An anonymous emailer tipped me off that the 70th birthday gala (mentioned here many months ago) has been set for November 7, at the Leverkusener Jazz Festival. Reprising their IAJE Conference performance honoring Zawinul will be the WDR Big Band playing the music of Weather Report, conducted by Vince Mendoza, with guests Victor Bailey, Alex Acuna, Peter Erskine, and Scott Kinsey. The Zawinul Syndicate will perform as well.
Faces and Places Release
I understand that Zawinul’s new CD, Faces and Places, has been released in parts of Europe. The United States release is scheduled for September 17.
Zawinul Interview in Jazziz Magazine
The September issue of Jazziz magazine has a good interview with Zawinul by Ted Panken. It’s worth seeking out. The interview was conducted prior to the Syndicate’s summer tour, and there isn’t much on Faces and Places, but the interview does have some interesting thoughts from Zawinul on his music from years past.
Rare Scott Kinsey Performance
Keyboard player Scott Kinsey, who is credited as a production assistant on Zawinul’s new album, Faces and Places, will play a rare concert under his own name in the Los Angeles area next week. Best known for his cutting edge synthesizer work with Tribal Tech, Tim Hagans and Bob Belden, Kinsey will perform at LaVaLee in the San Fernando Valley on August 13, along with Steve Tavaglione on sax, Jimmy Earl on bass, and fellow Tribal Tech band member (and former Zawinul Syndicate drummer) Kirk Covington. Wish I could be there!
Zawinul Interviews On the Web
The ESC Records web site brought to my attention a Zawinul interview published in the May 2002 issue of the Jazz Education Journal. It’s an interesting interview that took place last December.
I also stumbled upon another Zawinul interview at the Barnes and Noble web site. Not much new here for well-read Zawinul fans, although it does contain the Zawinul quote, “I think, in all sincerity, that the last serious movement in jazz was Weather Report.” One of these days we need to compile a list of printed Zawinul remarks, because there are some great ones!
Dialects is Reissued
I picked up the new reissue of Zawinul’s 1986 solo album, Dialects, anxious to read the new liner notes penned by Joe himself, as promised by Sony on their web site and on the label accompanying the CD. Turns out that Joe didn’t write the liner notes. Well, Joe is quoted for a sentence or two, explaining that Dialects is his favorite album. The liner notes were written by Bill Milkowski—a fine writer, but not Joe. Oh well…More On Weather Report Live & Unreleased
Details continue to emerge regarding the upcoming Sony release, Weather Report Live & Unreleased. The tracks come from seven concerts, spanning the years 1975-1983. The 1975 recordings with Alphonso Johnson, Chester Thompson and Alex Acuna are particularly noteworthy because there are no official live recordings of this version of the band.
Here is a more complete list of tracks, recording dates, and personnel. (By the way, the release date is supposed to be October 1.)
Date: November 27, 1975, The New Victoria Theater, London
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Alphonso Johnson, Chester Thompson, Alex Acuna
“Freezing Fire,” 9:17
“Cucumber Slumber,” 11:39
“Man In The Green Shirt,” 10:48
“Cigano,” 3:58
“Directions/Dr.Honoris Causa,” 8:37
Date: September 10, 1977, The Rainbow, London
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Alex Acuna, Manolo Badrena
“Teen Town,” 6:30
“Black Market,” 9:26
“Rumba Mama,” 1:06
Date: November 30, 1977, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Alex Acuna, Manolo Badrena
“Portrait Of Tracy,” 5:57
“Elegant People,” 5:07
Date: November 28, 1978, Phoenix, Arizona
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine
“River People,” 6:57
“In A Silent Way/Waterfall,” 5:46
Date: July 12, 1980, The Complex, Santa Monica, California
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine
“Fast City,” 6:49
Date: July 13, 1980, The Complex, Santa Monica, California
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine
“Night Passage,” 5:53
“Port Of Entry,” 8:08
Date: June 3, 1983, Hammersmith Odeon, London
Personnel: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter,Victor Bailey, Omar Hakim, Jose Rossy
“Plaza Real,” 7:04
“Where The Moon Goes,” 12:04
“Two Lines,” 8:15
Weather Report Live & Unreleased
According to various posts on the Internet, there are some prerelease copies in of the new Sony Weather Report two-CD set in circulation, including one such package for auction on Ebay. The new set, Weather Report Live & Unreleased, is said to be slated for a fall release. Tracks span the years 1975-1983, and include:
1. Freezing Fire
2. Plaza Real
3. Fast City
4. Portrait of Tracy
5. Elegant People
6. Cucumber Slumber
7. Teen Town
8. Man in the Green Shirt
Disc Two:
1. Black Market
2. Where the Moon Goes
3. River People
4. Two Lines
5. Cigano
6. In A Silent Way/Waterfall
7. Night Passage
8. Port of Entry
9. Rumba Mama
10. Directions
North Sea Jazz Festival Confers Bird Award to Zawinul
The North Sea Jazz Festival organizers announced that Joe Zawinul is the winner of this year’s “Special Appreciation” Bird Award. The Zawinul Syndicate performed at the festival last night. Incidentally, Zawinul’s Weather Report cofounder Wayne Shorter was the recipient of the festival’s other major award, the Edison Jazz Oeuvre Award.
Zawinul Confirms Weather Report Live Tracks On the Way
In an interview on BBC Radio, Zawinul confirmed that the long-awaited set of live Weather Report material is due to be released from Sony "in a month or two." He says it will be a two-CD set consisting of 18 tracks, including the Chester Thompson-Alphonso Johnson rhythm section of Black Market, the quartet with Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine, and the last band with Omar Hakim and Victor Bailey. [The interview is no longer online.]