On this fascinating and deeply illuminating archival compilation, Wounded Bird Records reissues a crucial transitional document in the early career of keyboard revolutionary Joe Zawinul. Originally compiled by Atlantic Records in 1976 as his electric outfit Weather Report was rewriting the rules of jazz-rock, Concerto Retitled serves as a captivating, high-fidelity chronological bridge across Zawinul's shifting artistic paradigms between 1965 and 1970. The 37-minute program brilliantly highlights his evolution, pairing standard acoustic post-bop workouts alongside the adventurous Cannonball Adderley rhythm section of Sam Jones and Louis Hayes with William Fischer's brooding, cinematic "Third Stream" neo-classical string orchestrations. The album culminates in a mesmerizing detour toward the cosmic, ambient electronic fusion that would soon change the musical landscape forever, featuring two deeply spiritual landmarks from his seminal 1971 self-titled LP. This pristine, essential collection is a must-have historical record for purists tracing the genesis of one of fusion's most forward-thinking architects.

On this vibrantly kinetic, celebratory, and brilliantly multicultural 1996 studio album, legendary keyboard pioneer and Weather Report co-founder Joe Zawinul delivers a high-fidelity masterpiece of global musical unity. Appropriately titled My People, this Escapade Music release serves as a stunning, panoramic showcase for his boundary-breaking world-jazz-fusion concepts, bringing together a spectacular cast of vocalists and instrumentalists from across the globe. Zawinul commands the session with his unmatched synthesizer architecture and soulful Rhodes textures, weaving intricate electronic lines around thunderous, earthy organic rhythms. The record serves as a true global village of sound, featuring soaring West African vocals from Salif Keita and Cheick Tidiane Seck, fiery Latin grooves, and deep European folk lineages, all unified under Zawinul's infectious, driving rhythmic pocket. From the driving, high-energy syncopation of "Waraya" and "Bimoya" to the hypnotic, shifting landscape of "Orient Express," this pristine recording stands as an essential, deeply joyous monument to modern world fusion history.

On this epic, cinematic, and profoundly cross-cultural 1996 symphonic masterpiece, legendary keyboard pioneer and Weather Report co-founder Joe Zawinul delivers a monumental, high-fidelity tour de force. Released via Philips, Stories Of The Danube is a brilliant, long-form conceptual symphony in seven movements that traces the sweeping history, diverse cultures, and architectural landscapes surrounding Europe's grandest river. Zawinul masterfully bridges the worlds of contemporary classical architecture, global ethnic rhythms, and cutting-edge jazz fusion, blending his signature, expressive synthesizer layers with the immense acoustic power of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Caspar Richter. Backed by a spectacular global ensemble—including guitarist Amit Chatterjee, master percussionists Burhan Öçal and Arto Tunçboyacıyan, and drummer Walter Grassman—the work flows seamlessly from delicate orchestral impressionism to thunderous, hypnotic world-fusion grooves. From the sweeping grandeur of "Empire" to the poignant, deeply moving weight of "Unknown Soldier," this pristine recording remains a towering, essential monument to Zawinul's boundless musical vision.

Weather Report is generally regarded as the greatest jazz fusion band of all time, with the biggest jazz hit ("Birdland") from the best jazz fusion album (1977's Heavy Weather). But the group's studio mastery sometimes overshadows the fact that it was also a live juggernaut – so don't overlook the outstanding live and studio album from 1979, 8:30. This was a rare quartet version of Weather Report, with co-leaders in keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The bassist was the inimitable Jaco Pastorius, the drummer a young Peter Erskine. Pastorius is otherworldly on early gems like "Black Market," the breakneck "Teen Town," and his solo showcase, "Slang" (in which he quotes Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun"). Shorter is most involved on the CD's slower pieces like "A Remark You Made," "In a Silent Way," and his own solo piece, "Thanks for the Memory"; Zawinul and Erskine shine on the swinging version of "Birdland" and roller coaster ride of the "Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz" medley. Four studio tracks (composing what was side four of the original album version) close 8:30 with a flourish – and some surprises.

Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular and artistic success – and for the same reasons. For one thing, Joe Zawinul revealed an unexpectedly potent commercial streak for the first time since his Cannonball Adderley days, contributing what has become a perennial hit, "Birdland." Indeed, "Birdland" is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band. The other factor is the full emergence of Jaco Pastorius as a co-leader; his dancing, staccato bass lifting itself out of the bass range as a third melodic voice, completely dominating his own ingenious "Teen Town" (where he also plays drums!). By now, Zawinul has become WR's de facto commander in the studio; his colorful synthesizers dictate the textures, his conceptions are carefully planned, with little of the freewheeling improvisation of only five years before. Wayne Shorter's saxophones are now reticent, if always eloquent, beams of light in Zawinul's general scheme while Alex Acuña shifts ably over to the drums and Manolo Badrena handles the percussion.

