''Sweetnighter'' is the third 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 ...

, released by

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 ...

in 1973.

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 Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš (born 6 December 1947) is a Czech jazz bassist. Biography Born in Prague, Vitouš began the violin at age six, switching to piano after about three years, and then to bass at age fourteen. As a young man in Europe, ...

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 Steven Bookvich known as Muruga Booker (born December 27, 1942) is an American drummer, composer, inventor, artist, recording artist, and an autonomous Eastern Orthodox priest. Biography Booker was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 27, 1 ...

to play on the album. Andrew White was hired to play the English horn, but also handled the bass for three tracks of the album. ''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 Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

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 soldier 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."

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 Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypdal ...

and

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...

on their collective album for ECM.

Track listing

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

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 ...

– piano (2, 6), electric piano (1-5), synthesizer (1, 2, 6) *

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 *

– acoustic bass (1, 2, 4), electric bass (3, 5) * Andrew White - electric bass (1, 4, 6), English horn (3, 5) * Herschel Dwellingham - drums (1, 2, 4, 6) *

Eric Gravatt Eric Kamau Grávátt (born March 6, 1947) is a jazz drummer from Philadelphia. He has played with McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Weather Report, Byard Lancaster, Dom Um Romão. He was a member of Weather Report from 1972–1974. Discography With ...

- drums (2, 4, 6) *

- Moroccan clay drums (1, 2), roller toy (3), Israeli jar drums (4) *

Dom Um Romão Dom Um Romão (3 August 1925 – 27 July 2005) was a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Noted for his expressive stylings with the fusion band Weather Report, Romão also recorded with varied notable artists such as Cannonball Adderley, ...

- percussion, wooden flute Production * Shoviza Productions – producer * Phil Giambalvo - engineer * John Berg - cover design * Dick Hess - cover art

References

External links

Weather Report Annotated Discography: Sweetnighter
{{Authority control 1973 albums Columbia Records albums Weather Report albums