According to Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul came up with the title Mr. Gone as a reference to Shorter who was absent while the band was working on the album. Shorter stated in an interview on the Questlove Supreme podcast, "I stayed another month in Brazil while they were making a record. They were making some music and they named it after me. Mr. Gone is the first album from the so-called 'Third Phase' of Weather Report.
