According to information gleaned from Zawinul’s European booking agents’ web sites, plans are afoot for two Zawinul Syndicate tours of Europe, the first occuring between February and May, and the second, dubbed the “70th Birthday Tour” to take place over the summer and fall. The advertised line-up is the same as last year’s band except at drums, where the incomparable Paco Sery is said to be replacing Nathaniel Townsley. All of this should follow-up a new Zawinul album to be released in the spring by ESC records.

Erstwhile Syndicate bass player Victor Bailey will lead his own band, consisting of Bailey, Jim Beard on keyboards, Bennie Maupin on sax, and Poogie Bell on drums. And current bass player Etienne M’Bappe will also lead his own band for the first time, in between Zawinul Syndicate gigs.

Victor is the subject of an article at the Bass Player magazine web site, in which he says he has terminated all sideman work to concentrate on being a full-time bandleader. He says Zawinul encouraged him to do so, telling him that he had records out and it was time to be an artist.

“Victor Bailey: Do The Right Thing,” by Chris Jisi

Josef Zawinul was once again voted the top synthesizer/electric keyboard player in the 66th annual Down Beat magazine readers poll. He was also accorded that honor in the magazine’s annual critics poll earlier this year.

Meanwhile, according to the official Zawinul Syndicate web site, Zawinul is working on a new studio album due for April 2002 release. Guests will include Jeff Beck, Richard Bona, Paco Sery, Zakir Hussein, Bob Malach, and Alex Acuna.

The September issue of Mojo, a UK music magazine, includes an article by Paul Tingen about the making of the Miles Davis albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. Tingen, the author of the excellent book Miles Beyond, quotes Joe Zawinul extensively, and the article includes material not in Miles Beyond. Worth seeking out for those interested in Zawinul’s participation in these Davis sessions.

Former Syndicate bassplayer Richard Bona’s new album, Reverence, is due out on Columbia Records on September 18. Meanwhile, Bona has become a member of the Pat Metheny Group. Not on bass—Metheny still has Steve Rodby on acoustic bass—but as a vocalist and percussionist. Read about it at the Pat Metheny Group web site.

Victor Bailey also has a new album out on ESC records. Called That’s Right, it is due for U.S. release on September 21. More info can be found at the ESC web site.

Marco Piretti has posted his interview with Joe Zawinul conducted during the Zawinul Syndicate’s summer tour. He also has recent interviews with Victor Bailey, Alex Acuna and Alphonso Johnson.

Joe Zawinul Unofficial Italian Fan Site

With August here, the Zawinul Syndicate has concluded its summer European tour. My friend Finn Manford (see our Weather Update page) caught the July 20 Syndicate concert in Denmark and reports, “I can tell you that it’s the best Syndicate band I have heard in many years. Their new bass player, Etienne M’Bappe, is incredible. I have never heard anything like him. And Amit Chatterjee did some exellent singing and played some very delicate guitar solos. Zawinul himself was like a 25 year old. He was in peak form, smiling his famous smile all the time, conducting his players, and talking to the audience without a mike. The first set was totally new material, and that sounds promising for the new CD.”

We are told that Zawinul will be recording a new album this fall. No United States concert dates are planned, and it is doubtful the Syndicate will play in the U.S. this year.

The Honors Committee of the Austrian Music Office Board unanimously decided to award the 2000 Hans Koller Prize to Zawinul, in honor of a lifetime of achievement in jazz. As the award’s recipient, Zawinul received 150,000 Austrian shillings (roughly $10,000 American dollars)… Julie Coryell and Laura Friedman’s 1978 book Jazz-Rock Fusion, the People, the Music, has been republished by Hal Leonard. It consists of interviews and photographs of the musicians of the 1970s fusion movement, including Weather Report members Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Miroslav Vitous and Alphone Mouzon… The soundtrack for the recent theatrical film Finding Forrester, now available on video, relies heavily on Miles Davis’ fusion work of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Zawinul’s composition “In A Silent Way” is prominently featured in the film.

Zawinul’s month-long summer European tour has firmed up, and I’ve updated the Tour Dates page with the latest information from Zawinul’s European booking agents.

Last night I had the good fortune of seeing Richard Bona in concert at the intimate, 200-seat Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California. In a word, the show was superb. Zawinul fans know of Bona’s phenomenal electric bass playing from his work with the Zawinul Syndicate, which can be heard on the World Tour CD as well as Anthony Zawinul’s Two Years video documentary. His own CD, Scenes From My Life, emphasizes his compositions about his childhood in Cameroon, West Africa. In addition to playing electric bass, guitar and other instruments, he sings his lyrics in his native tongue, the language of Donala.

I had previously heard Bona last May in San Francisco, as the opening act for the Zawinul Syndicate. This show was far more rewarding, as the band had a chance to truly stretch out in a club setting, playing two completely different 90-minute sets.

Bona opened the first set on his own, singing and playing a five-string bass. I believe it was the same tune that opened his San Francisco set nearly a year ago. However, this time the performance was more developed, and he used an echo or sampler device to record his bass playing, building up three or four layers which he used to accompany himself. He then brought out the band, consisting of Etienne Stadwijk on keyboards, Aaron Heick on saxophones, Zawinul Syndicate drummer Nathaniel Townsley, and a guitarist from Israel whose name I didn’t catch. For the remainder of the first set, they mostly played tunes from Scenes From My Life—no word on when a second CD will be coming—as well as some new material, including one tune written just a few weeks ago in honor of Bona’s grandfather’s one hundredth birthday.

Richard Bona is a very engaging and personable entertainer. He established a rapport with the audience, and there was a lot of good-natured banter between tunes. During the half hour intermission the entire band came out of the dressing room and mingled a bit with the crowd, and Bona signed autographs of his CD, which was for sale.

Bona didn’t pick up his fretless bass until the second set, which he started with a Jaco-esque “slang” bass solo, complete with references to “Sound of Music” and “America the Beautiful.” You may have heard the story that the first jazz album young Bona heard in his native Cameroon was a Jaco Pastorius album; three months later he had mastered the electric bass. Regardless of how long it took, he truly is a master of the instrument. After the bass solo, the band launched into a version of Jaco’s “Liberty City,” a fun tune if ever there was one. Here again Bona’s playing was inspired by Jaco, but he clearly put his stamp on it.

For the encore Bona picked up the fretless once again for a rendition of Jaco’s “Continuum.” Again, Jaco inspiration, not imitation. He closed the show as he started it, by himself. He once more set up a layered bass accompaniment, bid the crowd good night, and we left the club with Bona’s playing continuing to emanate from his echo box.

Richard Bona’s music is beautiful, and that in and of itself is reason to seek out his shows. But for Pastorius fans, there is the added dimension of seeing what Bona has done with Jaco’s legacy. It is impressive, indeed. By the way, Bona also played a show in the afternoon for elementary school children and their teachers and parents, sponsored by the school.