RIP Joe Zawinul

[doorknocker]

Just heard it on the news this morning: Jazz legend Joe Zawinul passes away today, he was 75. Another great one gone, but his tunes will live forever! Is there any tune more beautiful and haunting than 'A remark you made'?

RIP, Joe

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/worl...t-Zawinul.html

[andreªs]

Sad news.
Another true legend has passed away - he died this morning in Vienna.

http://www.birdland.at/cms/cms.php

[rectifier]

One of the greats indeed, sad news.

[emkay]

Truly sad!! RIP

[soentkensound]

sad news indeed

But I'm shure his melodies will linger on for a long time.

[taturana]

he was one of my favorites... and one of the best musicians i´ve ever saw performing live... very sad indeed...

[PlugHead]

Innovator, virtuoso, and great writer.

His music will live on...

peace be with you.

[Acko]

Happy journeys Joe, jeez...what a great musician.

[soultrane]

oh Lord i am just hearing this now.

this is SO SO sad... one of my all time favorites.

i had the opportunity to spend a day with him... so memorable.

he always seemed healthy and kind of ageless to me...

RIP Josef Zawinul.

according to news reports, he died from a rare form of skin cancer... we will never see another like this man!

[Legacy]

Ouch....Thanks for letting us know so I can have a few minutes listening to him / paying my respects before my session today. RIP Mr. Zawinul and Thanks.

-Silas

[andychamp]

What a bummer!
I met Joe Zawinul some years back, when I used to work at a live music club where he appeared (the "Atlantis", here in Basel). He was very friendly, no attitude at all, and very serious about his music, but always with a humorous twist.
Thinking back now, I feel richer for this encounter.
Two days ago, there was a TV show about european jazz entitled "Do your own thing", where he was also mentioned.

[Ben Digital]

First Michael Brecker, now Joe Zawinul. Man, that hurts.

[CoteRotie]

Awwwwww, damn. RIP Joe.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by Ben Digital

First Michael Brecker, now Joe Zawinul. Man, that hurts.

Yeah. Max Roach too. Such a drag. I wish I could've met him.

[Remoteness]

Rest in peace, Joe Zawinul...

[MBishopSFX]

Here's the email we got yesterday (Joe was on our HeadsUp label):

Dear Colleagues -



With great sadness I report that jazz icon Joe Zawinul passed this morning.

Joe had been battling a skin disease called Merkel Cell carcinoma and had been in the hospital in Vienna, Austria his birthplace for several months.

Joe's wife had passed earlier this year. He is survived by his sons Eric, Ivan and Anthony (Anthony directed our Yellowjackets 25 DVD).

In a business where the word “legend” is tossed around all too often, the tag is not an overstatement when referring to keyboardist/composer/bandleader Joe Zawinul.

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, Zawinul emigrated in 1959 to the United States, where he played with Maynard Ferguson and the great Dinah Washington before joining alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley’s band in 1961 and staying for almost ten years. With Adderley, Zawinul wrote several important songs, most notably the slow, funky often-covered hit “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” which reached the top of the Billboard pop Charts in 1967.

Other songs from the Zawinul pen during his tenure with Adderley include include “The Country Preacher,” “Walk Tall” and “Seventy Miles Away.”Zawinul then moved on to a brief but fateful encounter and collaboration with Miles Davis, just as Miles was moving into the electric sound. It was Zawinul’s “In a Silent Way,” which served as the title track of Miles’ first electric foray, and Zawinul had a potent impact on Miles’ classic Bitches Brew as well.

Zawinul is one of a rare handful of synthesizer players who made the instrument an expressive, swinging part of his arsenal. Prior to the invention of the portable synthesizer, his approach to the keyboard helped bring the Wurlitzer and Fender-Rhodes electric pianos into the jazz mainstream.



DESCRIPTION
What is Merkel cell carcinoma?
Merkel cell carcinoma, also called neuroendocrine cancer of the skin, is a rare type of disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found on or just beneath the skin and in hair follicles. Merkel cell carcinoma usually appears as firm, painless, shiny lumps of skin. These lumps or tumors can be red, pink, or blue in color and vary in size from less than a quarter of an inch to more than two inches. Merkel cell carcinoma is usually found on the sun-exposed areas of the head, neck, arms, and legs. This type of cancer occurs mostly in whites between 60 and 80 years of age, but it can occur in people of other races and ages as well.

Merkel cell carcinoma grows rapidly and often metastasizes (spreads) to other parts of the body. Even relatively small tumors are capable of metastasizing. When the disease spreads, it tends to spread to the regional (nearby) lymph nodes and may also spread to the liver, bone, lungs, and brain. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body. They produce and store infection-fighting cells.

Treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma depends on the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and overall condition.

[nemelas]

he could do it all

from straight jazz with Ben Webster, to hardbop/funk with the Adderley brothers, and jazzrock with Miles and Jaco

rest in peace

[Coyoteous]

- very sad... he's a legend I'd hoped would live forever - his music will, though!

I got to shake his hand after a WR show many years ago - small upscale venue, my buddy and I were on the front row right in front of his keyboard rig. It was a low stage, so basically we were right in his space. After the encore, he leaned over, shook our hands with soulful eye contact, and thanked us!

I've got a bunch of his recordings, but the weirdest and oldest is from 1959 (my birth year) - playing with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band.

[andychamp]

Yesterday afternoon I did live sound for a Simon Phillips drum workshop.
After the show, I asked him what artist, living or dead, that he hasn't played with yet, he would most like to play/have played with.
His immediate answer was: "Joe Zawinul!"