The Zawinul Syndicate’s engagements at The Continental Cafe in Melbourne has been extended through October 20. Likewise, the Syndicate will hold forth at The Basement in Sydney for the entire week, October 23-27.

The Zawinul Italian Fan Site brings to my attention this week’s release of the new CD by former Syndicate bass player Matthew Garrison—his first as a leader. It features Syndicate alumnus Arto Tuncboyacian, as well as current Syndicate member Amit Chaterjee, and the ultra cool keyboard player Scott Kinsey, synthesist for the new millinium. Details can be found at Garrison’s web site.

This week’s Zawinul Syndicate concerts in Los Angeles were canceled as Joe became ill due to an allergic reaction he suffered from a spider bite. We’re told this will not affect the Australian tour, due to start in mid-October.

Vorticity Music, presenter of the 2000 Zawinul Syndicate Australian Tour, has updated its web site with concert dates for the Australian tour. This will be Zawinul’s first appearance in Australia in over twenty years; concerts are planned for Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Victoria. The Tour Dates page has the dates and locations.

The Syndicate has been booked for a six-night run, October 3-8, at Catalina Bar & Grill, one of Los Angeles’ premiere jazz clubs.

Details are starting to emerge regarding the Zawinul Syndicate’s Australian tour this fall. Presented by Vorticity Music, the tour will commence on Tuesday, October 17 with a concert in Melbourne at the Continental. The Syndicate will also headline the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz—Australia’s largest jazz and blues festival—performing two concerts on Friday, November 3. Additional details will be published at the Vorticity web site, and we’ll update the Tour Dates page when we get the info. (Thanks to Australian music journalist Seth Jordan and Voticity’s Simon Higgins.)

Zawinul Syndicate Biographies courtesy Voticity Music

Last April saw the European release of Zawinul’s Mauthausen, a work inspired by the plight of prisoners at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp during World War II. So far as I know, the disc will not be released in the United States. However, fellow Zawinul fan Andy Forward reports that those of us stateside can purchase Mauthausen from German Music Express—a Netherlands-based company that ships around the world. There is also a California postal address for those that wish to pay by check or money order.

German Music Express Mauthausen Page
Press Release Describing Zawinul’s 1998 Live Performance

Interesting item from the Weather Report mailing list: Innerviews journalist Anil Prasad reports receiving the following official word from a key individual at Sony/Legacy Recordings, regarding the status of the Weather Report live set: “The Weather Report box is currently in limbo. It definitely won’t appear this year.” That was the sum total of the response.

The wait continues…

I just found All About Jazz‘s Peter Erskine interview by Fred Jung, published this past February. In it, Peter talks some about his days with Weather Report and Jaco. Worth a read for Weather Report and Jaco fans.

Australian journalist Seth Jordan sends word that the Zawinul Syndicate will be the headline performer at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, which will take place November 3-6 in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. You may want to check out the article about Zawinul at the online version of Australia’s The Age newspaper.

I have also received word that the Zawinul “special project” will include a couple of concerts in Austria. I’ll post specifics if and when I get them.