JOSEF (JOE) ZAWINUL
keyboards, synth

Few keyboardists in jazz history have matched the creative intensity of Joe Zawinul, who started out on accordion in his native Austria and has become one of the most important synthesists in jazz. Synthesis is a key word, too, in Zawinul’s musical conception, deftly blending the sounds of swing, gospel, R&B, African and South African elements, classical music and other ideas into a sound that is identifiably his own. It would be enough of a contribution to jazz heritage to cite the influential Weather Report, the vastly popular group which he co-led with Wayne Shorter from 1970-85, but Zawinul continues to push the envelope with his band Zawinul Syndicate.

Born in Vienna, Austria, Zawinul studied classical piano at the Vienna Conservatory, but his hero was Duke Ellington. Though coming to the United States on a scholarship to Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1958, he quickly became entrenched in a jazz career. He started an illustrious career as a sideman throughout the ‘60s, playing with Maynard Ferguson, Slide Hampton, Dinah Washington and an important nine-year stint with Cannonball Adderley, during which he wrote one of his many classic tunes, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” 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. It was Zawinul’s tune "In a Silent Way,” in fact, which served as the title track of Miles’ first electric foray, and Zawinul had a potent impact on Bitches Brew, as well.

After releasing his debut solo album on Atlantic in 1970, Zawinul and Shorter put together what was to become the most important jazz group of the ‘70s and beyond, Weather Report. Drawing on the power and theatricality of rock and R&B, while maintaining allegiance to jazz and the pure spirit of improvisation, they tapped into the so-called "fusion” movement of that decade while carving out their own unique niche. Bandmembers came and went, including Miroslav Vitous, Alphonso Johnson, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Bailey, Peter Erskine, and Omar Hakim, but the band spirit prevailed over the course of 17 albums, including the ground-breaking album Black Market and the massively popular Heavy Weather, with Zawinul’s infectious song "Birdland". That song, in versions by Weather Report, Manhattan Transfer and Quincy Jones, won separate Grammy awards in three successive decades, and Weather Report itself won a Grammy for their momentous live album, 8:30.

In 1985, after he and Shorter finally agreed to go in separate musical directions, Zawinul continued to create adventurous new grooves in the group known as Weather Update and then the Zawinul Syndicate, whose albums have included the Grammy-nominated My People in 1996 and the two-CD, Grammy-nominated World Tour in 1998. Other special projects have included an adventurous solo album, Dialects (1986), and work as producer and arranger on Salif Keita’s landmark album, Amen (1991). Meanwhile, as another tributary of his creative life, Zawinul has also pursued classical composition, writing his ambitious "Stories of the Danube" in 1993 and working with renowned classical pianist Friedrich Gulda. His special solo project, "Mauthausen"” released in Europe in 2000, is a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust, and was performed on the site of the Austrian concentration camp it is named after.

Among his prizes and awards, Zawinul has won the "best keyboardist" in Down Beat 21 times. Weather Report was a perennial winner in the "Best Band" category in Down Beat, Swing Journal and other magazines around the world. He has honorary doctorates from Berklee School of Music, and is the official Austrian goodwill ambassador to 17 African nations. In January, 2002, Zawinul has received the first International Jazz Award, co-presented by the International Jazz Festival Organization and the International Association of Jazz Educators.

Apart from just his keyboard prowess, in general musical terms, Zawinul continues to embody creative forward momentum. He is busy creating new sounds, textures and grooves with The Zawinul Syndicate, on stage and in the studio, and creating a personal variation of jazz beyond category.

September 2002

For booking, contact: EMMECI.