Joe Zawinul Rehearsing At Home In 1985 (Raw Footage)

In the summer of 1985, TV photographer/editor Estel Dillon spent a day with the legendary jazz rock/jazz fusion keyboardist and composer Josef ‘Joe’ Zawinul, recording a rehearsal of his as well as an interview on his long and fantastic career.

The co-founder and co-frontman of the legendary American jazz rock/jazz fusion band Weather Report was a very pleasant host while he was rehearsing for his then upcoming tour in July 1985. The Austrian-born jazz fusion maestro, one of the main pioneers of this great crossover genre of music which harmoniously and magically meddles jazz with rock, showed his impressive set of keyboards and pedals on which he rehearsed at home and talked about his wonderful career and musical adventures, starting with his roots in Austria to the subsequent creation and amazing successful heights he had achieved with Weather Report, the group he had co-founded and co-fronted with his longtime musical partner, saxophonist extraordinaire Wayne Shorter from 1971 up until 1986. His utmost love for be-bop had ultimately led him to found one of jazz’s most finest musical groups ever which has an amazing musical legacy that can be proud of.

It is also important to mention the fact that at the time the interview was taken, Joe Zawinul was one year prior to the disbandment of Weather Report and the creation of Weather Update, a short-lived musical project of his which can be considered as the first successor to Weather Report, the second being the well known and more lasting The Zawinul Syndicate or just The Syndicate (pour les connoisseurs, of course).

Therefore, that being said and without any further needless ado or unwanted spoilers on my behalf, I wholeheartedly recommend integrally watching the following great interview by journalist Estel Dillon with the one and only Josef ‘Joe’ Zawinul in July 1985:

Additionally, the edited version of the long interview above can be watched down below, also embedded via Youtube. This version was produced by Steven Reiner. Enjoy and all the best!

Documentation sources:

• The video descriptions of the two versions of this interview on Youtube by journalist Estel Dillon