As
Joe Zawinul's electric band
Weather Report gathered momentum in the '70s, Atlantic put together a single-LP anthology of
Zawinul's earlier two albums for Atlantic and one for Vortex. The irony, of course, is that the
Zawinul of most of these tracks basically did not exist as of 1976, nor has this compulsively forward-looking musician returned to his acoustic jazz roots since. Fully half of the tracks - the
Tatumesque solo number, "My One and Only Love," the straight-ahead "Riverbed," and trio numbers "Del Sasser" and "Sharon's Waltz" (with
Cannonball Adderley's rhythm section,
Sam Jones and
Louis Hayes) come from the
Money in the Pocket album. "From Vienna with Love" and "Concerto Retitled" (both from
The Rise and Fall of the Third Stream) are backed by William Fischer's brooding neo-classical arrangements for cello and three violas. From these relatively conventional pursuits, it is a jolt to hear two hauntingly spiritual tracks - the electronically slowed-down "His Most Journey" and "In a Silent Way - " from the
Zawinul album, the prelude to
Weather Report. Though all of this stuff is out on CD in complete form, this is still useful as a quick trip through
Zawinul's extraordinary changes over a short span of time. ~ Richard S. Ginell