Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller (1974) [2007 Japan Edition]

Weather Report's fourth recording finds Wayne Shorter (on soprano and tenor) taking a lesser role as Joe Zawinul begins to really dominate the group's sound. Most selections also include bassist Alphonso Johnson and drummer Ishmael Wilburn although the personnel shifts from track to track. "Nubian Sundance" adds several vocalists while "Blackthorn Rose" is a Shorter-Zawinul duet. Overall the music is pretty stimulating and sometimes adventurous; high-quality fusion from 1974.

Tracks:

01. Nubian Sundance (Zawinul) - 10:42
02. American Tango (Zawinul-Vitous) - 3:40
03. Cucumber Slumber (Johnson-Zawinul) - 8:21
04. Mysterious Traveller (Shorter) - 7:21
05. Blackthorn Rose (Shorter) - 5:03
06. Scarlet Woman (Johnson-Shorter-Zawinul) - 5:46
07. Jungle Book (Zawinul) - 7:24

Personnel:

Joe Zawinul - electric and acoustic piano, synthesizer, guitar, kalimba, organ, tamboura, clay drum, tack piano, melodica
Wayne Shorter - soprano & tenor saxophone, tack piano
Miroslav Vitous - acoustic bass (#2,8)
Alphonso Johnson - bass guitar
Ishmael Wilburn, Skip Hadden (#1,4) - drums
Dom Um Romão - percussions, drums
with guests:
Muruga Booker (#1), Ray Barretto (#3) - percussion
Steve Little - timpani (#6)
Don Ashworth - ocarinas & woodwinds (#7)
Isacoff - tabla, finger cymbals (#7)
Edna Wright, Marti McCall, Jessica Smith, James Gilstrap, Billie Barnum - vocals (#1)