“There is nothing wrong with electronic music as long as you’re putting some soul behind the technology.” ~ Joe Zawinul
Today marks what would have been Joe Zawinul’s 78th birthday. I remember first hearing Zawinul in my early teens when I worked part time in the blues and jazz department of a trendy record boutique back in the seventies. One of my many responsibilities was to keep all the albums in the bins stocked properly and re-order the hot selling items. I loved sifting through all the album covers and reading the liner notes. Something I continue to enjoy today. It was the intriguing vinyl covers of Weather Report where my personal discovery of Joe Zawinul began.
It was also around this time frame that I recall my interest for writing started. And when I heard the eclectic mix of sounds on albums such as I Sing The Body Electric,Sweetnighter, and later the masterpiece Heavy Weather, it opened the door to a whole new world of imaginative thought. I don’t think there’s been a single song that has made me tap my foot or snap my fingers more to its groove than Joe Zawinul’s Birdland. How sad it was to hear of his passing from a rare form of skin cancer back on September 11th 2007 at the age of 75.
Joe Zawinul
Born July 7th 1932, Zawinul grew up in a poor working class family during World War II in Austria. He played accordion on the streets to earn money and received classical piano training at the Vienna Conservatory. After the war, he grew interested in American jazz; and started making a name for himself on the local jazz scene.
“One thing about Viennese musicians, they can really groove, more than even the German bands can,” “It’s something in our nature, perhaps. We’re cosmopolitan and interracial — Czech, Slavic, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish a little bit.”
Zawinul came to the United States in 1959 on a scholarship to study at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, but left to join Maynard Ferguson’s big band. He next landed a gig with Dinah Washington; his funky style can be heard on her 1959 hit What a Difference a Day Made.
Zawinul stock started to rise after joining alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley’s band in 1961. He composed many tunes, but it was most notably the gospel-influenced, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, which climbed the pop charts and won a Grammy for Adderley.
In the late ’60s, Zawinul recorded with Miles Davis. His tune In a Silent Way served as the title track for the Miles’ first venture into the electric arena. Zawinul’s composition Pharoah’s Dance was featured on Davis’ groundbreaking 1970 jazz-rock fusion album Bitches Brew, which won Davis a Grammy in 1970.
In 1970, Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter founded Weather Report and produced a series of albums. Weather Report’s album Heavy Weather with Jaco Pastorius enjoyed its biggest commercial success in 1977. Zawinul went on to form The Zawinul Syndicate in 1986. For the next 20 years The Zawinul Syndicate brought together a global village of musicians who recorded such albums as the Grammy-nominated My People (1996) and World Tour. (1998)
Joe Zawinul did for jazz what Clapton and Bloomfield would do for the blues; becoming the leading force behind the often termed Electric Jazz movement. Like I said earlier, I listened to a lot of Zawinul’s music and found his style, groove and experimentation incredibly contagious. He is one of the people responsible for my appreciation for electric jazz; leading me to other jazz artists that would continue to inspire me to this day.
Are you familiar with Joe Zawinul and his musical legacy? Any moments you’d like to share? Please add you comments or birthday wishes below.
————————————————————————————————— Today music legend Willie Dixon would have been 95 years old. The following is a piece I wrote in the spring of 2009. I’ve decided to re-post it to commemorate the man and this day in music history. And also for those who missed the article the first time around.
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Being so young, I never knew the significance of the music I listened to back then… I just knew it moved me in a way I could never quite explain. ~ tbb
In The Year 1970
my brother and several of his friends packed their bags and followed their dreams. Their brash youthful spirit drove them to bigger places as they made a serious attempt at a career in the music business. For me at the time, I was glum. I missed those magical moments when the boys would rehearse in the basement of our house… And so did The Big F who was my brother’s oldest friend.
The Big F was the roadie/bodyguard for the bands my brother was in. When my brother left town, he adopted me as a kid brother and often picked me up to hang out. One thing for sure, I never had a problem with bullies whenever I hung around with The Big F. The man loved his music and would invite me over to his place where I marveled at his record collection. He would let me pick any album I wanted to listen to… I recall Willie Dixon’s I Am The Blues being a very intriguing choice back then…
The Big F had a drum kit in the basement of his house, and always played along to the tunes. And would often spring off his stool, grab some spoons and continue to tap along the walls, lamps, light switches and beverage glasses…
I Am the Blues
This is an album featuring some of Dixon’s classic material but this time with Willie showcasing his own creations. Willie Dixon was a force to be reckoned with and his presence continues to be felt in even today’s most modern blues and rock performers.
Here are the tracks on this album and some of the popular artists that performed them:
“Back Door Man” – The Doors.
“I Can’t Quit You” – Led Zeppelin.
The Seventh Son” – Sting
“Spoonful” – Cream.
“I Ain’t Superstitious” – The Yardbirds.
“You Shook Me” Led Zeppelin
“I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” – Muddy Waters.
“The Little Red Rooster” – The Rolling Stones.
