American jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1970 by keyboardist Joe Zawinul (formerly of Miles Davis's electric-era ensembles) and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Long-running rhythm section over the band's history included Alphonse Mouzon, Eric Gravatt, Chester Thompson, Peter Erskine (drums), and bassists Miroslav Vitous, Alphonso Johnson, and famously Jaco Pastorius (1976-1981).
Fifteen studio albums between 1971 and 1986. Commercial peak: Heavy Weather (1977), featuring "Birdland" — later widely covered. Other significant releases include Mysterious Traveller (1974), Black Market (1976), and Mr. Gone (1978). The band dissolved in 1986. Zawinul died in 2007; Shorter died in 2023.
