Joe Zawinul Who Was He and why is he important?

Josef Zawinul came to the US from Vienna, Austria in the late fifties and attended Berklee School of Music. Shortly thereafter, he joined Cannonball Adderley's band and contributed the classic "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". He continued with Cannonball until 1968, when he joined Miles Davis and shortly thereafter recorded with Miles on the 'In A Silent Way' and 'Bitches Brew' albums, highly regarded as the first 'Fusion' albums. After that, he released his first solo album 'Zawinul', which was recorded with Wayne Shorter and Miroslav Vitous (among others). This core group of Zawinul, Shorter and Vitous became Weather Report in 1970, the most influential 'fusion' band of all time. Zawinul continued with Weather Report with constant personnel changes until 1985. Since Weather Report's breakup, he has recorded various studio and live album, one of his latest titled 'Brown Street' with a host of European jazz artists.

Zawinul championed the use of synthesizers in live performances and launched the careers of some of the greatest fusion artists of all time, including Jaco Pastorius, Alphonso Johnson, Alex Acuna, Peter Erskine and Victor Bailey. His music blends jazz, rock and European folk traditions with eastern and African influences.

I will miss him terribly and I mourn his passing.

Joe was the only one who really knew how to play the synthesizer. That was what he claimed and he was right. He was the best. And a songwriter who wrote an instrumental tune that remained #1 on the pop charts for a long, long time -- who can forget "Birdland". And he was a masterful and original composer of serious music -- and seriously funky music. Gave birth to fusion with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and others. Weather Report, with Shorter, was an extremely important influence not only on jazz but on western music. He was a masterful and energetic musical innovator throughout his life, maybe right up to end. Now he can rest and keep heaven fresh and funky. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

Excellent answer Steve S.

I will miss Joe Zawinul and the sounds he created with Miles Davis and Weather Report.

R.I.P.

"VIENNA (Reuters) - Keyboardist Joe Zawinul, who played with Miles Davis and helped shape jazz fusion with his band Weather Report, died in his native city of Vienna on Tuesday, aged 75.

Zawinul, voted best keyboarder 30 times by music magazine Down Beat's critics' poll, including this year, had sought medical attention last month after a tour. He died of a rare form of skin cancer, local news agency APA reported.

"Joe Zawinul was born on July 7, 1932 in earth time, and on September 11, 2007 in eternal time. He lives on," APA quoted his son Erich as saying.

Growing up in Vienna's poor Erdberg district during Nazi rule, Zawinul first showed his talent by playing the accordion with his family. He later won a free place in the Vienna Conservatory. As a young man his friends were the late former Austrian President Thomas Klestil and pianist Friedrich Gulda.

In 1959, Zawinul won a piano scholarship at Boston's Berklee College of Music, where many careers in contemporary music began, before joining the bands of U.S. jazz stars Dinah Washington and later Cannonball Adderly.

Miles Davis first approached the budding pianist in New York's Birdland jazz club, wanting to hire him, Zawinul once told an interviewer. Zawinul turned him down but said that when the time was right, they would make history together.

And when the time was right, they did. Ten years later, Zawinul wrote "In a Silent Way," the title cut for Davis' 1969 album regarded as one of the trumpeter's first forays into jazz fusion, a genre drawing on rock, R&B and other styles.

He played on and composed for Davis' "Bitches Brew" album in 1970, a chart-topping record considered revolutionary for the day and marking his crossover to a rock and pop audience.

Zawinul started Weather Report in 1970 with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The band did much to bring electric piano, synthesizers, and African and Middle Eastern rhythms to mainstream audiences in a jazz setting.

Before its breakup in 1985, Weather Report released 17 albums. Its most famous song, "Birdland," published on the "Heavy Weather" album in 1977, won separate Grammy awards in three decades -- for the original version as well as for covers by Quincy Jones and Manhattan Transfer.

Following the break-up of Weather Report, Zawinul had fronted the Zawinul Syndicate for the past 20 years. After the group's tour this summer, he sought medical attention and was admitted to the Wilhelmina Clinic in his native city last month.

In 1963, Zawinul married Maxine, the first African-American Playboy bunny, whom he met in the Birdland club too. They mainly lived in Malibu, California. The couple had three children.

He also spent a lot of time in Vienna and started his own club there, also called Birdland. He had planned to give a concert in Vienna's concert hall on September 29.

Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl said the musician would be buried in a grave of honor in Vienna."

From Jaco Pastorius tribute page MySpace Bulletin

“Joe Zawinul is one of my oldest friends in the music business. He was a force as a composer and an amazing conceptualizer. He opened up a doorway between jazz and rock n’ roll and was a major influence on Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and me. The world has never been the same since he made his contribution to our society.”

Herbie Hancock MySpace Bulletin