The Zawinul Syndicate was the second major band fronted by the legendary jazz fusion keyboardist and bandleader Josef ‘Joe’ Zawinul and can as well be perceived as the main continuator of the legendary American jazz fusion band Weather Report, after the short-lived musical project Weather Update from 1986.
The Zawinul Syndicate live at the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland in 1988. Image source: www.youtube.com
The Zawinul Syndicate was formed in 1988 and continued Zawinul’s tremendous technical and creative musical talent which was already known worldwide in the world of jazz and jazz fusion. The following great concert by The Zawinul Syndicate which took place at the Pori Jazz Festival in 1988 is an example of how the band sounded on stage early on. For this concert, the line-up of the band was the following one:
- Josef ‘Joe’ Erich Zawinul – keyboards;
- Gerald Veasley – bass guitar;
- Scott Henderson – guitar;
- Cornell Rochester – drums;
- Darryl Munyungo Jackson – percussion;
- Lynne Fiddmont – vocals.
The concert took place on 16 July 1988. Just like its predecessors, more specifically Weather Update and Weather Report, the music of The Zawinul Syndicate was a very interesting and harmonious mixture of jazz fusion with world and folk elements, most notably from the music of the peoples of Africa.
The Pori Jazz Festival is one of the most prestigious and oldest of its kind in Europe, held in the middle-sized Finnish town of Pori on the south-western coast of Finland since 1966. Each edition of the Pori Jazz festival takes place in mid July. Throughout the passing of time, it is important to mention the fact that it has also attracted many performers outside the conventional jazz/jazz fusion area, be them rock acts or pop acts. Such noteworthy musical names include, but are not limited to, Joe Satriani, Bob Dylan, Jamiroquai, Jethro Tull, UB40, and many others.
Therefore, that being said and without any further needless ado, I wholeheartedly recommend integrally listening to and watching the following early great concert by The Zawinul Syndicate from 1988 at the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland. Enjoy and all the best!
Documentation sources:
- The Youtube video description of the concert