This 1976 release is an exceptionally fine album by Weather Report and features great consistency in spite of a large and revolving cast of musicians, including two drummers (Chester Thompson and Narada Michael Walden), two percussionists (Don Alias and Alejandro Acuna) and two bassists (Alphonso Johnson and Jaco Pastorius). Speaking of which, this was the first Weather Report album to feature brilliant virtuoso bassist Jaco Pastorius and he appears on the atmospheric Cannon Ball. In addition, one of his compositions appears on the album (Barbary Coast). While not the most developed track, the propulsive and bouncy Barbary Coast does feature his innovative, groundbreaking techniques on the electric bass guitar. As a bassist, I am always dazzled by his technique, regardless of how many times I listen to his playing.

Overall, the songwriting and arranging on Black Market is top notch and both Zawinul and Shorter are in great form here. The tunes are very vibrant, feature some intricate ensemble playing and also explore the moodier/atmospheric side of things as well. The moody/atmospheric side of things is enhanced with Joe's use of synthesizers (Oberheim polyphonic and (2) ARP 2600 synthesizers), which are used very tastefully on this album. In that I also enjoy European progressive rock and electronica, the synthesizers really worked for me. Wayne Shorter (soprano and tenor saxophones, "Lyricon") also turns in some excellent performances on this album.

This remastered album is pretty good and features decent sound quality and informative liner notes written by Hal Miller that discuss each track.

All in all, this is an excellent album of jazz rock by Weather Report that was the first to feature Jaco Pastorius as a band member. Black Market is highly recommended along with the follow-up (and highly popular) Heavy Weather (1977), which features Jaco as a full band member, in addition to Night Passage (1980).

When I first picked this album up, I was tempted to dismiss a lot of it as elevator music. There are plenty of catchy melodies played played over third-world rhythms with instrumentation that we'd associate with the smooth jazz crowd. The compositions here are definitely closer to pop songs than on earlier WR albums. But this album has grown on me a lot over time, and further listening reveals a lot more depth; even a tune like "Cannon Ball" (Zawinul's tribute to his ex-boss, Cannonball Adderley), which is about as muzak-ish as this record gets, has an absolutely killer bridge. The drummer on most of the songs is Chester Thompson, who melds perfectly with Alphonso Johnson. There are quite a lot of highlights on this album -- "Gibraltar" (another groovy Zawinul number), Shorter's classic "Elegant People", and the title track. Alphonso Johnson contributes a winner with "Herandnu" (these tunes are his swansong with the group), and his replacement Jaco Pastorius shows off his virtuosity on "Barbary Coast". (Jaco also plays on "Cannon Ball".) Though I prefer Zawinul's early playing on the Fender Rhodes, as far as synthesizer playing this is probably his peak. The Weather Report albums after this one are generally a lot less exciting but Black Market should be placed in shopping cart.

Black Market and Mysterious Traveler have always been my favorite Weather Report albums, and I've had them since they came out on LP in the mid 1970's. Those two albums truly encompass everything that was great and special about this band and their "sound", which really had to be experienced live to be appreciated. Jazz, funk, world music, exotic rhythms, weird, eerie and mysterious sounds, they're all here on this great album. Great bass playing by both Alphonso Johnson (on the "stick" bass) and also Jaco Pastorius (his first album with Weather Report). Fantastic compositions by Shorter and Zawinul (THE LENNON AND MCARTNEY OF JAZZ FUSION MUSIC).

In 2007, the main 16 Weather Report Columbia titles were re-released in Japan with new DSD remastering in mini-sleeve format. From an audio quality standpoint, the DSD versions now supercede all the earlier standard-CD-audio U.S. releases (some of the WR catalog are available as SACD's).

Additionally, the Japan editions feature a welcome 2CD restoration of "8:30" to the original 13-track double-LP album configuration, with the proper inclusion of "Scarlet Woman", which had been edited off all domestic editions to allow for a cheaper, single-disc release.

So far, the WR DSD catalog is only available in mini-sleeve format, and all `sleeves are limited edition. If it is your desire to own the latest/greatest audio, then don't delay in picking these up, although it is always possible that Sony Japan will release them again as less expensive jewel case editions somewhere down the road. However, for the true WR fan and vinyl nut, it's great to have the wonderful mini-LP replicas of the original LP covers!

I wanted to provide links for each 2007 `sleeve edition, but unfortunately, Amazon only allows 10 per review. But, by linking to the 2007 DSD remaster of the first Weather Report album, you should be able to use the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" tool to locate the rest of the 2007 DSD titles (just make sure you verify the release date and Product Description).

Also, of note: In this same release were updated DSD remasters of the following WR-member solo albums, also as mini-sleeves:

Jaco Pastorius (1st album)
Wayne Shorter "Native Dancer"
Joe Zawinul "Di-a-lects"

And, the two Havana Jam albums, both where WR appeared live, also as `sleeves:

Havana Jam 1
Havana Jam 2

And, FINALLY: 2007 witnessed John McLaughlin finally relenting to release the full Trio Of Doom studio & live recordings, the awesome line-up of McLaughlin, Pastorius and Tony Williams, which could only be found previously on the Havana Jam albums, albeit in edited form.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 13.5MM X 13.5MM cardboard-sleeve, precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, everything else packaged with the original LP is precisely replicated and included, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and die cuts. An English-language lyric sheet is also included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have Japan-dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2 or K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "OBI" ("oh-bee"), a Japan-language promotional strip. The OBI often also lists the original album's release date, the Japan street date of that particular disc, the catalog number, and mastering info. Bonus tracks are always only listed on the OBI, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork.

The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake copies of Japan `sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Also, there are older Japan mini-sleeve releases that have been supplanted with newer ones, usually with updated audio (such as JVC-Japan replacing older K2-mastered titles with new K2HD mastered releases).

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common with some of the Japanese companies (but, again, not always). Mini-sleeve collecting can get expensive quickly, so, if you're a novice, it is highly advisable to seek the advice of an experienced `sleeve collector!

There are few albums that hold up to repeat listenings, year after year. The seventies were an amazing time for jazz/fusion: Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra. I thought I'd heard it all until this album came out. The musical invention soars on this record combining funk, world, jazz, fusion. Jaco, Zawinul, Alphonso and Shorter are amazing, but give credit to Chester Thompson, Michael Walden and Acuna. They help take this musical excursion to another rhythmic level. As an aside, I remember the prof of my college classical music appreciation class inviting his students to bring in a representative sample of what we were listening to at the time. He played Black Market for the class and thought so highly of it that he recommended it! Great music is great music!