) – 4:06 # " What's Going On" (

Renaldo Benson Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perf ...

, Alfred Cleveland,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

) – 6:29 # "Face on the Barroom Floor" (Wayne Shorter) – 3:59 # "Ice-Pick Willy" – 5:00

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 *

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 *

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer, producer, arranger and composer. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Journey, Kate B ...

– drums, background vocals on "Confians" * Victor Bailey – bass, background vocals on "Confians" *

Mino Cinélu Mino Cinélu (born March 10, 1957) is a French musician. He plays multiple instruments. He is a composer, programmer and producer; and is most often associated primarily for his work as a jazz percussionist. Biography Cinelu was born in Saint-C ...

– percussion, lead vocals and acoustic guitar on "Confians" Additional musicians: *

– vocalist (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8) * Carl Anderson – vocalist (tracks 1, 3, 8) * Dee Dee Bellson – vocalist (tracks 1, 3, 8) * Alfie Silas – voice (tracks 1, 3, 8) Technical: * Howard Siegel - engineer * Tony Lane, Nancy Donald - art direction * Jerry McDonald - album artwork

References

External links

Weather Report Annotated Discography: Sportin' Life
{{Authority control 1985 albums Columbia Records albums Weather Report albums