Weather Report-Weather Report (1982)

Weather Report's tenth album is a perfect example of how 1970s jazz fusion survived remarkably well into the following decade. Titled after their 1971 debut, this "Weather Report" was the last to feature the rhythm section of Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine. The rest of the lineup remained the same: Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter, along with percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. While the music on this album is no longer as adventurous or avant-garde as on previous albums, it still displays an organic sound, albeit one more oriented towards the generic sounds of jazz fusion. The rhythmic conglomerations of "Volcano For Hire", "When It Was Now", and "Dara Factors One and Two", or the ambient jazz of "Current Affairs", feature more intriguing arrangements, but still retain the initial avant-garde essence, something that is clearly evident in the expansive and vibrant jazz-rock of "New York".