Zawinul

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.

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.

In 1986, after sixteen years at the helm of Weather Report, Joe Zawinul stepped out with Dialects. The album was also the first solo disc since 1970 by the multi-keyboardist/synthesizer visionary/composer-arranger. As its title suggests, Dialects drew on various music tongues from around the globe.

Music journalism defines him as a "Legend". It may be a word overused but there isn't truly a more appropriate way to describe keyboardist/composer Joe Zawinul. Austrian born, Joe Zawinul emigrated to the US in 1959 where he played with Maynard Ferguson and the great Dinah Washington before joining alto saxophonist great Cannonball Adderley in 1961 for nine years. Zawinul then moved on to a brief but fateful encounter and collaboration with Miles Davis, just at the time Miles was moving into the electric arena. In 1970, Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter put together what was to become the most important jazz group of the 70s and beyond, Weather Report.
Bandmembers came and went, including Miroslav Vitous, Alphonso Johnson, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Bailey, Peter Erskine and Omar Hakim…

Although Zawinul tried touring alone in the immediate wake of the breakup of Weather Report, he soon returned to a group format, first with Weather Update in 1986 and a couple of years later with the raffishly named Zawinul Syndicate. The multi-national Syndicate basically expands the Weather Report format into a sextet, with a rock guitar (Scott Henderson) replacing the sax, an extra percussionist on board to join WR's Alex Acuna, and more vocal support then ever – and if a Wayne Shorter-like melody line was needed, Zawinul would play it himself on his new Korg Pepe wind synthesizer.

Joe Zawinul - Zawinul (1970) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27100}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 207 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 99 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1970, 2012 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan / WEA | WPCR-27100 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Fusion / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Electric Piano

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A beautiful fusion of Joe Zawinul's roots in the groups of Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley – a set with some of the far-reaching jazz ideas of the former, and much of the soulful subtleties of the latter! The album features Joe on electric piano throughout, playing alongside Herbie Hancock in a twin-piano style that's quite spacious, and filled with slow-building, long-flowing lines! Other players include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Earl Turbington on soprano sax, George Davis on flute, Miroslav Vitous and Walter Booker on drums, and Joe Chambers, Billy Hart, and David Lee on a range of percussion.

Last Joe Zawinul album recorded before he passed away in 2007. Musically all release is based in Zawinul's post-Weather Report music,played with Absolute Ensemble, conducted by Estonian director Kristjan Jarvi.It's interesting, that two members of one of most current Zawinul band's (Zawinul Syndicate) are participated on recordings as well (Congolese vocalist Sabine Kabongo and the Mauritius-born bassist Linley Marthe).

Joe Zawinul - Money In The Pocket (1966) {2012 Atlantic Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27016}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 243 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 99 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1966, 2012 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan / WEA | WPCR-27016 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Modal Music / Piano

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The late, great Joe Zawinul is most fondly remembered for Weather Report and for his later leadership of one of the best world-jazz fusion bands, the Zawinul Syndicate. Money in the Pocket, however, represents the Zawinul story earlier on, in 1965, after he had been playing in Cannonball Adderley's band for four years.