Miroslav Vitous: Music of Weather Report

Remembering Weather Report was an earlier ECM release from the band’s original bassist and featured music inspired by the group and its members, with a somewhat controversial what-might-have-been subtext. This new excursion is much more about actual reworkings of the band’s material and is an impressive project in several unexpected ways.

Our rating

5

Published: May 15, 2017 at 10:24 am

COMPOSERS: Miroslav Vitous
LABELS: ECM
ALBUM TITLE: Miroslav Vitous
WORKS: Music of Weather Report
PERFORMER: Miroslav Vitous (bass, keyboards), Gary Campbell, Roberto Bonisolo (sax) et al
CATALOGUE NO: 377 2956

Remembering Weather Report was an earlier ECM release from the band’s original bassist and featured music inspired by the group and its members, with a somewhat controversial what-might-have-been subtext. This new excursion is much more about actual reworkings of the band’s material and is an impressive project in several unexpected ways. The music is closest in spirit to the band’s strikingly experimental early live work; playing this disc in the expectation of tasteful new arrangements of classic tracks would be to miss the point, but even this understanding falls short of the extraordinary acrobatics that result.

The keening reeds, whooping synth lines and spontaneity of the whole sonically pristine exercise are more evocative of Sun Ra’s Arkestra than of a studio-tanned fusion band, with the doubled saxes and drums providing plenty of gnarly texture and driving force. Absolutely recommended for its creative energy and sheer audacity.

Roger Thomas

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