JOE ZAWINUL — The ESC Years (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist & Credits :

JOE ZAWINUL — My People (1996) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

If one must indulge in categories, My People, featuring the Zawinul Syndicate and a United Nations coterie of guests, probably belongs on the vast world music shelf, the links to so-called jazz now so tenuous as to be nearly, but not quite, invisible. On the percolating "Slivovitz Trail," "Orient Express," "Many Churches," and the Caribbean-tinged cleverly titled "In an Island Way," the music does suggest earlier versions of the Syndicate, and Joe Zawinul's nostalgic evocations of Wayne Shorter on the Korg Pepe reach back even further. Otherwise, Zawinul is looking entirely toward ethnic cultures for musical sustenance. The musical structures are linear, the rhythms full of intricacies welded to Zawinul's love affair with the groove, the synthesizer textures usually sparer than ever. There are vocals in several languages by Zawinul's longtime colleague Salif Keita (for whom Zawinul produced a great album in 1991), Syndicate percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan, a throat vocal specialist from South Siberia named Bolot, Thania Sanchez, Zawinul himself, and several others. When translated, the lyrics speak of joy and unity among the cultures, and there isn't any doubt that Zawinul's bubbling music feeds the message of uplift. Hear it; you purists may be jiggling along in spite of yourselves. Richard S. Ginell   Tracklist & Credits :

JOE ZAWINUL — Mauthausen ... Vom Großen Sterben Hören (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A little-known anomaly in the Joe Zawinul discography, Mauthausen was a multimedia event in which the Austrian-born composer/keyboardist tried to come to terms with some of the darkest hours in his country's history. It is a troubling, at times eloquent electronic tone poem that depicts life within the concentration camp near the small Austrian town of Mauthausen, where approximately 120,000 people lost their lives between the years 1938 and 1945. Anticipating limited appeal for such a project, ESC released the album only in Austria and a handful of other Central European countries. Originally presented in the camp itself in 1998 with holograms, lighting effects, and 50 speakers placed around the audience, Mauthausen is mostly a one-man show on CD; Zawinul commanding his symphonic arsenal of keyboards, with occasional narrations in German by actor Frank Hoffmann. As have a number of recent Zawinul albums, this one opens with a deep, moody pedal point in the bass, but the mood stays dark and threatening most of the way through -- a stark contrast to the bubbly, life-affirming rhythms that Zawinul had been pumping out on his jazz/world music recordings of this time. Once in a great while, a semblance of the Zawinul groove breaks out, but always in a subdued way. Mixed in are collages of storm-troopers, trains carrying the prisoners to the camp, prison doors slamming, commands of the guards, and other sound effects from wartime. As in Zawinul's symphonic poem Stories of the Danube, echoes from his jazz past turn up; this time, we hear spliced-in recordings of "Walking on a Nile" from Zawinul's Dialects. and "The Orphan" from Weather Report's 8:30 album. The latter insert is particularly appropriate, with Wayne Shorter's tenor sax and a children's chorus shouting "No More! No More!" contributing beacons of hope before Zawinul's final hymn of benediction. Obviously, for non-German speakers, some of the meaning of the piece will be lost; the booklet contains no English translations other than a brief history of the camp and the titles of the selections. But the inhumane, brooding atmosphere of the camp comes through powerfully enough in the music via a stereo CD. Although Mauthausen is not something one is likely to pull off the shelf too often, it is essential for those who want to understand all of Zawinul's long musical odyssey, and it deserves a wider release.  Richard S. Ginell   Tracklist & Credits :

JOE ZAWINUL — Faces & Places (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Keyboardist/composer Joe Zawinul's accomplishments with Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, and Weather Report, amid his revolutionary approach to synths, cannot be undermined. In some instances, artists such as Zawinul set paradigms of excellence and inventiveness that might seem difficult to repeat. Naturally, the listener shouldn't expect any performer to continually rest on his or her laurels, or abide by a proven or perhaps unwavering formula. To that end, Zawinul's 2002 solo effort seems to be a summarization of his recent jazz/fusion/world music stylizations, witnessed by his Zawinul Syndicate band. As this solo effort offers more of the same. Here, the keyboardist enlists a multinational cast of percussionists (including ex-Weather Report personnel), vocalists, and soloists for an album that more or less mirrors his recent output. Regrettably, few if any of these works impart a permanent impression. Many of these arrangements feature Zawinul's wily synth passages and otherworldly Vocoder (digital EFX) based vocalese. He pays homage to his former employer, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, on the piece titled "The Spirit of Julian "C" Adderley." The basis for this production entails an array of rather predictable worldbeat-style discourses consisting of shifting percussion vamps, North African modalities, and quaint Austrian folk melodies. There are some touching moments to complement a few rousing opuses. Overall, there are some compelling musical events to coincide with what appears to be a hodgepodge of contrasting notions stitched together. Glenn Astarita   Tracklist & Credits :