The Funky Keyboards of Joe Zawinul

If you never heard the playing of Joe Zawinul, you would think that the white Austrian-born pianist would be an unlikely source for soul-inspired jazz. But Zawinul was one of a handful of late 60s and 70s jazz musicians who took the form to new places. Zawinul passed away yesterday at age 75.

Zawinul came into prominence playing on Cannonball Adderley’s Quintet and Miles Davis’ early electric groups (penning staple songs “Mercy Mercy Mercy” and “In A Silent Way“), the pianist gained the peak of his popularity and influence with the seminal jazz-fusion band Weather Report. Partnering with Wayne Shorter, Zawinul’s group was a pioneer of the genre and an early adopter of electric keyboards and electronic gadgetry.

Though fusion was often criticized by critics then, and certainly gets a bad rap now, there is no denying the artistry that Zawinul and Shorter contributed to the jazz canon…and in many ways there has not been a true new distinctive sound in jazz since those days. At times the music comes off as hokey and horribly dated with some cheesey sounding synths and jangly Fender Rhodes. But that is simply an artifact of the times in the same way New Order or Kraftwerk adopted those same instruments years later. The music behind it, though is at its best full of great inspired moments.

Though I never got into ANY of his later work, my favourite albums that include Zawinul are probably his most popular: Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, Cannonball Adderley’s Mercy Mercy Mercy (two of my favourite jazz albums of all time) and Weather Report’s Heavy Weather. Give them a listen.

Below a performance of Weather Report’s signature song “Birdland” (a really fun song to perform) featuring Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and company.

[youtube]pqashW66D7o[/youtube]