Procession (album)

Procession
Studio album by Weather Report
Released	1983
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	39:36
Label	Columbia
Producer	Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter
Weather Report chronology
Weather Report (1982) Procession (1983) Domino Theory (1984)

Procession is the thirteenth album from Weather Report. It is the first album to feature Victor Bailey replacing Jaco Pastorius as the bassist. Omar Hakim is credited with finding Bailey and percussionist José Rossy; they were all signed with Weather Report before Zawinul or Shorter even met them.

Although several previous Weather Report tracks included wordless singing and "And Then" from Mr. Gone included brief sections with lyrics, "Where the Moon Goes" was the band's first track including lyrics throughout, sung by members of The Manhattan Transfer. The band would continue to feature vocals on the next three albums.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[2]

Reviewing the album in Record, Steve Futterman dismissed Procession as being competently crafted but too similar to Weather Report's previous albums to be of any interest. Noting the band's change in lineup, he stated, "Integrating new members, finding what they can offer and letting them stir things up can give an established band a welcome jolt of creativity, of fresh ideas. But in Weather Report's case, the overwhelming control of co-leaders Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter has reined in the skills of bassist Victor Bailey, drummer Omar Hakim and percussionist Jose Rossy in service of highly crafted but essentially petrified music."^[3]

Track listing

1. "Procession" (Josef Zawinul) – 8:42
2. "Plaza Real" (Wayne Shorter) – 5:30
3. "Two Lines" (Zawinul) – 7:43
4. "Where the Moon Goes" (Zawinul, lyrics by Nan O'Byrne and Zawinul) – 7:50
5. "The Well" (Shorter, Zawinul) – 4:00
6. "Molasses Run" (Omar Hakim) – 5:49

Personnel

• Josef Zawinul - keyboards
• Wayne Shorter - tenor and soprano saxophones
• Omar Hakim - drums, guitar, vocals
• Victor Bailey - bass
• José Rossy - percussion, concertina
• The Manhattan Transfer - vocals on "Where the Moon Goes"

Technical

• Neil Dorfsman, Tom Fouce, Mitch Gibson, Tom Miller - engineer
• John Lykes - cover artwork
• Bruce Talamon - photography

References

1. Ginell, Richard S. (2011). "Procession - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
2. Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
3. Futterman, Steve (June 1983). "Procession review". Record. 2 (8): 29.

External links

• Weather Report Annotated Discography: Procession