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Joe Zawinul, The Viennese Wonder
BoL -- Music
Commentary by Mtume & Kalamu ya Salaam
Josef Erich Zawinul,
BKA Joe Zawinul, aka The Viennese Wonder. I remember
seeing him sitting at a bar after a Cannonball set.
People say it all the time, and in this case it was I
also say it: there was something about him.
I never followed up on that feeling. Enjoyed his playing
with Cannonball and didn’t think too much about it.
I, along with a legion of jazz fans, liked Miles’ album
In A Silent Way (1969). Zawinul had written the
title song. A year later, 1970, Weather Report hit.
Initially I was ambivalent, and definitely not a big fan
until they dropped
Black Market (1976). Man, I loved
that album. I also liked their album 8:30 (1979), but in
general Weather Report just wasn’t my cup of spearmint
herbal tea. In the new millennium Zawinul did a solo
album and debuted a new band. I did not pay a whole lot
of attention.
Fast forward, Mtume and I were discussing what we would
do for this week. Usually we choose categories and then
wait to see what each other comes up with. Mtume said he
wanted to feature the Polish jazz trumpeter Tomasz
Stanko. I had some of his music and said cool. I said I
was going to do such and such and so and so. I ended up
doing neither. C’est la vie.
Enter Joe Zawinul. I started researching. The more I
researched, the more I said, well, alright. I’m down
with that. Check him out.
* * * * *
| My goal was always to get on scenes
where I was the weakest one going in and the
strongest coming out. Like you learn from
your daddy and then go a little bit further.
The midget on the shoulders of the giant.—Joe
Zawinul |
This quote tells
you a whole lot. First, he understood the basic jazz
principle that you learn best by playing with people who
are better than you. Second, any one and every one who
has made a major contribution to creating new styles of
jazz has first mastered an earlier form. Monk could play
stride. Ornette could play Bird. And so on. Zawinul is
right in the pocket of stepping back in order to leap
forward.
When Zawinul arrived in the United States, he attended
Berklee College of Music in Boston. Within a couple of
weeks, his instructors told him, there’s nothing we can
teach you. You should go out and start working. You’re
already ready.
Zawinul joined trumpeter Maynard Ferguson’s band, and
from there went on to work and record with Dinah
Washington. In 1961 he was recruited by Cannonball
Adderley. That’s when things really took off.
Two notes of
trivia.
1. Soul jazz
pianist Bobby Timmons preceded Zawinul in the Adderley
band. Arguments at that time were raging in Downbeat:
could whites play soul music? Could they swing like
blacks? Can you tell if a musician is white or black
just by listening to them play? Etc. Etc.
Then Zawinul wrote “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” And then he
wrote “Walk Tall.” And then, oh yeah, “Country
Preacher.”
How could this be? Joe Zawinul was born July 7, 1932 in
Vienna, Austria, that great bastion of Soul music! Not
only was he so-called “white” he wasn’t even American.
In 1992 Zawinul released an album titled
My People
about which
Zawinul said: "My
people" are not just Austrians or white people. It seems
to me that when anybody talks about "my people" it’s
about people who are of their race or nationality. I
wish most people could get away from this concept so we
can look at ourselves as all being from out of one pot.
Anil Prasad:
Describe the message you wrote
My People
to
convey.
|
It’s a beautiful record. I like it a
lot—it’s one of my favorites. It says a lot
of the things I want to say. It’s more
philosophy than music. There’s a real
communication within all of us and so many
people deny their own thing. I always
believe in the fact that the world is one
thing—even when I was a kid we were in war
and in spite of what happened, I always
believed in the humanity of people of the
world. I’m talking about all kinds of
people. I grew up with that idea of many
tribes. I believe that all people are great
in every nation. I’ve been all over the
world and I consider all of these people to
be my people.—Joe
Zawinul |
What motivated you to make the
statement now?
