With the possible exception of Wayne Shorter, every musician who came through the many incarnations of the Weather Report, or the Zawinul Syndicate held his mastery of the music in the highest regard. To them, he was "Pops". To us, he was Joe Zawinul. He was born July 7, 1932, Earth time. He was born again on September 11, 2007, Eternal time. There aren't enough words to express the magnitude of this loss. Next time, an attempt to put together words to celebrate the time he shared with us on this earth.
Festivals offer the opportunity to see a variety of artists, within a short period of time, and frequently at the same venue. The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of that presents a well crafted mix ranging from established legends of the music to local fan favorites. Each year I especially look forward to hearing emerging artists that have either been part of groups or recordings from headliners and legends, composing and producing for other artists, part of a collective of artists involved with a variety of collaborations, or, stepping out on their own as a leader. The artist list for the 66th Monterey Jazz Festival is filled with artists I'm very familiar with and plan to hear their latest work. It also contains quite a few I've either heard on other artist's recordings, read about a number of times, heard their current recordings, or are just plain curious about. I know the pattern well. These artists that are less familiar to the festival audience at large frequently find...
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