Unreleased ''First'' Weather Report record!

In the newest issue of the New York City Jazz Record newspaper, http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201702.pdf , the obituary of the late, great Alphonse Mouzon reveals, from a 2015 interview, the fact that there exists a recording of the very first Weather Report group, which included McCoy Tyner (!) as the pianist with Wayne and Miroslav, later to be replaced by Zawinul, and legendary Barbara Burton, later to include Airto in the released first LP. It was shortly after the iconic Odyssey of Iska sessions.

“We were actually the first version of Weather Report before Joe Zawinul replaced McCoy and Airto replaced Barbara,” recalls Mouzon. “It was Wayne’s vision.” Any of you folks know of this thing, and if Columbia (or Blue Note for that matter) has it in the vaults?

If I'm not mistaken, I've read that the great Purple by Miroslav (CBS Sony Japan) was the ''auditioning'' sessions for Joe, Herbie and Billy Cobham run by Miroslav, and not involving Wayne. As he doesn't date the sessions, this ''first'' WR recording Alphonse refers to would be between Purple and Weather Report. Wow!

 

Not 100% certain, but I think this might have been an (unreleased) Blue Note session -- and if so, is documented in some Blue Note discographies. The timeframe and line-up sound somewhat familiar. I don't know that it circulates widely, but I think I've heard 4th-hand reports of some folks having heard it (I don't have a copy, nor have any idea where to find one).

 

Could be! Wayne had been playing with McCoy on his Blue Note LPs Expansions and then Extensions (what a nice LP, with Alice Coltrane). I think Alphonse went over to begin his tenure in McCoy's band for Sahara after the the first WR album.

 

I believe he must have been talking about the below Wayne Shorter season for Blue Note that ended up being rejected:

Wayne Shorter Quintet
Wayne Shorter (tenor sax) Barbara Burton (vibes, bells, percussion) McCoy Tyner (piano) Miroslav Vitous (bass) Alphonse Mouzon (drums, percussion)
A&R Recording Studio, NYC, October 13, 1970
tk.3 Part 1: The Creation Blue Note rejected
tk.4 Part 2: B. Because -
tk.5 Part 3: Cee -
tk.7 Part 4: Dee -
tk.8 Part 5: Effe -

 

Big thanks, alankin1! Wowz. I can only hope to see the great fortune of a release of this material from the Blue Note vaults. I hope Don Was' hierarchy knows about the vault content to it's fullest. Even ''rejected'' (in 1970) could be gold from these cats. They were improvising marvellously at this time, not even mentioning playing a Wayne Shorter composition (four years later, Native Dancer). Blue Note released Moto Grosso Feio from A&R studios from 1970 (with personnel-uncredited Miroslav bass work) that I feel was horribly mixed, considering the spatially beautiful mix of Odyssey of Iksa the same year. Perhaps a ''reject'' due to another mess of a mix? I wonder of the existence of a multitrack of this ''reject''? Somebody get Don on the horn!

Wallace Roney mentions, in a recent All AboutJazz interview, his participation in never-heard Wayne project written in 1968 for Miles' quintet, 5 pieces that Roney calls a ,''holy grail'' of music. Could this be?

 

I don't believe we'll see this, but it would be great if we did. As for "multi-track"--not sure how "multi" Blue Note was recording in '70. Surely the mix could be improved but I think it was rejected because the session hadn't really come together, not for sonic reasons.

 

I think they used at least 8 track. There is the story of Andrew Hill "Passing Ships" being rejected due to a poor mix, and later released. I doubt they would sleep on a Wayne Shorter album though.

 

I don't remember the Andrew Hill release being held up for a "bad mix." Interesting. I didn't think Blue Note was doing 8 track in '70 but may be wrong. I'll see what I can find.

 

A question on Miroslav Vitous - Purple, a genuine and true pre-WR sound. Vitous, Zawinul with Billy Cobham the first drummer that jammed with Zawinul-Shorter-Vitous at the birth of the Weather Report:

Miroslav Vitous LP "Purple" unreleased on CDs