Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:05 am Post subject: Josef Zawinul 1932-2007
R.I.P. Joe......It's difficult to put into words how much your music has meant to me for so many years. Below was copied from Yahoo.
Joe Zawinul belongs in a category unto himself -- a European from the heartland of the classical music tradition (Vienna) who learned to swing as freely as any American jazzer, and whose appetite for growth and change remains insatiable. Zawinul's curiosity and openness to all kinds of sounds made him one of the driving forces behind the electronic jazz-rock revolution of the late '60s and '70s -- and later, he would be almost alone in exploring fusions between jazz-rock and ethnic music from all over the globe. He is one of a bare handful of synthesizer players who actually learned how to play the instrument, to make it an expressive, swinging part of his arsenal. Prior to the invention of the portable synthesizer, Zawinul's example helped bring the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos into the jazz mainstream. Zawinul also has became a significant composer, ranging (like his idol Duke Ellington) from soulful hit tunes to large-scale symphonic jazz canvases. Yet despite his classical background, he now prefers to improvise compositions spontaneously onto tape, not write them out on paper.
At six, Josef Erich Zawinul started to play the accordion in his native Austria, and studies in classical piano and composition at the Vienna Conservatory soon followed. His interest in jazz piano, initially influenced by George Shearing and Erroll Garner, led to jobs with Austrian saxophonist Hans Koller in 1952 and gigs with his own trio in France and Germany. He emigrated to the United States in late 1958 after winning a scholarship to Berklee, yet after just one week in class, he left to join Maynard Ferguson's band for eight months, where Miles Davis first took notice of him. Following a brief stay with Slide Hampton, Zawinul became Dinah Washington's pianist from 1959 to 1961, and then spent a month with Harry "Sweets" Edison before Cannonball Adderley picked him to fill the piano chair in his quintet. There Zawinul stayed and blossomed for nine years, contributing several compositions to the Adderley band book -- among them the major pop hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Walk Tall," and "Country Preacher" -- and ultimately helping to steer the Adderley group into the electronic era. While with Adderley, Zawinul evolved from a hard bop pianist to a soul-jazz performer heavily steeped in the blues, and ultimately a jazz-rock explorer on the electric piano. Toward the end of his Adderley gig (1969-1970), he was right in the thick of the new jazz-rock scene, recording several pioneering records with Miles Davis, contributing the title tune of Davis' In a Silent Way album.
After recording a self-titled solo album, Zawinul left Adderley to form Weather Report with Wayne Shorter and Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous in November 1970. Weather Report gave the increasingly self-confident Zawinul a platform to evolve even further as his interest in propulsive grooves and music from Africa and the Middle East ignited and developed. He gradually dropped the electric piano in favor of a series of ever more sophisticated synthesizers, which he mastered to levels never thought possible by those who derided the instruments as sterile, unfeeling machines. Weather Report eventually became a popular group that appealed to audiences beyond jazz and progressive rock, thanks in no small part to Zawinul's hit song "Birdland."
When Zawinul and Shorter finally came to a parting of ways in 1985, Zawinul started to tour all by himself, surrounded by keyboards and rhythm machines, but resurfaced the following year with a short-lived extension of Weather Report called Weather Update (which did not leave any recordings). Weather Update quickly evolved into another group, the Zawinul Syndicate, which over the span of a decade tilted increasingly toward groove-oriented world music influences. Zawinul has showed renewed interest in his European roots, collaborating with fellow Viennese classical pianist Friedrich Gulda from 1987 to 1994, producing a full-blown classically based symphony, Stories of the Danube, in 1993, and following the near-disastrous Malibu fires of 1994, moving from California to New York City in order to be closer to Europe. In 2002 he released Faces & Places, his first studio album in several years and one that boasted an international roster of supporting musicians. Since that time he has released a handful of albums including Midnight Jam in 2005 and Brown Street in 2007.
