Black Water

With a few changes in personnel, the Zawinul Syndicate continues to be Joe Zawinul's personal vehicle for pan-global fusions of jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, rock and whatever world music he can lay his hands on. Again Zawinul keeps a configuration of vocalists on board, including his own gritty electronically processed voice, and he even dusts off his childhood accordion for a bit of Austrian local color on "Medicine Man." The leadoff track, a group remake of "Carnivalito" recorded live in Copenhagen, is, oddly enough, inferior to Zawinul's solo version – too cluttered. But with the South African freedom-fighting, percolating "Black Water," the Syndicate is back on track, empowered as always by Zawinul's unquenchable urge to swing right in the pocket.

"Cold Blue Music has an unofficial “stable” of composers and performers names that come up on multiple releases. And why not? Every record label needs an identity. Composer Jim Fox is the man behind Cold Blue Music, and that position serves as a kind of bully pulpit for his own music. Again, why not? I like Cold Blue Music a lot, and one of the things I like about it is its advocacy for the specially priced CD single.