Salif Keïta

This version of the Zawinul Syndicate could swing harder than any Zawinul-led unit since the heyday of Weather Report, as this two-CD set – taken from three concerts in Berlin and Trier, Germany – triumphantly illustrates. Small wonder, for the lineup of the Syndicate looks almost like a Weather Report alumni gathering, with Zawinul, the brilliant percussionist Manolo Badrena from the 1977 Heavy Weather band, and bassist Victor Bailey, from the great '80s global-funk edition forming a quorum, with Paco Sery on drums and Gary Poulson on guitar filling out the ranks.

Joe Zawinul was a fantastic composer, musical visionary who pioneered the use of electric piano/synthesizers in modern music. He composed the soul jazz hit Mercy Mercy Mercy for Cannonball Adderly. In a Silent Way (1969) and Pharaoh's Dance for the seminal album Bitches Brew (1970) for Miles Davis and formed the Jazz Rock Fusion Band Weather Report with saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter in 1970. After the demise of WR he formed his own world fusion band called The Zawiful Syndicate in 1988 and recorded three albums.

Born in Beirut, now settled in France, Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf plays a heady mix of jazz, funk and improvisation steeped in classical and Arabic styles. In Paris, he has become a noted figure on the electro-jazz scene, bringing his style to modern funk and electronica acts, but his music also has a mystical, contemplative quality that sets him apart from most contemporary players. Named `Discovery of the Year? at the 2010 French Jazz Music Awards Ibrahim has played with renowned artists such as Amadou and Mariam, Sting, Salif Keita, Toumani Diabate, Matthieu Chedid (aka M) and the legendary Lebanese composer/singer and oud player Marcel Khalife.