felser Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 (edited) This 1970 album seems to be Zawinul's reinvisioning of 'In A Silent Way', the classic Miles Davis session which his playing and writing had great influence on. You can hear the first Weather Report album coming in these cuts, but this is a more lasting experience. The sides of the album basically break down into two suites. Side one has a very long and stunning "Doctor Honoris Causa" and the most beautiful version of "In A Silent Way" (which Zawinul wrote - this version was his vision of the composition). The second side, equally evocative in it's musical pictures, consists of "His Last Journey", "Double Image", and "Arrival In New York". The music on this album, to quote AMG, has a "lasting, reflective ambience". Woody Shaw is the trumpeter, and he plays beautifully, as does the otherwise unknown (at least to me) Earl Turbinton on soprano sax. Herbie Hancock and Zawinul both play electric piano, and contribute very rich combinations, showing how much better this sound could be without gimmicky synths added to the equation. Miroslav Vitous and Walter Booker are the two bassists, complimenting each other, and Joe Chambers and two other drummers lay down the very spare beat that Tony Williams set up on 'In a Silent Way'. Joel Dorn deserves a lot of credit for the wonderful production of this album. He would miraculously pull similarly great music out of Les McCann a while later on 'Invitation to Openness'. The music on this CD is very personal to Zawinul. 'In a Silent Way' is a remembrance of his time as a shepard boy in Austria, 'His Last Journey' is a tone poem commemorating his grandfather's funeral, and 'Arrival in New York' is a musical impression of arriving in the USA as a boy. "Doctor Honoris Causa" is dedicated to Herbie Hancock for an honorary doctorate he received, and "Double Image" is about the differences between man's perceptions of himself and the reality of his being. Beautiful, stirring music. In a sense, the first, and best, Weather Report album, but that description doesn't do justice to the powerful impact of this music. This wonderful album, for some reason, doesn't seem to be that well know compared to the other work from this period by Miles and his illustrious sidemen, but should not be missed. Edited October 14, 2006 by felser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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GA Russell Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 If I remember right, Earl Turbinton was a New Orleans musician whom I met in the spring of '68. His brother Willie T led the jazz group on the piano. Prior to that, Willie T and the Souls had a hit r&b record with a song called Teasing You, which was re-recorded as Thank You John and became a staple of Carolina beach music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danasgoodstuff Posted October 15, 2006 Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 Is it this version of "In a Silent Way" that's on the new Weather Report box? I heard this album years ago, don't know that I remember it well enuff to comment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest akanalog Posted October 15, 2006 Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 i bought this album twice on CD because i felt i should like it better but sold it both times. i do have it on LP still. i felt some of the tracks were boring. and the rest were alright. i think i have heard too many versions of "in a silent way" and "doctor honora causa", especially, which i find annoying at this point almost. you like this album better than "i sing the body electric"? i don't. the first WR album isn't so great. i would put this solo effort around that level if not a step above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felser Posted October 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 i think i have heard too many versions of "in a silent way" and "doctor honora causa", especially, which i find annoying at this point almost. you like this album better than "i sing the body electric"? i don't. the first WR album isn't so great. i would put this solo effort around that level if not a step above. 'I Sing The Body Electric' is my favorite Weather Report album, followed by 'Sweetnighter'. I rank this right with 'I Sing The Body Electric' at least. This album was the first time I heard 'Dpctpr Honora Causa' and, believe it or not, 'Silent Way' (I got this album real early on from the Norristown Library, before I had even heard the Miles album), so it sits in a different historical spot for me, shaped me for this type of music. Maybe if I had come to it late, it would be a lesser experience for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest akanalog Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 jf-sweetnighter is my favorite, followed by i sing the body... i think this was the thing-i came to "zawinul" after miles and weather report and it seemed a little introspective and mellow, i guess. which is the point. i was just a little young for the mellowness. but i bought it again and i think my expectations were just too high. what i am trying to say is-it is a joe zawinul album, not a miles davis or weather report album. but i am too dumb to be able to take that into consideration when listening to it. miles himself obviously has a world of respect for this album based on his liner comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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