“The Same Thing” – Muddy Waters
This album only represents a small portion of Willie Dixon’s contribution to the music world. Many people today are unaware that Dixon was the original composer of many of the classic songs we know and love… His singing on I Am The Blues may not be as distinct as those who adopted these tunes, but it’s very humbling to hear the master voice his own work. If you haven’t heard this album before, or just looking to rediscover a gem, you’ll love this terrific piece of music history… Very cool and inspiring indeed.
Willie Dixon
was born July 1, 1915 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Dixon was first introduced to blues as a teenager when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi. He wrote poetry and adapted them into songs.
“The blues will always be, because the blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues.”
In 1936 Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago. He stood tall and weighed in at over 250 pounds. Taking up boxing; he became successful enough that he won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937. Dixon even turned professional and worked briefly as Joe Louis’ sparring partner. His brief boxing career ended after getting into a money dispute with his manager.
After composing and playing in many local groups, Dixon eventually signed to Chess Records as a recording artist. He began performing less and started getting more involved with the label. Dixon became a full time employee with Chess in 1951, where he acted as producer, A&R talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. His relationship with the label was nervy at times, but his output and influence was extraordinary. He worked with all the greats such as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, just to name a few.
Later in his life, Willie Dixon became a diligent representative of the blues and a vocal supporter for his peers founding the Blues Heaven Foundation. The organization works to preserve the genre’s legacy and protect copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past. The foundations’ current vice president is Willie’s grandson Alex Dixon…
It should be noted that Alex Dixon came out with a CD entitled “Rising from the Bushes” last spring… For more information you can go to the following site.
Willie Dixon was granted a Grammy Award in 1989 for his album Hidden Charms. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the “early influences” (pre-rock) category in 1994.
It’s impossible to cover the incredible legacy of Willie Dixon in just one post. So I won’t even attempt it… Dixon was undeniably the greatest blues songwriter of his era and is credited with writing more than 500 songs by the end of his life.
Now it’s time to turn this post over to the readers… So what are your feelings? How familiar are you with his 1970 release I Am The Blues? Any Dixon tunes covered by other bands or musicians that are your favorites? Your comments and birthday wishes are welcome below…
“I’m excited about releasing some new music for the audience and for my band and for me to play. This material we’re just releasing now we’ve been working on stage for the last couple of years and it’s been going over really, really well and it’s just worked out that now seemed like a good time to release a record.”~ Steve Miller
Saturday Morning – Breakfast
My wife TBBW and I sat down for a scrumptious Ukrainian breakfast at a local neighborhood eatery with some good friends. Many months had passed since our last get together. I commented on how amazed I was that half of 2010 had gone by. And that so many different, but positive changes had already taken place in our day gigs for both my wife and I. This was something I predicted would be the case the last time we all got together.
As our server warmed up our coffee, I was asked if The Blues Blogger had any new posts lined up. I told everyone how concerned I was because during the transitional stages of the last six months, I felt some of my older readers may have noticed that I’ve been posting less frequently. And I hoped they understood.
I then mentioned I was writing an article on Steve Miller. Just hearing the name had everyone flashing back to a moment where one of his tunes played like a soundtrack to their past. But it also met with some curiosity and a few questions. Why Steve Miller? And how does he relate to the blues? These were all very good questions. He may be known to many as the “Space Cowboy” or the “Gangster of Love,” but his background is as vibrant as all the upbeat recognizable songs.
Several Years Ago
I wrote an article where I highlighted a song called Loan Me a Dime that Boz Scaggs recorded from the album of the same name back in 1969. In that piece I mentioned that Scaggs grew up in Texas with rock legend Steve Miller. In fact it was Miller that taught Scaggs some guitar chords and convinced him to join his band. For me it was actually Boz’s album in 1969 that introduced me to the late sixties psychedelic blues sound of Steve Miller. I’ve enjoyed both of them since.
Steve Miller
was born October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Steve’s father was a jazz enthusiast, hat salesman, pathologist and amateur recording engineer. And his mother was a jazz-influenced singer.
Miller’s godfather Les Paul (pioneer of the electric guitar and multi-track recording) taught him his first guitar chords at the age of five. Paul and his wife Mary Ford were one of the regulars who stopped by the Miller household. Steve’s father was also the best man at Les Paul and Mary Ford’s wedding. It was Paul who encouraged a young Steve Miller to utilize his talent.
The Miller family later moved to Dallas Texas in 1950. At St. Mark’s School Miller put together his first band “The Marksmen.” This was also where (as I mentioned above) Miller met classmate Boz Scaggs. Steve would eventually graduate from Woodrow Wilson High School.
Another regular in the Miller house was T-Bone Walker. Steve’s father used to record Walker and his playing became a huge influence on Steve.
Returning to Wisconsin in 1962, he entered The University of Wisconsin–Madison, and put together a band called The Ardells along with Boz Scaggs who joined down the road.