The Atlantic Jazz series continues with this slice of mostly '60s jazz-soul treats. Fittingly, the 11-track disc includes a side by one of the prime progenitors of soul, Ray Charles: He and MJQ vibraphonist, Milt Jackson, stretch out on the canonized "How Long Blues." Further expounding on the soul-jazz trajectory, the collection spotlights work by organist Shirley Scott (the Aretha Franklin hit "Think"), Les McCann and Eddie Harris (their classic Montreux Festival cut "Compared to What"), Yusef Lateef ("Russell and Elliot"), and Hank Crawford ("You're the One"). And there's even a bit of boogaloo-enhanced bossa, compliments of trumpeter Nat Adderley ("Jive Samba"). The soundtrack to your next retro-cool shindig.

This transitional recording sees Joe Zawinul moving from the role of jazz pianist to that of a synthesist in the broad sense of the word. The recording, made up of advanced hard bop and post bop themes, includes - with varying degrees of cohesion - passages for cello and violas. The strings never completely meld with the jazz instrumentation, but they also don't get in the way. The title suggests Zawinul sees little value in partitioning music under such headings as "Third Stream" (a rubric for the fusion of jazz and classical music). This view would be famously exemplified in the influential projects with which Zawinul would soon be involved. Zawinul sticks with acoustic piano except for "Soul of a Village", where he improvises in a soul-jazz vein on Fender Rhodes over the tamboura-like droning of a prepared piano…

A beautiful fusion of Joe Zawinul's roots in the groups of Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley - a set with some of the far-reaching jazz ideas of the former, and much of the soulful subtleties of the latter! The album features Joe on electric piano throughout, playing alongside Herbie Hancock in a twin-piano style that's quite spacious, and filled with slow-building, long-flowing lines! Other players include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Earl Turbington on soprano sax, George Davis on flute, Miroslav Vitous and Walter Booker on drums, and Joe Chambers, Billy Hart, and David Lee on a range of percussion. All these elements are used slowly, and sparingly - brought in with a style that's modern, but in a gentle sort of way - not as over the top as some of the work that Joe cut with Miles at the end of the 60s - and almost a more sensitive, compositional approach to the same territory of music.

Scott Kinsey’s connection to the music of Joe Zawinul and Weather Report is undeniable and hardly new to even casual partakers of the keyboardist’s work. As Kinsey explains, the pull was there from the beginning: “Joe was an innovative improviser, composer, and conceptualist but for me, especially so as the first jazz synthesist I had ever encountered. His electric keyboard work was showing us the future, note by note.”

2007 five CD set, a great installment in Sony/BMG's Original Album Classics series that brings together rare and out of print titles with some best sellers from the Sony/BMG Jazz catalog. Many of these albums have been unavailable on CD for some time and are sought after by collectors. Each set is presented in a high quality, rigid cardboard slipcase containing five 'vinyl replica' mini LP sleeves. This collection from the Jazz fusion greats features the albums I Sing the Body Electric, Sweetnighter, Mysterious Traveller, Black Market and Night Passage.

Live and Unreleased is a compilation of live recordings of Weather Report. The tracks are taken from live performances that took place from November 25, 1975 to June 3, 1983. Since its skill at live improvisation made up a large part of the band's appeal, its perhaps surprising that this is only their third official live recording (the previous two were 1972's Live in Tokyo and 1979's 8:30).

In 1986, after sixteen years at the helm of Weather Report, Joe Zawinul stepped out with Dialects. The album was also the first solo disc since 1970 by the multi-keyboardist/synthesizer visionary/composer-arranger. As its title suggests, Dialects drew on various music tongues from around the globe.

Joe Zawinul was a fantastic composer, musical visionary who pioneered the use of electric piano/synthesizers in modern music. He composed the soul jazz hit Mercy Mercy Mercy for Cannonball Adderly. In a Silent Way (1969) and Pharaoh's Dance for the seminal album Bitches Brew (1970) for Miles Davis and formed the Jazz Rock Fusion Band Weather Report with saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter in 1970. After the demise of WR he formed his own world fusion band called The Zawiful Syndicate in 1988 and recorded three albums.