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I heard an interview on
CBC Radio in Canada with Duke Ellington and
he talked about the idea of "my people" and
I thought he made the same statement I’ve
been making throughout my entire life. Duke
is really one of my favorites. He made a
great impact on my life. So, I said to
myself, "that’s what I want to express" and
I decided one day to make a record about
that. Therefore, I have many people from
many tribes singing on the record. My
favorite instrument is singing when it’s
done right, but it can be the absolute worst
when it’s not. In every culture, there are a
handful of really outstanding storytellers.
That’s what it is all about—music is nothing
else. Music is not a bunch of notes and
chords. Music is storytelling.—Joe
Zawinul |
2. Joe improvises his
compositions, i.e., he plays and then writes down what
he played. Even his major orchestral piece was
improvised.
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My songs are all
improvised. I sit down and compose an entire
song from start to finish. I change nothing.
Later, I might think of a hipper chord, but
I never go back and put it in. I believe in
nature and what nature gives me.—Joe
Zawinul
Today’s improvisation is
too based on the knowledge of chords and the
way they practice the chords. It’s not a
melodic thing anymore like the older days.
It was much more important to play shorter
and to play more variable, valid stuff.
Today, a lot of solos are long and
uninteresting and the influence usually
comes from John Coltrane’s group. He,
himself was a master musician, but he put so
much emphasis on chord knowledge and
technique, and now the kids want to show how
fast they can play. This is the same with
piano players and most instrumentalists—it’s
speed. That’s gonna change again and
hopefully the kids who are now 16 and 17
years-old have a little more sense and maybe
some more stories to tell. The other kids
from the other generation came right out of
school and immediately got a record
contract. Do you know how difficult it used
to be to get a record contract in the olden
days? It was almost impossible. And then if
you did, the record distribution was so tiny
and small. It was very difficult.—Joe
Zawinul
Dizzy [Gilliespie] once
called me to say "Man, I just heard one of
your records. That’s music man." That really
made me feel good because we had some funny
backlash from people who said we were
selling out because we were using electronic
instruments. It’s such idiocy. It’s
ridiculous that someone could place that
much importance on the instrument to be that
great. An instrument is not important. It is
the way one plays that is important.
Instruments don’t play by themselves. A
piano is certainly not a better instrument
than a synthesizer, but if a synthesizer is
played like a piano, it becomes a very bad
instrument. It doesn’t work. You can’t play
a trumpet like a violin—it doesn’t go.
That’s the problem—the players, not the
instrument. Any instrument is a wonderful
thing.
—Joe Zawinul |
* * * * *
It is not easy in
jazz to be a major innovator who changes the entire
course of jazz. Joe Zawinul is one the creators of
fusion. There are many people who are major musicians,
such as
Rahsaan Roland Kirk. As individuals they are
hugely important but that doesn’t mean they change the
course of the music as a whole. As much as I have come
to admire and enjoy Zawinul’s music, my take is that he
has had a stronger impact as a stylist than as a player.
In an interview, Zawinul put his
influence in perspective.
Le Bananier
Bleu: Africa obviously plays a big part in your
music. It seems to me that you have a lot of African
influences.
Joe Zawinul: Not so
much. I’ll tell you the truth, and I only realize that
now. My African influences are much less than my
influence on African musicians, because they grew up
with my music, and I did not grow up with their music. I
am not a music listener. Until I met Salif Keita, I had
not heard any African music. That’s how it is. These
young guys like Youssou N’dour, Salif, the guys in South
Africa, in Nigeria, they grew up with Weather Report.
And they added this to their traditional music and then
it became what has been called World Music. And
sometimes now, people ask me: "Well Mr. Zawinul, now
are you playing world music?" But that’s not true, it is
the other way around. I have spent time with Paco Séry
and Etienne M’bappé who told me they said they spent
days and days listening to Weather Report, and they knew
everything we did. It’s important to tell to people what
the truth is.
That’s the thing, I
have musicians from different places in the world. This
is different, because Weather Report was more or less an
American band and I was the only foreigner in it. I have
found that young American musicians have gone in their
own direction (hardly influenced by the recording
companies) to continue playing bebop, and bring bebop
back. I think this was a major mistake, because, what it
did was stop everything.
