title: Night Passage (album)
text: Night Passage is the ninth studio album by Weather Report, released in 1980. The tracks were recorded on July 12 and 13, 1980 at The Complex studios in Los Angeles (before a crowd of 250 people who can be heard on a couple of tracks), except for "Madagascar", recorded live at the Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan on June 29 of the same year. 
  
  The album introduces a new member to the band, namely percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. Night Passage dials back the elaborate production of some of Weather Report's earlier releases (most notably 1978's Mr. Gone). What is lost in overdubs is made up in solo improvisation in the classic jazz tradition.
  
  Trivia 
  
  The 7th track on the album "Three Views of a Secret" would be re-recorded for Jaco Pastorius' second solo studio album entitled Word of Mouth (1981).
  
  Critical reception 
  
  Richard S. Ginell of Allmusic gave a four out of five stars review saying "All things being relative, this is Weather Report's straight-ahead album, where the elaborate production layers of the late-'70s gave way to sparer textures and more unadorned solo improvisation in the jazz tradition, electric instruments and all." Don Heckman of High Fidelity called Night Passage "one of the finest albums Weather Report has ever made".
  
  Night Passage was Grammy-nominated in the category of Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental.
  
  Track listing
  
  Personnel 
  Weather Report
   Josef Zawinul – keyboards and synthesizers
   Wayne Shorter – saxophones
   Jaco Pastorius – fretless bass
   Peter Erskine – drums
   Robert Thomas Jr. – percussion
  
  Production
   Brian Risner – engineer
   George Massenburg – engineer
   Jerry Hudgins – engineer
   Joseph Futterer – art direction
   Richie Powell – art direction
   Nicholas DeVore III – cover photography
   Pete Turner – cover photography
  
  References
  
  External links 
   Weather Report Annotated Discography: Night Passage (1980)
   Weather Report - Night Passage (1980) album releases & credits at Discogs
   Weather Report - Night Passage (1980) album to be listened on Spotify
   Weather Report - Night Passage (1980) album to be listened on YouTube
  
  Weather Report albums
  1980 albums
  Columbia Records albums
  ARC Records albums