World Traveller From February 2017

THE WINTER TREE (formerly MAGUS) is a band formed by composer/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Laitres(a.k.a. Andrew Robinson) with vocalist/guitarist Mark Bond and his wife Deb Bond on keyboards. MAGUS was formed by Andrew in 1985 after a 4 year stint on the regional cover band circuit. Andrew wanted to focus his time and talents on creating original compositions. Several demos and cassette releases were issued between 1987 and 1993. At a New York City YES fan convention in 1994 Andrew noticed many vendors selling Progressive Rock CDs and merchandise.

Recorded in early 1975, Tale Spinnin', Weather Report's fifth studio album is filled with sunny textures of Latin and African flavors. During the '60s and early '70s Weather Report began to move towards a more cosmopolitan groove, and a melding of song with jazz in new and refreshing ways. The recording stands with anything recorded during the so-called "jazz-rock fusion" era, if only on the basis of the range of fresh, intriguing originals by the band's co-founders and principle composers, the keyboardist Joe Zawinul and the saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Zawinul's pioneering interest in what we now call world music is more in evidence with the exotic percussion, wordless vocals, and sandy sound effects of "Badia," and his synthesizer sophistication is growing along with the available technology. Wayne Shorter's work on soprano sax is more animated than on their previous albums and Alphonso Johnson puts his melodic bass more to the fore.