Weather Report was an American jazz band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter (and, initially, by Czech bass player Miroslav Vitouš). Other prominent members at various points in the band’s lifespan included Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Alphonso Johnson, Victor Bailey, Airto Moreira and Chester Thompson. In the conception of the band, the compositions are mostly pretexts for improvisations, with an essential role going to solo instrumentation.