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Jazz Articles about Joe Zawinul

About Joe Zawinul

269

Album Review

Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller

Read "Mysterious Traveller" reviewed by Todd S. Jenkins

by Todd S. Jenkins
April 23, 2002

In 1974, three years after the band's inception, Weather Report became one of the world's most popular jazz groups due to their uncompromising originality and musicianship. This was the year that founding member Miroslav Vitous was replaced by Alphonso Johnson, who became a critical asset as both a fluid, creative bassist and a composer. Drummer Ishmael Wilburn and Brazilian percussionist Dom Um Romao, with a shifting cast of supporting players, laid the foundation for the band's most exciting incarnation yet. ...

473

Album Review

Miles Davis: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions

Read "The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions" reviewed by Michael Fortuna

by Michael Fortuna
December 1, 2001

Miles Davis was an innovator from the moment he first picked up the trumpet. But for years, the public didn't have a clear enough picture of Davis' journey from jazz into the rock/funk sounds of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix as well as his use of electric instruments.At the time, all the public knew of was the funk groove and electric piano sounds of “Stuff" from Miles in the Sky, followed by more electric sounds on Filles de ...

386

Album Review

Miles Davis: The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions

Read "The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
August 1, 2001

Three previously unissued performances and six months of Miles Davis' recording activity mark this 3-CD set as something special. This was a transitional time for the bandleader. It marked the beginning of a fusion. The package documents this period very well. Davis wanted a new sound. With several keyboards and significant changes in personnel, he got it. The trumpeter introduced his musical changes gradually. The more radical shift would come later. These sessions are pleasant and full of intrigue. In ...

414

Album Review

Miles Davis: The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions

Read "The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions" reviewed by Todd S. Jenkins

by Todd S. Jenkins
June 1, 2001

Another Miles classic re-excavated with grand results. In A Silent Way was an astonishing step further towards a fusion of jazz and rock for Miles Davis, and for jazz in general, when it was released in 1969. The acoustic instruments of Davis, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland and Tony Williams were combined with John McLaughlin’s electric guitar, Joe Zawinul’s organ, and the twin electric pianos of Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Each LP side held a medley of two themes. Miles’ ...

191

Album Review

Miles Davis: In A Silent Way

Read "In A Silent Way" reviewed by John Ballon

by John Ballon
September 1, 2000

Miles Davis was going through exciting musical changes in 1968, listening and playing things which were leading him into the future and into In a Silent Way. His music and lifestyle were being influenced by a wave of new sounds and ideas, and he was responding deeply to the music of James Brown, Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix. Having already pushed acoustic jazz to the limits with his mid-Sixties quintet, Miles metamorphosed the new sounds around him, creating a work ...

252

Album Review

Miles Davis: In A Silent Way

by John Ballon
September 1, 2000

262

Album Review

Joe Zawinul (Atlantic: The Rise and Fall of the Third Stream

by C. Andrew Hovan
August 1, 1999

For better or worse, composer and keyboard expert Joe Zawinul will always be remembered for the ground-breaking fusion work that he pioneered with the group Weather Report during the '70s. A further look into his diverse past will however divulge a multifaceted musician with many interests and influences. For just one example, consider that as a pianist, Zawinul worked with tenor giants Jimmy Forest and Ben Webster during the early '60s. Certainly, his Austrian heritage could be cited for his ...