Customer Reviews

Lost Tribes

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Joe Zawinul can do no wrong. He connects the 1950's be-bop scene with tomorrow. I've been listening for years and am just now catching up to him. If you liked Weather Report, you'll like this CD. It's not quite as "free" as his live stuff, but the acuity with which Joe Z. pulls together many international flavors is remarkable. Fusion? This is it. The Zawinul Syndicate effortlessly fuses Jazz, Funk, Austrian folk (!) and high power rock and roll. Enjoy.

If you start off by listening to the title track you get the purest distillation of what Joe's all about on this (& most other Zawinul Syndicate) album/s. An African rhythmic beat interwoven with a simple melodic synthesiser groove plus Joe's vocoder voice - grooving & soothing all at once! The opener "Patriots" in itself is really only a "warm-up" segue into "South Africa" - part protest song but mainly in celebratory mode for the liberation of Nelson Mandela & the black Soth African nation. Victims of the Groove & Afternoon showcase Joe's more embellished synthesiser effects (but always with that great, cooking underlying groove & never "over the top"). Then take it down a notch with the gorgeous tone poem Night Clock & Rua Paula Freitas before heading into the flamenco-tinged "San Sebastien" & the gorgeous "In a while, in a while". Never jarring, always inventive - 4.5 stars & highly recommended!

Came across a digital copy of Faces and Places and was stunned by it's blend of mid-eastern and South African rhythms and melodies.I knew then that I had to find the hard copy(CD)to read the credits,and see who were the additional personnel on the album.I've been a follower of Zawinuls' music since the days of Weather Report,he has never seems to amaze us with humanity in his music.Joe Zawinul you will be sorely missed,God Bless.So people listen up,get these gems before they are no longer available.Peace:Samuel.