Studio albums 14 Compilation albums 11 Singles 5 | Live albums 4 Video albums 6 B-sides 1 | |
 | ||
The discography of Weather Report, an influential American jazz band with a career lasting sixteen years between 1970 and 1986, consists of fourteen studio albums, three live albums, eleven compilation albums, five singles, one B-side, and six video albums.
Contents
Weather Report's self-titled debut album Weather Report, released in 1971, caused a sensation in the jazz world and is still considered a classic of early fusion. It was awarded Album of the Year by Down Beat magazine’s polls that year. In 1972 Weather Report released its second album, I Sing the Body Electric. The first side featured new studio recordings, while the second side was taken from live recordings of a concert in Tokyo, Japan. On 1973's Sweetnighter, Weather Report began to take a new more funk and groove-oriented direction.
Breakout album Mysterious Traveller, released in 1974, was the second of Weather Report's albums to win Down Beat’s "Album of the Year" award. Released in 1975, Tale Spinnin' was Weather Report’s most solid album to date. It won the Down Beat best album award for 1975.
By 1976's Black Market album, Weather Report's music had evolved further from open-ended funk jams into more melody and rock-oriented and concise forms. It continued Weather Report’s ongoing run of success, selling well and being the fourth of the band’s albums to win Down Beat's album of the year award. The band’s next album was 1977’s acclaimed Heavy Weather, which proved to be the band's most successful recording. It would dominate Weather Report's disc awards, including their last Down Beat "Album of the Year" award.
By 1978 the band released its eighth album, Mr. Gone. It received only a 1-star review rating from Down Beat magazine. The 1979 double live album 8:30, recorded on the Mr Gone tour, won that year’s Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. Weather Report's ninth studio album, Night Passage, was released in 1980, and its second eponymous release following the 1970 debut album was recorded in 1981 and released in 1982.
In 1983, the band released its eleventh studio album Procession, which showed the band returns to the "world music". It was praised by Down Beat for its "unity and joy" and it has come to be seen as one of the best Weather Report albums. Weather Report then recorded Domino Theory and Live in Japan in 1984, Sportin' Life in 1985, and the finale album This Is This! in 1986. By February 1986, Shorter left the band, and Zawinul dissolved the band in 1987.
Many video, compilation and live albums were released after the breakup of the band. Live and Unreleased was made available in 2002. In September 2006 Columbia/Legacy released a Weather Report box set, Forecast: Tomorrow. A DVD video of the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival performance has become available as well. Columbia/Legacy have also re-released the 1984 Live in Japan concert on DVD.