Sweetnighter

Sweetnighter
Studio album by Weather Report
Released	April 27, 1973
Recorded	February 3–7, 1973 Connecticut Recording Studio
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	44:41
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bob Belden (Reissue producer)
Weather Report chronology
Live in Tokyo (1972) Sweetnighter (1973) Mysterious Traveller (1974)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B)[2]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[3]
Sputnikmusic	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

Sweetnighter is Weather Report's fourth album, released on Columbia Records in 1973. 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 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 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.

"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 and Jack DeJohnette on their collective album for ECM.

Track listing

1. "Boogie Woogie Waltz" (J. Zawinul)– 13:06
2. "Manolete" (W. Shorter)– 5:58
3. "Adios" (J. Zawinul)– 3:02
4. "125th Street Congress" (J. Zawinul)– 12:16
5. "Will" (M. Vitouš)– 6:22
6. "Non-Stop Home" (W. Shorter)– 3:53

Personnel

• Josef Zawinul – piano (2-6), electric piano (1-5), synthesizer (1-2-6)
• Wayne Shorter – saxophone
• Miroslav Vitouš – bass (acoustic 1-2-4 & electric 3-5)
• Andrew White - bass (electric 1-4-6), english horn (3-5)
• Herschel Dwellingham - drums (tracks 1-2-4-6)
• Eric Gravatt - drums (tracks 2-4-6)
• Moroccan Clay - drums (tracks 1-2)
• Roller Toy - drums (track 3)
• Israeli Jar - drums (track 4)
• Muruga Booker - drums
• Dom Um Romão - percussion, wood flute

Technical

• Phil Giambalvo - engineer
• John Berg - cover design
• Dick Hess - cover

References

1. Ginell, Richard S. "Sweetnighter - Weather Report | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: weather report". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
3. "Weather Report : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
4. Campbell, Hernan M. (15 July 2012). "Review: Weather Report - Sweetnighter | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
5. Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 204. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.

External links

• Weather Report Annotated Discography: Sweetnighter