Scott Henderson Discussion

dizzy · Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 406

I saw some web pages about the Zawinul Legacy Band but didn't recognize anyone but Scott Kinsey and Gergo Borlai. Aren't they supposed to be from Weather Report? Have they ever asked you to play with them?

Scott Henderson · The Man Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 2135

They’ve never asked me but I’m too busy to do it if they did.

Yes, if they want to call themselves a Legacy band, they should be from Weather Report, or the Zawinul Syndicate.

Hadrien Feraud is an amazing bass player best known for his work with John McLaughlin. I don’t know the other guy, but Gergo is a great drummer and works with Gary Willis. Bobby Thomas is a brilliant percussionist, and the only one of them who played with Joe - that’s where I have a problem with the band. Here’s the definition of Legacy:

Law. a gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will; a bequest.

I’ve always thought the Legacy band was a cool idea, because the musicians actually played with Joe. Unfortunately what they have now is the Four Tops with only one Top. Those other guys never even met Joe. That’s a tribute band, not a Legacy band, and by calling it a Legacy band, they use Joe’s name in a totally unethical way.

The only appropriate members are Bobby Thomas, and Scott Kinsey, who actually worked with Joe as an assistant producer, and he’s obviously the only logical candidate for the keyboard chair, being an exact clone of Joe. I’ve seen their Facebook page, and I think it’s ridiculous for them to call themselves “The Only Official Music Representative To Promote And Keep The Vision Of Joe Zawinul's Music Legacy Alive”. I don’t see how it’s any more official than HBC - I played with Joe for four years so I qualify as a Top, we play a bunch of Joe's songs, and we also have the work ethic to memorize the man’s music instead of reading it off an iPad.

I have no problem calling HBC a cover band - that's what we are. If they called themselves a tribute band, which is exactly what they are, I wouldn’t have one bad thing to say about them - but sorry, the word Legacy does not apply.