my zawinul story

soultrane · 14th September 2007

still hard to come to grips with the loss of such a vital force in the music game;

i thought some of you might be interested in my story of meeting my idol, josef zawinul, about 5 or 6 years ago.

i got to hang with zawinul for an afternoon or so, as it fell to me to pick him up from his hotel (the metropolitan in hollywood), take him to a tribute gig way out in the valley, and take him back again.

this was probably the first time i ever met one of my true idols, but by this time, i was old enough to figure it would be disappointing to meet one of them, so my expectations were low.

well, i arrived at the lobby of the metropolitan, told them at the desk i was here to pick him up, and sure enough, there he was, short, but stocky and well built, looking like he could kick my ass even though i outweighed him by probably 40 or 50 pounds.

i introduced myself as a big fan, and told him one of my favorite records was dialects. "mine too, man" he said, "and it's going to come out on cd soon... it will be better, you'll be able to hear alot of things you couldn't in the original pressing." (personally, i enjoy the vinyl version better.)

anyway, we go to the parking lot, where he sees my dinged up car (my ex girlfriend had crashed into a fence and scraped up the side.) he doesn't want to get in the car because he thinks i'm a crappy driver and we will get in an accident on the freeway. but, i convince him i'm a good driver.

so, we get in. now, zawinul, as is well known, was famous for being direct, blunt, and grouchy. well, i was prepared with some duke ellington music. whenever he would hear something he'd like, he'd say, "turn that up man."

"you know i played for him, man" he said with obvious pride. " i went to his hotel one time and played for him."

he went on to say how only duke ellington, alone among mozart, beethoven, etc., captured the mood of his people in music. he told me "the 40's man, you got to get the 40's" ellington. he said it was about the only music he listened to other than his own.

so, he would give me some great information, we were getting along great, then, i said to him, "i heard you're living in manhattan now. do you like it better than l.a.?"

pretty innocuous question, right? but it really pissed him off.

"what the **** kind of question is this man, why the **** would i live in manhattan if i didn't like living there."

oh no, i said, i've just pissed off my idol. what did i say what did i say? so, i think of something quick... well, i say, not everyone gets a chance to live where they want.

all of a sudden, his mood went from irate to melancholoy.

with a deep sigh, he said, "yeah, that's sad man."

so, we talked more about sarah vaughn, about dinah washington, about whether talent or practice was more important, etc. etc, about his new band with a drummer he thought was the best he heard and even though he was crazy, he had to put up with him, and etc.

then, i asked him another, what i thought, was a basic question.

so, i said, what kind of keyboards are you playing now.

once again i pushed the wrong button.

"what the **** kind of question is that man? what kind of stupid ****ing question? it doesn't matter what kind of instrument i'm playing. it's the player, not the instrument, the instrument is nothing."

oh, i said. you know we'll be meeting horace silver at the gig?

again his mood changed instantly.

"horace will be there? oh this will be a good party then."

and on and on it went. on the way home, we actually got into the financial business of his band, what kind of money he was making, etc. etc. so, it was pretty cool. i told him i wanted to come and see the band at catalina's that night.

"i'll give you some tickets man, but you better ****ing come. don't just say you're going to come and not show up, otherwise i will waste the tickets."

i assured him i would be there, and he left the tickets at will call.

sure enough, the zawinul syndicate show was unbelievable, the drummer was unreal, and "blazing" was the only word i can use to describe it.

the one thing you have to say about zawinul, is with all the other great older musicians we know who have calmed down, or are basically coasting, on their past glories, zawinul NEVER did this.

he remained a vital, forward looking, exploratory composer to the end.

that's why a death like his comes as such a shock, as you know his next big tune was right around the corner.

RIP joe zawinul.... we will not see another like you in our lifetimes.

corworld · 14th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by soultrane

still hard to come to grips with the loss of such a vital force in the music game;
RIP joe zawinul.... we will not see another like you in our lifetimes.

Thanks for the great story...

CoteRotie · 14th September 2007

Yeah, thanks for that. Great story.

Regards,

John

GO56 · 14th September 2007

Thank you for sharing your encounter with the master. I have found it shocking on this and other message boards the lack of attention given to his passing. This guy was the chief composer in Weather Report for God's sake. Is the whole world asleep?

**Remoteness** · 14th September 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by corworld

Thanks for the great story...

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoteRotie

Yeah, thanks for that. Great story.

Regards,

John

Yes, indeed it was...

I moved this thread here since it's where it belongs.

RIP Zawinul; may he rest in peace.

GPl · 14th September 2007

Thanks for sharing that. Thats was a great story. He really took to your questions in a direct way! Zawinul did go through alot in his lifetime so I can see him having a very direct, to the point, don't piss me off! personality.

RIP bro

henryrobinett · 14th September 2007

Damn soultrane, that was beautiful. Thanks.

Confusionator · 14th September 2007

Guys like Zawinul and Miles and Max Roach had the fire, man! That's what's so disappointing about the other once-fiery players who are just coasting now--Erskine, DeJohnette, etc.

Come on, guys! Get passionate! Play!!!!

Not to bag on anyone in this thread. That's not my point. My point is only that these mothers like Joe Zawinul who played and lived life like it meant something and was urgent are on the way out. I miss 'em all.

