WEATHER REPORT Birdland (Live Midnight Special)

"Birdland" is a jazz instrumental composition by keyboardist Joe Zawinul that debuted on the Weather Report album Heavy Weather in 1977. A jazz-fusion piece, it achieved unusual commercial success and became a jazz standard, entering the repertoire of many groups and bands, including Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson's big band, and The Manhattan Transfer, who recorded a vocalese take on the tune with lyrics by Jon Hendricks. An uptempo version (with a slight rap introduction) appears on Quincy Jones' 1989 album Back on the Block, with vocals by Kool Moe Dee, Big Daddy Kane, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. The original version is easily recognized by an artificial harmonic intro played by bassist Jaco Pastorius.
"Birdland" was named after the New York jazz club Birdland on 52nd Street, which in turn was named after jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, nicknamed "Bird". The song is a tribute to Parker and the club that Zawinul frequented as a young musician (and where he met his future wife).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Weather
• Report
• Birdland
• instrumental
• jazz

[theomegleyouhate]

The percussion player looks like Al Pacino in Serpico........

[djcruse]

@theomegleyouhate That's Manolo Badrena

[jimcon7645]

Just wished I had seen jaco use his fretless once on this track, pretty sure he use's it on the recorded version.

[JRCrowley]

Amazing how the bass is a sonic core of he song and it reaches out past even that and into the middle and outwaard edges of the song. It's always there and you don't notice it, then you notice it, unmistakably perfect bass playing. Fucking solid, Jaco.

[goska1325]

classic

[triofdoom]

awesome!!!! amazing stuff. I have this but this is the best quality. I was wondering when someone was going to post this off the dvd's from the promotions off the infomercials.

[ressuvhio]

Such a great quality. Is it available to buy a dvd or something with this concert and this quality? I have a dvd with Jaco big band and the quality is much worse than this video.

[RonMazasco]

Compared to the shuffle they did with Peter Erskine in later versions, this original version with Alex Acuña feels much stronger. Also I notice again, Jaco plays Birdland on his fretted- and not on his fretless bass

[romainlabaye]

The quality is amazing, of this s thank you very much !