Another Jazz Death

Yesterday, jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul died at 75. Zawinul is a bit of a polarizing figure – some love his stuff with Weather Report and after, and some hate it. I don’t personally mind Weather Report, though I think there is better stuff out there (like John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra). However, whatever you may make of Zawinul’s 70s production, there is no denying how great he (and everybody in the sessions) was on Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way, among others. He was definitely a key part to Miles’s fusion phase (which, again, is rather polarizing, as many either love or hate the late-60s/early-70s Miles, with little middle ground). For that alone, his death is a loss for the jazz world.