Musicians, in other
parts of the world, from Argentina to Australia, to
China, or Turkey, they come from Weather Report. And on
top of this, they built. They also heard bebop, but they
didn’t want to be bebop musicians. Because we had freed
music. We were the ones who took the chains off the
music. You got to get away from the system. Four bars,
repeat an A, middle part, and then the last eight bars
of music . . . first solo is the saxophone, and then trumpet,
piano, bass solo, 4/4 on the drums, etc. We stopped all
that! And the funny thing is that Wayne Shorter and
myself independently changed the bar lines of the music.
And we have been very successful in what we’ve done.
Today there’s the
rest of the world . . . America’s still America. There are
great musicians there, but let’s say just in progressive
music I don’t know anybody right now there I would spend
money on. But in other parts of the world they bring all
their traditions to the music and together with American
tradition, and with what we did with Weather Report. And
it is fresh! In France, in England, everywhere there are
very good players. In America, they’re playing good too,
but there are only a few who really went in the
direction I talked about. There are guys like Christian
McBride and some others who took up where we left off
and went in another direction. I like very much what
they are doing. I don’t like people playing bebop piano,
bebop lines like in the 40’s.
* * * * *
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I’m not afraid of death. The reason
could be that I grew up in an environment in
which I was always exposed to death every
day for years. Experiencing bomb attacks in
the night and day and actual war in your
country is very different than watching a
war from 1000 miles away from your home. We
had the war right there in my house. The
Russians came in and many of my friends
died, so this type of life prepares you for
death. An 11 or 12 year-old kid in America
will play with a rubber duck, whereas I used
to bury people—dead soldiers and all that.
When I was 12, I used to steal horses from
the Russian wagons and kill them for food. I
ploughed fields with oxen. That was my life.
The kids were the men. I was trained for the
military—I was a bazooka man. But going back
to mortality, I felt when the war was over,
everything was easy, but I went through some
very hard times in America too. I was the
only white guy to play with black bands in
the South during segregation. I often had to
sit in the bottom of the car when we drove
through certain parts of the South. Those
kinds of things never phased me—I wanted to
play music with the best and I could play on
that level with the best.—Joe
Zawinul |
* * * * *
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Everything is in decline the moment you
stop giving the artist freedom. That goes
for everywhere, but it is happening in
America right now. I think record companies
are at great fault. In general, they don’t
want to develop talent, but rather get the
most out of them in the short-term. They’re
steering people to things they perhaps
wouldn’t do but have to do and not everyone
has the integrity to say "No way." People
are hungry and they have to make money and
take care of their families, so it’s a great
pressure. Only when you can afford it from
an artistic or financial point of view can
you express what you want to express. Before
I made
My People, I was with Sony for a long
time and then there was interest from Verve
Records over at Polygram. They told me at
the first meeting I had with them—and it was
the only meeting I had with them—that they
wanted me to sign up but only to play
acoustic piano on the first record and only
Duke Ellington’s music. I got up and left. |
Despite you being a
big Duke Ellington fan?
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I’m the Duke Ellington fan, but that had
nothing to do with it. They were telling me
what to do and not only that, it was a
question of "What is in it for me to play
Duke Ellington’s music? I’m a composer. I
like my music and I like it as much as I
like Duke Ellington’s music. Duke is one of
the greatest musicians who ever lived, but
everybody is an individual and it has
nothing to do with being better or not as
good. It’s about the storyline—what you have
to tell. And in that respect, I like my
music just as much. It sounds very
different, but in principle it’s still the
same. |
So, where have the
individuals—the storytellers—gone?
|
There are many storytellers, but they’re
hidden somewhere. In the older days that’s
all you had. You didn’t have these
phenomenal music schools which are
everywhere today. That was not so good
because the people didn’t play their
instruments as well as they do today. That
was the way times were. If you didn’t have a
sound of your own, you couldn’t make it. All
the guys I used to play with when I came to
America—each one was a different individual.
They had different sounds and different ways
of playing and that’s what made the business
go around. But today, jazz has become very
boring. And when I talk about jazz music,
I’m talking about who everyone talks about
when they talk about jazz.
