Elegant People is the definitive history of Weather Report, the premier fusion band of the 1970s and beyond. Founded in late 1970 by three stars of the jazz world - keyboardist Joe Zawinul, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and bassist Miroslav Vitous - Weather Report went on to become the most unique and enduring jazz band of its era, with a style of music wholly its own. This first book to tell teh band's story in detail comes on the 50th anniversary of Weather Report's first album release. Based on years of research and dozens of interviews with musicians, engineers, managers, and support personnel, it is written from an insider's perspective, describing Weather Report's transformation from a freewheeling, avant-garde jazz band whose ethos was We always solo and we never solo to a grooving juggernaut that combined elements of jazz, funk, Latin, and rhythm and blues. Fueled by Zawinul's hit tune Birdland and the charismatic stage presence of legendary electric bass player Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report took on the aura of rock stars. By the time Zawinul and Shorter mutually agreed to part ways in 1986, Weather Report had produced sixteen albums, a body of work that ranks among the most significant in jazz and continues to resonate with musicians and fans today.