"Weather Report" is the self-titled debut studio album by American jazz-fusion band Weather Report, released in May 1971. The group was originally a quintet formed by ex-Miles Davis band members Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul. They, along with Miroslav Vitous, Alphonse Mouzon and Airto Moreira, worked together to produce a distinctive sound blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, and various ethnic music.
The album features innovative compositions which avoided traditional jazz structures, instead drawing on electronic music and space-age pop for inspiration. It contained no written charts, and is an experimental album with a focus on group improvisation and complex arrangements. It includes prominent use of the electric piano and soprano saxophone, and it shows a departure from jazz convention in its cover art and lack of liner notes.
The album is considered a major contribution to the jazz-rock fusion movement of the 1970s. The 7-track album, although not a commercial success, was well-received critically and set the stage for the band's subsequent albums. With this release, Weather Report established a creative approach that would characterize their work well into the late 1970s.
