The tunes of Weather Report have long seemed destined to endure beyond the slog of much of the jazz-fusion that dominated the ‘70s. Key to the band across its various forms were two artists – innovative keyboardist Joe Zawinul and the by-now-iconic composer Wayne Shorter. Both were fully masters of their craft. Zawinul won an unprecedented twenty-eight DownBeat Readers Poll awards for Best Electric Keyboardist. Shorter is one of the most covered composers in the jazz canon for his contributions with Art Blakey, his solo Blue Note years, Miles Davis, and Weather Report. With Joe Zawinul Music Odyssey’s Zawinul Legacy Band 3.0 Live at Grafenegg (Ropeadope, 2026), the music of Weather Report is back! Or, perhaps, it never fully left us.
Recorded at a large arena in Vienna, Grafenegg is the first installment in a series of physical albums, concert films, and immersive video performances unfolding between August 2026 and April 2027 under the direction of Zawinul’s son, Tony Zawinul, and Gang of Four Films. The album is hardly a run-of-the-mill tribute project, featuring several close collaborators and friends of the elder Zawinul. They include drummer Omar Hakim, a former Weather Report alumnus, and his keyboardist partner, Rachel Z. Electric bassist Gerald Veasley is a former Zawinul Syndicate member, and hand percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. has long been on the fusion scene. Saxophonist Bob Franceschini has been a pillar for Mike Stern and the Victor Wooten Trio. The album is engineered by the acclaimed Bernie Grundman. The album’s six selections are entirely from Weather Report, all composed by Zawinul except Shorter’s “Elegant People.” The excited audience is a key presence on the album as well. They are LOUD.
Hakim sets the pace on the opening “Man in the Green Shirt.” The original version from Tale Spinnin’ (Columbia, 1975) is renowned for its funky bassline and Shorter’s soaring soprano melody. Veasley Franceschini are more than up to the task. Of course, focus often turns to the keyboard solos, and Rachel Z has long proven that she is no slouch. Hakim is on fire throughout, too, even while the mid-section features a Thomas percussion turn.
“Corner Pocket” is a later vintage tune, drawn from Sportin’ Life (Columbia, 1985). It’s mostly a slice of funk, powered by the rhythm section with the saxophonist playing a brawny tenor, and impressive work from the two percussionists. “The Juggler” hails from one of Weather Report’s most popular albums, Heavy Weather (Columbia, 1977) which marked the band’s transition into funk. Franceschini’s flute and playful chord changes give the Odyssey Band’s version an elusive center amidst its more heavily improvised moments. Meanwhile, Veasley churns up the grease.
Aside from “Birdland,” “Black Market,” from the album of the same name (Columbia, 1976) may well be the band’s most popular tune. Franceschini does a capable job mirroring the strains of Shorter’s Persian-like melody on soprano, and later on tenor before it is picked up by Rachel Z. The gem “Elegant People” from that same album follows, with an overt nod to Shorter. Franceschini is especially feisty on tenor, over insistent percolating percussion and thick basslines.
The closer, “Db Waltz,” is from Domino Theory (Columbia, 1984). A frequent presence in Weather Report’s live sets, one can find videos of the band’s performance of the tune, which often stretched to eleven to thirteen minutes. Grafenegg provides a truncated version at about half that length, filled with staccato lines and stop-stop rhythms. Clear emphasis is given to Veasley’s bassline. While the live versions had Shorter on soprano and tenor, Franceschini sticks to the tenor here.
Zawinul Legacy Band 3.0 Live at Grafenegg is a powerful performance with all participants going full throttle. If nothing else, it will have you reaching for the originals. Weather Report had one of those DNAs that is hard to replicate. Nonetheless, kudos to Tony Zawinul and Gang of Four Films for giving us an appetizer of how they plan to continue Joe Zawinul’s storied legacy.
Zawinul Legacy Band 3.0 Live at Grafenegg is out now on Ropeadope Records. It can be purchased on Bandcamp.
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