Heavy Weather is the eighth album by Weather Report, released in 1977 through Columbia Records. The release originally sold about a half million copies which would prove to be the band's most commercially successful album. Heavy Weather received an initial 5 star review from Down Beat magazine and went on to win Jazz album of the year by the readers of that publication. It is the band's second album with bassist Jaco Pastorius. Featuring the Jazz standard "Birdland", the album is one of the best-sellers in the Columbia Jazz catalog. It's opening track, "Birdland", was a significant commercial success, something not typical of instrumental music. The Birdland melody had been performed live by the band as part of Dr Honoris Causa, which was from Zawinul's eponymous solo album.