R.I.P. Joe Zawinul
This is a serious tragedy. He is my favorite fusion performer of all time. I had the PRIVELEDGE to watch him 7 times since 1975 in Miami, Fla. He was so inspiring, and caused me to woodshed all of his works while he played in Weather Report, and Weather Update as well.
Us synthesizer lovers owe him a moment of silence. I always felt so re born after one of his shows. When he played his Oberheims, and other synths also, it made me tremble.
Not only were his synth chops extreme, but his solo piano, and electric piano chops were incredibly unique. The best phaser / wah-wah Rhodes chops can be heard on the Tale Spinnin' CD. The Man In The Green Shirt was an example of a true warrioir of electrictronic music.
I Love Josef Zawinul, He Has Only Left The Building.
Very sad news indeed.
THe emperor of the out of nowhere melodies with vocoder licks and fourth chords and fusion and world culture.... Thanks for what you let Mr Zawinul !
Can it be done, tell me if there is one melody,
that's never been played.
How does it sound ?
Can it be done ?
A new sound, that never been in the air ?
(from Domino Theory)
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Nestor
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Scope4, for me too, Josef has been a pool of inspiration for years and years… I still enjoy listening at his solo work, as well as Whether Report, of course.
He is one of the most influential harmony-builders in jazz and in contemporary music. If you get to study his harmonies you get in love with those cadences as they are so incredibly insightful and reach.
He was a great composer but also a great performer.
One of the most important qualities of this particular musician has always been his extraordinary capacity to LISTEN to the fellow musicians that played with him. This is a rare quality today, as people tend to play by themselves more and more. He was particularly aware of what others were doing at any given time, and this is one of the keys of his success, because as an improviser, he would always reach the exact two seconds gap to add there a touch that would give a totally fantastic character to the piece.
I am sure that without Josef Zawinul, Whether Report would have never been Whether Report, as his harmonic basement was his remarkable harmony ways.
I have studied his solos and chords for many years and can say he was one of the greatest musicians of our times, and as Jaco did impact the bass-guitar world, he did impact forever the keyboard world and players
He is one of the most influential harmony-builders in jazz and in contemporary music. If you get to study his harmonies you get in love with those cadences as they are so incredibly insightful and reach.
He was a great composer but also a great performer.
One of the most important qualities of this particular musician has always been his extraordinary capacity to LISTEN to the fellow musicians that played with him. This is a rare quality today, as people tend to play by themselves more and more. He was particularly aware of what others were doing at any given time, and this is one of the keys of his success, because as an improviser, he would always reach the exact two seconds gap to add there a touch that would give a totally fantastic character to the piece.
I am sure that without Josef Zawinul, Whether Report would have never been Whether Report, as his harmonic basement was his remarkable harmony ways.
I have studied his solos and chords for many years and can say he was one of the greatest musicians of our times, and as Jaco did impact the bass-guitar world, he did impact forever the keyboard world and players
*MUSIC* The most Powerful Language in the world! *INDEED*
I recently got a copy of Miles Davis "Bitches Brew". Joe Zawinul played on it. I read that during the recording session he thought it was bad but after all the editing he heard it again and it was amazing. That album turned out to be one of the best jazz recordings ever. It was partly genius and partly luck. Miles could not have done it without the help of others.
It's true, Zawinul's chords make your jaw drop to the floor. Not only that but he was one of the most creative musicians in the 70s. Listen to 'Milky Way' on the first Weather Report album. I always wondered how he made the otherworldly sounds on that piece, I read about it years later - apparently he was holding down piano chords silently and Wayne Shorter was blowing onto the soundboard to excite the strings. Amazing stuff.
Braincell - Bitches Brew is great, but In A Silent Way is absolutely astounding, for me anyway.
If anyone wants to hear what Zawinul was about, I recommend checking out the following:
- Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
- Joe Zawinul solo album (self-titled)
- all Weather Report albums up to and including 'Heavy Weather'.
Braincell - Bitches Brew is great, but In A Silent Way is absolutely astounding, for me anyway.
If anyone wants to hear what Zawinul was about, I recommend checking out the following:
- Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
- Joe Zawinul solo album (self-titled)
- all Weather Report albums up to and including 'Heavy Weather'.
I am honored to share the sadness from his death w/ all of my Brotha's here.
Strange thing happened today. I never watch soap operas, but I occassionally hit a brick wall trying to compose, so from past experiences I found out that if I do something I never do, it helps unclog my thought process. So I watched this boring soap as there is a really fine babe w/ giant lips ( my weakness ), and all of a sudden I heard that beautiful grand piano layered over a fender rhodes w/ a phaser, I immediately knew it was Josef's intro to a Remark You Made, where Jaco did those amazingly accurate slides on the fretless. I couldn't believe that someone picked that happy / sad song from Heavy Weather for a soap opera segue. It was such a moment of mixed emotions and surprise.
As I Said Earlier,............He has only left the building.
Strange thing happened today. I never watch soap operas, but I occassionally hit a brick wall trying to compose, so from past experiences I found out that if I do something I never do, it helps unclog my thought process. So I watched this boring soap as there is a really fine babe w/ giant lips ( my weakness ), and all of a sudden I heard that beautiful grand piano layered over a fender rhodes w/ a phaser, I immediately knew it was Josef's intro to a Remark You Made, where Jaco did those amazingly accurate slides on the fretless. I couldn't believe that someone picked that happy / sad song from Heavy Weather for a soap opera segue. It was such a moment of mixed emotions and surprise.
As I Said Earlier,............He has only left the building.
Check out Giles Peterson's show on Radio 1 experimental this week. He pays tribute to Joe Zawinul and Bobby Byrd. It kicks off with The Cannonball Adderley Quintet ft Joe Zawinul – ‘Mercy Mercy Mercy’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/gillespeterson/