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Zawinul documentary


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I just have to share this.

 

I stumbled on a documentary about Joe Zawinul which I hadn't seen.

Turned out it was filmed by Austrian television during the final months of his life. It was aired in 2008 and ony recently made available. It shows many insights about Joe's life vision and feelings, and his conception of music. He also speaks briefly of his illness. Maxine, also very ill at the time, makes a rare appearance.

It's probably the best portrait of Joe that I've ever seen, and a wonderful homage to his his extraordinary talent and creativity.

 

It's mostly in German, but there are English subtitles as well.

And frankly, hearing Joe speaking his native language gives special insights about his peculiar character and view of the world.

 

[video:youtube]

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Thanks for sharing brotha marino. :thu:

 

I've always been a huge fan of Joe Zawinul. Awesome documentary on a man who was an amazing musician and one who seemed to be in tune with the universe as a human being. It shows in his music too.:cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I saw it some days ago, really inspiring... I was lucky to see him live with his group a couple of years before he died. It was enlightening to see one of the best keyboard players of all times playing with some "outdated" keyboards -like the Korg M1- and make wonders. It's all about the fingers
Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands
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I was privileged to see the great Joe Z 4 times live. My all time favorite. Even this punk azz rocker/classical nerd could tell that he was effortlessly transcending all genres. I mean who but Joe would invert the keys just to provide some unexpected perspectives?

Moe

---

 

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It was enlightening to see one of the best keyboard players of all times playing with some "outdated" keyboards -like the Korg M1- and make wonders. It's all about the fingers

Agreed. Joe Zawinul had a huge influence on my approach to KB gear and understanding that it's all about how a musician uses sound(s). :cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I only saw him once post WR. It was at Scullers in Boston. I was first row, he was right in front of me. I've seen pictures of his setups but never saw floor. He had a whole row of volume pedals. I always assumed he did this to control quickly, which sound and volume he wanted.

AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251

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I saw Joe with WR a couple of times, which anyone who saw them perform knows what a deep impact that has on any player. Every time I think of him, I always remember a story I've told here a couple of times, of meeting him when I was a kid, somewhere between 12 and 15 I think.

My dad knew Cannonball and he and his wife came to dinner one night. I was made to play for them and I mentioned how I'd been working on figuring out Mercy Mercy (by ear, naturally). The following night, Cannonball returned with Joe in tow, and I got a personal lesson from the man himself!

A charmed life indeed!

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I only saw him once post WR. It was at Scullers in Boston. I was first row, he was right in front of me. I've seen pictures of his setups but never saw floor. He had a whole row of volume pedals. I always assumed he did this to control quickly, which sound and volume he wanted.

I saw him with the Syndicate at Catalinas in LA in 1999! Sitting just in front and to the side of Joe (I was closer to him than Manolo Badrena on the other side of the stage). He had 11 volume pedals. That was the best night ever. We got to see two shows and met Joe in the intermission.

Legend Live, Leslie 251/147, Yamaha UX1, CP4, CK61, Hammond SK1, Ventilator, Privia PX3, Behringer 2600, Korg Triton LE, various guitars and woodwinds, drum kits …

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A couple of years ago I visited Vienna, and we went along to the main cemetery where many famous people are buried (Beethoven for example). Joe"s grave is there. But in the documentary they showed Joe seemingly buried next to his wife in the US. Mysterious!

Legend Live, Leslie 251/147, Yamaha UX1, CP4, CK61, Hammond SK1, Ventilator, Privia PX3, Behringer 2600, Korg Triton LE, various guitars and woodwinds, drum kits …

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Marino:

 

Thanks so much for sharing that... it was beautiful, so bittersweet, and so... Joe. I have so many stories/memories of visiting with him over the last 15 years or so of his life. Everytime we (Jack Hotop and I) visited Joe he would play us what he was working on, and would say, 'this is the best shit I"ve ever done!' And he believed it - his bravado was genuine, and didn"t come across as bragging, so much as stating a fact.

 

The last time we had dinner, he had just come back from working on the Absolute Zawinul project, had visited Maxine in the hospital and wanted us to pick him up at home to go to dinner. I said if you"re tired we don"t have to come, but he wanted to go out. It was the first time he looked old and tired, but we had a great evening. As he did with the WDR project he said he had to teach the band how to phrase... ' they were playing my shit all wrong!' ð But he was happy with it now.

 

The documentary captured him at his best, and most poignant. I can"t watch the final reunion with Wayne without tearing up. But it felt good to get to visit with him again. So thanks again.

 

Jerry

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Marino:

Thanks so much for sharing that... it was beautiful, so bittersweet, and so... Joe.

The documentary captured him at his best, and most poignant.

Yes.

Thanks for sharing your experiences meeting Joe.

I had a couple of good chats with him along the years, plus another couple of shorter encounters. He was always very emotional, both in a good and a bad sense. But in the end you just accepted that he was simply into every moment of life with maximum intensity, whatever the situation brought to his spirit. He knew little diplomacy.... but that was a good thing after all. ;)

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Hello everyone,

 

Reading this thread, I couldn't help but sign up to this forum (having been following passively for a long time). If you dug the documentary, I sure you will love the excellent biography on Joe that has been out for a couple of years and that didn't get the attention it very much deserves.

 

'In a silent way' A portrait of Joe Zawinul, by Brian Glasser

 

The chapter on Joe's youth especially were very insightful to me as to how he became the person that he world got to know (and that some of you talked about above). The book even has a short foreword by Wayne.

 

All in all, a seemingly well-researched book that I can only recommend.

 

Cheers!

ensho

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If you are interested in the book, make sure to get the Second Edition. While the first edition was written during Joe's lifetime, the second edition was completed after he passed and covers his entire life.

 

(Tooting my horn about the book here so extensively, it might be good to state that I am not connected in any way to the book or author. I just happen to like it a lot.)

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Thanks ensho, I will certainly look for the book.

 

Jerry

 

Hello everyone,

 

Reading this thread, I couldn't help but sign up to this forum (having been following passively for a long time). If you dug the documentary, I sure you will love the excellent biography on Joe that has been out for a couple of years and that didn't get the attention it very much deserves.

 

'In a silent way' A portrait of Joe Zawinul, by Brian Glasser

 

The chapter on Joe's youth especially were very insightful to me as to how he became the person that he world got to know (and that some of you talked about above). The book even has a short foreword by Wayne.

 

All in all, a seemingly well-researched book that I can only recommend.

 

Cheers!

ensho

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I did read the book... it was given to me as a birthday gift many years ago. I liked it a lot - then I read an interview where Joe said that he didn't like the author. I remember thinking, "so, this guy writes your biography, it's a very accurate and respectful work, and this is what you have to say?! Gosh, you are nearly impossible to please!"

But that was Joe. A man of absolute opinions.

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  • 1 month later...

I was a bit slow to get to this but am glad I finally did. Fantastic! It was great getting such insight into the man himself and not just his music. Thanks for sharing Marino.

 

I was fortunate to see Joe a couple of times. First time was in the '70"s with WR (Jaco, Wayne, and Erskine) and then years later at Newport with the Zawinul Syndicate. Such amazing music! Like nothing else. I don"t think the Nancy Wilson / Cannonball Adderly album was mentioned but that"s one of my favorite recordings of Joe on acoustic piano.

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