Live in Tokyo

1972年発売 ウェザー・リポートが日本のジャズ・ファンをノックアウトした伝説の初来日公演をノーカットで収めた『Live In Tokyo』のアナログ盤

1972年発売。 1972年1月13日に渋谷公会堂で行われた、伝説の初来日公演をノーカットで収録。公式スタジオ・ヴァージョンが存在しない曲が演奏されているばかりか、ウェイン・ショーター、ジョー・ザヴィヌル、ミロスラフ・ヴィトウスのいずれもがライヴならではの自由奔放な即興演奏を披露。当時のジャズ界の最先端をゆく響きが、この作品にはあますところなく収められている。

While side two of I Sing the Body Electric gives us heavily edited glimpses of Weather Report as heard live in Tokyo, this two-disc Japanese import contains entire group ensembles from that concert -- and as such, it is a revelation. Now we can follow the wild, stream-of-consciousness evolution of early Weather Report workouts, taking the listener into all kinds of stylistic territory -- from Joe Zawinul's lone acoustic piano to dissonant free form and electronic explosions -- with lots of adjustments of tempo and texture. The pulse of jazz is more evident in their work here than on their American albums, and the example of Miles Davis circa the Fillmore concerts directs the fierce interplay. In his subsequent recordings with Weather Report, and as a leader, Wayne Shorter would rarely equal the manic intensity he displayed in Tokyo. All of the music is encapsulated in five lengthy "medleys" of WR's repertoire, three of which contain elongated versions of themes from the group's eponymously titled debut album from 1971. This would be the radical apogee of Weather Report on records, though they could retain this level of fire in concert for years to come. ~ Richard S. Ginell