Birdland
Context
Written by Joe Zawinul as a tribute to the New York club Birdland and to Charlie Parker, this track opens Weather Report's album Heavy Weather (1977). Jaco Pastorius stated in 1978 that the studio version had been recorded in a single take. Covered by Manhattan Transfer (lyrics by Jon Hendricks) and Quincy Jones, it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.
In the genealogy of jazz
This track belongs to Fusion, jazz-rock, jazz-funk. Among the origins and influences of Fusion, jazz-rock, jazz-funk: Modal, Soul jazz, boogaloo, Hard bop, Free jazz, Brazilian instrumental music, Indo-jazz, Modern big bands, Clube da Esquina (Minas Gerais).