After briefly attending The University of Copenhagen in Denmark, Miller returned to the U.S. and moved to Chicago. He would learn the ropes in the same Chicago sixties setting that Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop thrived.
Absorbed in the Chicago blues scene, Miller got the opportunity to play with guys like Paul Butterfield. He also found himself jamming with blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy. It was a very influential time. And Miller realized, if he hadn’t already, that music would be a part of his life forever.
In 1965 Miller and keyboardist Barry Goldberg formed the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band; eventually getting a steady gig at a New York City blues club… After his stint with Goldberg, Miller moved back to Chicago. Feeling it was time to move on, he made the decision to buy a used Volkswagen bus and go to San Francisco. Impressed by the lively scene, he decided to stay… The Steve Miller Blues Band (later known as just the Steve Miller Band) was born.
The first three albums Children of the Future,Sailor, and Brave New World weaved psychedelic rock with blues; generating a unique style. As most of you all know, Steve would later go on to become a rock icon with enormously popular hits in the seventies and eighties. But it was during the period I mention above that signifies Miller’s roots…
And this is the setting and influence that brings his latest album to life.
Bingo!
The Steve Miller Band’s first studio release in 17 years, takes a look back at the music that initially inspired him; his true roots – The Blues.
Bingo! was recorded at filmmaker George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch and co-produced by Andy Johns. (The Rolling Stones, Free, Led Zeppelin and Blind Faith) The album features energetic covers of ten blues and R&B classics. Songs like “Rock Me Baby,”“Tramp” and “You Got Me Dizzy” along with three Jimmie Vaughan tunes are just some of the classic blues numbers you’ll hear on Bingo! Some of the tracks feature Michael Carabello, Latin percussionist and founding member of Santana. Miller can also be found trading licks alongside guitarist Joe Satriani. This is the first of two parallel releases planned by Miller’s Space Cowboy label and Roadrunner Records.
BINGO! will be released in two formats: a 10-track digipack CD and a special edition with 4 bonus tracks and expanded artwork by Storm Thorgerson. The same person responsible for artwork packages for Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
With a gorgeous touring stage by Broadway designer Rob Roth, Miller and his fellow band-mates will perform in selected cities this summer. It’s a positive feel good setting and an experience that aims to please all Steve Miller fans old and new alike.
Our Breakfast Concluded
Breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day. It’s good to get together with friends. Unfortunately with busy schedules, it never seems to happen enough… As we headed towards our vehicles, I was asked how I knew all this stuff. It’s not so much the information I retained over the years, but really my love of music and writing that brings it all together. There are lots of opinions which are formulated regarding artists without really knowing their background. It’s that additional information that as a writer and music lover really puts the artist’s work in perspective for me.
Looking at the life and times of Steve Miller runs like a screenplay through my mind. I have so many cool visuals that I often find it difficult putting it to words. The videos included in this article show Steve talking about his cool past, and help fill in the gaps beautifully. Please check them out; I think you’ll find them very interesting indeed.
Did you know of Steve Miller’s Chicago blues roots and encouragement by blues greats such Otis Rush, T Bone Walker, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy? Will you get the chance to see Steve this summer? Please add your comments below.
June 07 Pepsi Center – Corner Brook, NL
June 08 Mile One Center – St. John’s, NL Canada
June 12 Hilton Hotel – Atlantic city, NJ
June 13 MGM Grand – Mashantucket, CT
June 30 Molson Amphitheater – Toronto, Ontario
July 2010
July 02 DTE Energy Music Center – Clarkston, MI
July 03 Taste of Chicago – Chicago, IL
July 05 DE Montreal Jazz Fest – Montreal, QC
July 09 Pechanga Resort – Temecula, CA
July 10 Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
July 11 Greek Theater – Los Angeles, CA
July 14 Chateau Ste Michelle Amp – Woodinville, WA
July 15 Edgefield Amp – Troutdale, OR
July 16 Les Schwab Amp – Bend, OR
July 17 Raley Field – Sacramento, CA
July 24 PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA
July 25 Churchill Downs Fest – Louisville, KY
July 27 Wolf Trap – Vienna, VA
July 29 Biltmore Estate – Ashville, NC
July 30 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Alpharetta, GA
July 31 Amphitheater at the Warf – Orange Beach, AL
August 2010
August 10 Wisconsin State Fair – West Allis, WI
August 12 Eagle River Pavilion – Boise, ID
August 14 Mile High Music Fest – Denver, CO
September 2010
Sept 17 Fender Center Museum – Corona, CA
Sept 18 Verizon Amphitheater – Irvine, CA
Sept 22 Oracle Open World Fest – San Francisco, CA
The music seen and heard on this site are meant to enhance the enjoyment of the articles and the reader's overall experience. My intention is to honor the artists that have inspired me by weaving my personal experiences together with my love of their music... If you like the music you hear, I urge you to support them by attending their performances and/or purchasing their music. If you hold the copyright and would like me to remove your song or picture then please contact me. I will do so immediately upon request.
