Editing Weather Report (section)

===1970: Inception and formation===
Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter had first met and become friends in 1959 while they were playing in [[Maynard Ferguson]]'s [[Big Band]]. Zawinul went on to play with [[Cannonball Adderley]]'s group in the 1960s, while Shorter joined [[Art Blakey]]'s Jazz Messengers and then, in 1964, Miles Davis' second great quintet. During this decade, both men made names for themselves as being among the best composers in jazz.

Zawinul later joined Shorter in contributing to the initial [[jazz fusion|fusion]] music recordings of Miles Davis, and both men were part of the studio groups that recorded the key Davis albums ''[[In a Silent Way]]'' (1969) and ''[[Bitches Brew]]'' (1970).<ref name="Larkin"/> Weather Report was initially formed to explore a more impressionistic and individualistic music (or, as Zawinul put it, "away from all that eight bars shit and then you go to the bridge...").<ref>Silvert, Conrad. "Joe Zawinul: Wayfaring Genius – Part II". ''[[DownBeat]]''. June 15, 1978.</ref>

There's some dispute over how Weather Report initially formed. According to Zawinul, it began when he and Shorter recruited another Miles Davis associate, the classically trained Czech-born bass player Miroslav Vitouš, who had previously played with each of them separately (as well as with [[Herbie Mann]], [[Bob Brookmeyer]], [[Stan Getz]], and [[Chick Corea]]).  According to Vitouš himself, it was he and Shorter who actually founded Weather Report, with Shorter bringing in Zawinul afterwards.<ref>Jung, Fred. [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=619&pg=3 "A Fireside Chat with Miroslav Vitous"] (page 3). All About Jazz (allaboutjazz.com). October 10, 2003.</ref> Whichever story is true, it was those three musicians – all composers – who formed the initial core of the project.

To complete the band, Zawinul, Shorter and Vitouš brought in [[McCoy Tyner]]'s former drummer [[Alphonse Mouzon]] and began recording their [[Weather Report (1971 album)|debut album]] while looking for a full-time auxiliary percussionist.<ref name="Larkin"/> The initial recruits were session percussion player [[Don Alias]] and symphony orchestra percussionist Barbara Burton. During recording, Alias quarreled with Zawinul (allegedly due to Zawinul being too dictatorial over the percussion approach) and the innovative Brazilian percussionist [[Airto Moreira]] (yet another Davis alumnus) was brought in to complete the record. Guitarist [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]] was also invited to join the group, but decided to pursue his solo career, instead.