Joe Zawinul, 1932 - 2007

Was it writing 'Mercy Mercy, Mercy' for Cannonball? (And, Chicago's Buckinghams' say thank you too)

Was It Writing 'In A Silent Way' for Miles??

Was It Writing 'Birdland' for Weather Report???

This jazz guy was all over every major part of this Rock and Roll Fan's life.

From Wiki

In 1961, Zawinul joined the Quintet led by saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. During his nine-year stint with Adderley, Zawinul wrote the hit song "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." He also composed "Walk Tall" and "Country Preacher," the latter a tribute to U.S. Civil Rights Movement leader Rev. Jesse Jackson. In this title cut to the quintet's popular 1969 album release, Austrian-born Zawinul demonstrated a sophisticated and intimate understanding of the African/African-American concept of cool, of motion and interval. When "Country Preacher" debuted at a live recording session in Chicago at Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, it elicited enthusiastic cheers of immediate recognition from the mostly African-American audience.

In the late 1960s, Zawinul recorded with Miles Davis's studio band and helped create the sound of the Jazz fusion. Among others, he played on the album In a Silent Way, the title track of which he composed, and the landmark album Bitches Brew, for which he contributed the twenty-minute track, "Pharaoh's Dance", which occupied the whole of side one.

Zawinul is known to have played live with Davis only once, on July 10, 1991, shortly before Davis' death.

Zawinul, along with other Davis sidemen Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, was one of the first to use electric pianos and early synthesizers like the ARP 2600 in 1973's Sweetnighter. He was among the first to use a Fender-Rhodes with a Phasing effect and a Wah-Wah pedal. His creativity and attention to detail resulted in a very contemporary and modern sound. He also has played the kalimba on Weather Report's Mysterious Traveller and Mr. Gone.

In 1970, Zawinul cofounded Weather Report with saxophonist and Davis alumnus Wayne Shorter.Their biggest commercial success came from his composition "Birdland", a 6-minute opus featured on Weather Report's 1977 album Heavy Weather, which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard pop albums chart. [2]"Birdland" is one of the most recognizable jazz pieces of the 1970s, covered by many prominent artists from The Manhattan Transfer to Maynard Ferguson and Jefferson Starship. Even Weather Report's version received significant mainstream radio airplay — unusual for them — and served to convert many new fans to music which they may never have heard otherwise.

Here's Birdland - don't forget to watch Jaco!