Joe Zawinul is one of the few, if not the only jazz musician, who has completely chosen for the electric (Fender Rhodes) and electronic (synthesizer) keyboard. While colleagues and artists of the same age such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea or Keith Jarrett finally opted for a long lasting marriage with the grand piano (leaving aside an incidental one-night stand with a Fender Rhodes or a synthesizer), this jazz-rock pioneer decided to spend the rest of his life with his keyboard harem - for the man has quite a few instruments on stage. That's a rather remarkable choice for a musician who was born in Vienna, the heart of the European, classical music. In the beginning of the 60's, during his stay in Cannonball Adderley's band, the man from Austria had already introduced the electric piano.
After that, he and Miles Davis, and later Wayne Shorter in Weather Report, transformed fusion into a respectable music style that today still is an inspiration to a young generation of musicians. With the Zawinul Syndicate he was also leading the way to new territories. Today it's very common that jazz is influenced by world music, but it was Zawinul and his band who paved the way to many ethnical music styles. However Zawinul never lost sight of the tradition. That's why he was prepared to lead the 30th Anniversary Bird Session. Along with a number of great jazz names he will commemorate the fiftieth dying day of the legendary alto saxophonist en bebop pioneer Charlie 'Yardbird' Parker in a spectacular way. For the combination of an acoustic Bird and an electric Zawinul promises something fantastic.
