"VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Joe Zawinul, who soared to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion and performed and recorded with Miles Davis, died early Tuesday, a hospital official said. He was 75.Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month. A spokeswoman for Vienna's Wilhelmina Clinic confirmed his death without giving details. His manager, Risa Zincke, said Zawinul suffered from a rare form of skin cancer, according to the Austria Press Agency.
Zawinul won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Davis albums such as "In A Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew," and was a leading force behind the so-called "Electric Jazz" movement.
In 1970, Zawinul founded the band Weather Report and produced a series of albums including "Heavy Weather," "Black Market" and "I Sing the Body Electric." After that band's breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987."
Title link takes you to the full report via the Associated Press. It's a sad day.
Another synth legend gone, but not forgotten. This guy could play, even if you're not a Jazz fan, listen to his play, great stuff. Will be missed.
ReplyDeleteAwww, man. Bummer. One of my all-time favorite players. R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteEven though he had quite a bit of success, Zawinul was perennially underestimated, IMO. From the early Cannonball Adderley days, to the first electric Miles period, Weather Report, and the Zawinul Syndicate, he was always at the forefront.
ReplyDeleteOh... and given that this is Matrixsynth... he was a great synth player, too. :-)
I'll miss him.
Man, that's sad. Yes, he could play, but what really amazed me was how he kept on playing synths into his 70s.
ReplyDeleteThere was a great interview/feature about him in Waxpoetics magazine a few years back. I can't remember what issue. He said that the main thing for him was still the groove.
I managed to see him 6 months ago at the jazz Cafe.
ReplyDeleteI'm really lucky. I saw Jimmy Smith a month before he died at the same place.
RIP
Aw hell. He was so great - good writer, tremendous arranger, amazing player & improviser, and one of my all-time favorite synthesists. Some of the sounds on those mid-period Weather Report albums are just incredible (not to mention his playing). He was such a tough guy, too, I figured he'd live forever. RIP, Joe, and thank you.
ReplyDeleteCarbon111 put up a nice post on Synthwire as well. Do check it out. There are some comments there as well.
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