14th September 2007	#1
soultrane Lives for gear Joined: May 2005 Posts: 4,708 Thread Starter	my zawinul story still hard to come to grips with the loss of such a vital force in the music game; i thought some of you might be interested in my story of meeting my idol, josef zawinul, about 5 or 6 years ago. i got to hang with zawinul for an afternoon or so, as it fell to me to pick him up from his hotel (the metropolitan in hollywood), take him to a tribute gig way out in the valley, and take him back again. this was probably the first time i ever met one of my true idols, but by this time, i was old enough to figure it would be disappointing to meet one of them, so my expectations were low. well, i arrived at the lobby of the metropolitan, told them at the desk i was here to pick him up, and sure enough, there he was, short, but stocky and well built, looking like he could kick my ass even though i outweighed him by probably 40 or 50 pounds. i introduced myself as a big fan, and told him one of my favorite records was dialects. "mine too, man" he said, "and it's going to come out on cd soon... it will be better, you'll be able to hear alot of things you couldn't in the original pressing." (personally, i enjoy the vinyl version better.) anyway, we go to the parking lot, where he sees my dinged up car (my ex girlfriend had crashed into a fence and scraped up the side.) he doesn't want to get in the car because he thinks i'm a crappy driver and we will get in an accident on the freeway. but, i convince him i'm a good driver. so, we get in. now, zawinul, as is well known, was famous for being direct, blunt, and grouchy. well, i was prepared with some duke ellington music. whenever he would hear something he'd like, he'd say, "turn that up man." "you know i played for him, man" he said with obvious pride. " i went to his hotel one time and played for him." he went on to say how only duke ellington, alone among mozart, beethoven, etc., captured the mood of his people in music. he told me "the 40's man, you got to get the 40's" ellington. he said it was about the only music he listened to other than his own. so, he would give me some great information, we were getting along great, then, i said to him, "i heard you're living in manhattan now. do you like it better than l.a.?" pretty innocuous question, right? but it really pissed him off. "what the ** kind of question is this man, why the would i live in manhattan if i didn't like living there." oh no, i said, i've just pissed off my idol. what did i say what did i say? so, i think of something quick... well, i say, not everyone gets a chance to live where they want. all of a sudden, his mood went from irate to melancholoy. with a deep sigh, he said, "yeah, that's sad man." so, we talked more about sarah vaughn, about dinah washington, about whether talent or practice was more important, etc. etc, about his new band with a drummer he thought was the best he heard and even though he was crazy, he had to put up with him, and etc. then, i asked him another, what i thought, was a basic question. so, i said, what kind of keyboards are you playing now. once again i pushed the wrong button. "what the kind of question is that man? what kind of stupid ing question? it doesn't matter what kind of instrument i'm playing. it's the player, not the instrument, the instrument is nothing." oh, i said. you know we'll be meeting horace silver at the gig? again his mood changed instantly. "horace will be there? oh this will be a good party then." and on and on it went. on the way home, we actually got into the financial business of his band, what kind of money he was making, etc. etc. so, it was pretty cool. i told him i wanted to come and see the band at catalina's that night. "i'll give you some tickets man, but you better **ing come. don't just say you're going to come and not show up, otherwise i will waste the tickets." i assured him i would be there, and he left the tickets at will call. sure enough, the zawinul syndicate show was unbelievable, the drummer was unreal, and "blazing" was the only word i can use to describe it. the one thing you have to say about zawinul, is with all the other great older musicians we know who have calmed down, or are basically coasting, on their past glories, zawinul NEVER did this. he remained a vital, forward looking, exploratory composer to the end. that's why a death like his comes as such a shock, as you know his next big tune was right around the corner. RIP joe zawinul.... we will not see another like you in our lifetimes.

14th September 2007	#6
GPl Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 1,511	Thanks for sharing that. Thats was a great story. He really took to your questions in a direct way! Zawinul did go through alot in his lifetime so I can see him having a very direct, to the point, don't piss me off! personality. RIP bro __________________ Michael Scott --------------------------------------------- "Two degrees in bebop, a PHD in swing, he's the master of rhythm, he's a rock and roll king" -Lowell George- "In my reality it is important that people who use these tools go into them with both eyes wide fvcking open and evaluate them in the context of their work rather than from the perspective of trying to "keep up with the herd" mentality. Peace." -Fletcher-

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14th September 2007	#3
CoteRotie Gear addict Joined: Sep 2006 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 432	Yeah, thanks for that. Great story. Regards, John

14th September 2007	#4
GO56 Gear Head Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 40	Thank you for sharing your encounter with the master. I have found it shocking on this and other message boards the lack of attention given to his passing. This guy was the chief composer in Weather Report for God's sake. Is the whole world asleep?

14th September 2007	#7
henryrobinett Gear Guru Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 10,229	Damn soultrane, that was beautiful. Thanks.

14th September 2007	#8
Confusionator Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 596 1 Review written	Guys like Zawinul and Miles and Max Roach had the fire, man! That's what's so disappointing about the other once-fiery players who are just coasting now--Erskine, DeJohnette, etc. Come on, guys! Get passionate! Play!!!! Not to bag on anyone in this thread. That's not my point. My point is only that these mothers like Joe Zawinul who played and lived life like it meant something and was urgent are on the way out. I miss 'em all.