Title: Virtuosic but uncreative
Review: Jazz fans must have been thrilled when Weather Report left the studio experiments of Mr. Gone behind. Unfortunately, Night Passage doesn't really go anywhere. There's some cool improvisation (this was the jazziest WR album since I Sing the Body Electric) but the compositions themselves are mostly generic fusion. Wayne Shorter only contributes "Port of Entry", a sort of "Elegant People"-lite but easily the best tune on here. (Shorter also plays a lot of great tenor saxophone on this album.) Jaco Pastorius offers "Three Views of a Secret" and the band does a really cheesy cover of Ellington's "Rockin' in Rhythm". Zawinul does the rest of the songwriting and with the exception of "Fast City", it's unremarkable. Those who are interested in the chops of Peter Erskine and Jaco Pastorius will like the album but others may just be bored.
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