People tend to
toss names such as Wynton Marsalis and Keith
Jarrett around when the word "jazz" is
invoked in the mainstream these days. To me,
this is very boring music—most of it. It has
nothing happening. Nothing is sticking.
They’re playing music perfectly with
wonderful intonation and technique, but it’s
dangerous for jazz itself. I do wish these
people all the best. I’m happy that it goes
like that in a way because we used to live
like rats when I didn’t make any money. We
used to have to play every night and drive
everywhere. We didn’t have the
accommodations available today. It was a
difficult time, believe me. We all had
families to support. I very much respect
Wynton as a noble guy who is doing a lot for
keeping the great names alive, but the music
comes out short. Those little upstarts—that
age group, it’s not happening.
When I listen to old Cannonball, Horace
Silver, Blue Mitchell, Art Blakey and Miles
stuff, it’s way, way, way superior. It’s in
another league—the fire, the excitement. But
that doesn’t mean the new guys don’t have
it, they’ve just been geared to do the same
stuff. I was able to afford to say no, but
how many people can say no to a major league
contract? Wynton has enough power to do what
he wants to do, but it’s just not my cup of
tea. If I was coming up now I don’t think I’d
like to be going in their direction
musically. But it’s not their fault and it’s
not criticism because it’s not just music.
Everything happens like that. It’s a spiral
going down. In the arts, music and movies,
everything is now geared up to a specific
audience—the young people, who in general
listen to music. And it’s not music anymore.
Rock & roll was a great movement and very
important to all of our lives, but it
happened. It made it possible for jazz
musicians to get a piece of the rock. It was
a great change and cultural movement but the
way it’s developed has got more and more
ugly. The way songs are being performed
today compared to the older days—now, you
don’t understand the words and they have so
many embellishments and very little
substance. I hope I don’t sound like I have
sour grapes. I’m a very happy, happy person.
But if you ask me, I’ll tell you what I
think and it’s just not happening for me.—Joe
Zawinul |
* * * * *
In the jukebox are
three of Zawinul’s biggest hits when he was with
Cannonball: "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Walk Tall" and
"Country Preacher." "In A Silent Way" is Zawinul’s huge
contribution to the Miles Davis output of innovative
albums. From the Weather Report days, I’ve included,
Zawinul’s most popular composition: "Birdland"—be sure
not to miss the use of the "soul clap" briefly at the
end of "Birdland." And I conclude with four cuts from
Zawinul’s last band, The Zawinul Syndicate.
The track that
samples Duke Ellington’s voice illustrates the depth of
Zawinul’s respect for Duke. Additionally the Ellington
composition "Come Sunday" was a feature for Zawinul when
he was with Cannonball. Here Zawinul has recast it for
his last band and he in turn features vocalist Sabine
Kabongo who has sung with Zap Mama.
Enjoy the music of
Joe Zawinul. Although he died on September 11, 2007 of
skin cancer his music continues to inspire.
—Kalamu ya Salaam
* * * * *
Even stranger
Everything I know
about Joe Zawinul comes through his work with Miles or
Cannonball. I don’t have any Weather Report (I know, sue
me) and I’ve never heard any of his solo work until now.
Except for his version of his own "In A Silent Way," a
version I actually like better than the classic Miles
Davis one.
You know what. I
can’t lie. I’ve heard all the Cannonball tracks in the
jukebox but I had no idea Joe Zawinul was the pianist.
If there really was a debate about whether or not a
white cat could play with soul in a jazz context, I
guess Joe answered that one, right? I remember Kalamu
trying to break down what soul-jazz was all about.
Tracks like these were right at the heart of that
conversation. And Zawinul wrote them. That’s funny.
Zawinul was also a
versatile cat, obviously. Other than being jazz
classics, "In A Silent Way" has nothing in common with
"Walk Tall." The fact that he’s from Vienna only makes a
strange story even stranger. RIP, Joe.
—Mtume ya Salaam
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posted 7 September 2008
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