I’ve heard rumors about this for years. Now it sounds like it’s becoming a reality. Plans are underway to open Joe Zawinul’s Birdland jazz club in Vienna, Austria on May 25, 2004. Check out their web site. I wonder who the opening act will be.

Finally! The Zawinul Syndicate has booked performances for Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in April 2004. It’s been a few years since Zawinul has been to my neck of the woods (the Bay Area) and we have sorely missed him! The band will hold forth for a week at Catalina Bar and Grill in Los Angeles, April 13-18, and will perform at Kuumbwa Jazz Center on April 19 and the Palace of Fine Arts on April 20. Given the choice of venues in the Bay Area, Kuumbwa will definitely be the place to be. Also on the itinerary is an April 23 performance at the Tri-C Jazz Festival in Cleveland, Ohio.

Then it’s back to Europe with two concerts at New Morning in Paris, followed by a nine-city, two-week tour of the UK that includes the Barbican Theatre, capped by a five-day stint at Ronnie Scotts, May 10-14. See the Tour Date page for details.