Brown Street

Joe Zawinul | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 27, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Heads Up
• ASIN: B000MGVCLS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,381 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Zawinul's greatest post-Weather Report disc, March 3, 2007

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brown Street (Audio CD)

What does it take to produce great improvised music?

I've often pondered that question as I've reviewed nearly a thousand discs on this Amazon site. Stars aligned? Fortuitously landing on exactly the right groove? Weirdly synchronious aesthetic?

I confess, I don't know.

But I think I've got enough savvy, enough musical acumen, to recognize it when it happens.

And believe me, it happens here. Majorly.

Listen. Everyone involved's totally nailed it on this exceptional disc: elegiacism (that is, accessible melancholy), that most important of jazz moves, veritable exudes from these grooves; refined yet raw explosiveness erupts out of this session with eldritch regularity; and reckless joi de vivre literally bursts out of the speakers.

Certainly, Weather Report was one of the most important groups to ever grace our airwaves. To conjure its spirit sans any postmodern irony or nostalgia is a move of major consequence. To do it with such absolute insousance, with such casual aplomb, almost defies comprehension. Yet that's what we're dealing with here.

That raises the question: Was Joe Zawinul the prime mover behind Weather Report? How could that be, with bass god Jaco Pastorius and tenor sax icon Wayne Shorter involved? Nevertheless Zawinul, here, somehow, manages to conjure and manifest the consummate jazz/accessible vibe, one that, no matter what the genre, nearly always achieves what Weather Report was designed to reveal.

Look. Zawinul fully on his game (as he is here) casually outdoes all the wannabe fusion outfits seeking to parlay Weather Report-ish sensibilities into the new millenium.

This glorious disc, a two-fer, deserves the highest possible marks. You'd be a fool to miss out on it.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zawinul's own tribute to Weather Report, March 11, 2007

By 

Brian Whistler (Forestville, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brown Street (Audio CD)

I was looking forward to this release even though I am not a huge fan of big band. But then, we're talking about the WDR big band, one of the finest in the world. And besides, look at that rhythm section: Alex Acuna, Nathaniel Townsley, Victor Bailey and the Man himself, Josef Erich Zawinul on keys. It's practically Weather Report, sans Mr Shorter.

To top off this stellar roster of players, the arrangements were penned by none less than the inimitable Vince Mendoza. Does it get any better than that? Not with this collection of great tunes. It's amazing how natural these great compositions translate to the big band format; they fit hand in glove. This format allows the listener to clearly hear the relationship Zawinul's ideas have to Duke Ellington's 'shout' melodies Just listen to the beautiful intro to In a Silent Way or the natural big band sound of Night Passage. In a way, Zawinul was gunning for that sound back in the day on those early synths. Now you can hear those parts played by the real deal. Listen to the audience response when the full band enters on the opening track, Brown Street, or for that matter, on the drums and percussion break on the steaming closer, Carnivalito. There is genuine excitement being generated here. It sounds like a party. We are talking serious groove here.

I am delighted and surprised by the ease and depth of feel exhibited by this large ensemble on what were originally small group compositions. The level of soloing is very high, as one would expect from this crack group of european musicians. There are plenty of Zawinul moments, but a number of players have their moments to shine as well. All acquit themselves quite well under Zawinul's watchful ears.

This is a must have for Weather Report fans, but there is something here for lovers of jazz in general. It is a revelation to hear just how steeped in the jazz tradition these pieces are when heard in this more acoustic setting. Big Fun for all.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 21st Century Weather Report, March 5, 2007

By 

T. Semioli (New York City) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brown Street (Audio CD)

This big band rendition of the best of Zawinul, Shorter & Company is an essential "Weather update." As other reviewers have opined, those 70s synth sounds have not aged well despite the fact that JZ was the consummate synth player (akin to Garth Hudson with the Band). The horns arrangements are unified and add a fresh perspective to the WR standards. Would love to hear more peformances, but these two discs' worth are nothing short of amazing. Jazz is alive and well in the 21st Century.