Though he continues to explore new musical paths at an age when most jazzers are long set in their ways, Zawinul's influence upon jazz has waned in recent years due to the jazz mainstream's retreat from electronics back to acoustic post-bop. But Zawinul's uplifting, still-invigorating later music may make him a prophet again if global music infiltrates the jazz world. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
Joined: 21 Jul 2003 Posts: 401 Location: College Station, TX
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:57 am Post subject:
This is very sad news, indeed. I recently picked up Brown Street, which is a double cd of him with the DWR big band playing his tunes - wonderful stuff.
Really bad news. Just a month ago my ten-year old daughter claimed Birdland her favourite music 'ever'. Together we watched videos of him on youtube, and she has started learning jazz keyboard after getting bored by her classical studies. It was great to see her get all excited about music. If Joe can reach a ten-year old kid, he lived a useful life.
Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Posts: 246 Location: San Mateo, CA
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:22 am Post subject:
I was just crushed by this news. Zawinul gave us all such incredible music, both as a composer and as a performer, and charted new sonic roads along the way, a true pioneer.
There was one factual item in one of the posts I wanted to comment on:
Quote:
...Zawinul... resurfaced the following year with a short-lived extension of Weather Report called Weather Update (which did not leave any recordings).
No recordings as in no album releases, but there is a live DVD available, I rented it recently from NetFlix. It's not too bad, though much as I like Steve Khan's playing usually, I don't think he gelled with that group very well.
It was an "extension of Weather Report" really in name only, it was more like a prequel of the Zawinul Syndicate musically.
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:54 pm Post subject:
Sorry, but I've never heard of this musician. The previous posts make me feel like I'm missing something special. I checked out the youtube link from a previous post, and it was quite good. But when I clicked on a Weather Report - Birdland video also on youtube, I saw someone else playing bass guitar. So, now I'm confused about this artist (bass guitarist, correct?), and still very curious. And, I've always been curious about Weather Report too (also mentioned in this thread). I vaguely recall really liking one of their tunes back in the 70s (maybe in a movie soundtrack?). But, I've always been apprehensive about buying one of their cds not knowing anything else about their music and afraid to spend fifteen bucks on a wild chance. Can someone, straighten me out, please!
Just briefly, Johnny, Joe Zawinul was the keyboard player in Weather Report. [They had a couple of bass players at different periods, the most famous being the great Jaco Pastorius]. Joe also played with Miles Davis at the start of his electric period. He is widely regarded as the greatest electronic keyboard player in the jazz or jazz-rock area.
Basically, Weather Report was a 15 or so year collaboration between Joe and Wayne Shorter. Many young bass players ( Al Johnson, Jaco Pastorius to name a few ) and drummers ( Ndugu, Peter Erskine,Chester Thompson to name afew ) came and went during those years. Joe was never one to dazzle with trying to play fast, but painted pictures and told stories using electronics and layers of sound. His dedication to the world beat was what most will remember him for,starting with Weather Report and culminating in his work with the Zawinul Syndicate; surrounded by a host of young musicians from all over the globe. One of them happens to be the bass player that opens the video. The piano/sax duets that he played with Wayne over the years are exquisite and are among my all time favorite recordings. ( Blackthorn Rose. A Remark You Made to name a few ). " Mysterious Traveler " is my favorite Weather Report CD and a can't miss purchase in my opinion. It is representative of both their early and later stages of work. In getting to know you a bit over the years, I'm almost certain you will love it.................Fingerlakes ( Jay )
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:59 pm Post subject:
This is all anyone needs to know: When each of my daughters was an infant, and got fussy when we were trying to bath her, we'd put on Weather Report's "A Remark You Made." Calmed them right down. Nowadays they're 28 and 26. When they have trouble, they put on that tune.
Thanks, Joe, for being part of the soundtrack for the love my wife and I share with our daughters. _________________ - BlueRunner
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This is all anyone needs to know: When each of my daughters was an infant, and got fussy when we were trying to bath her, we'd put on Weather Report's "A Remark You Made." Calmed them right down. Nowadays they're 28 and 26. When they have trouble, they put on that tune.