an appreciation of the musical art of Josef Zawinul

309 Pages·2014·3.94 MB·English

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

School of Humanities: Music

Making the weather in contemporary jazz: an
appreciation of the musical art of Josef Zawinul

by
Alan Cooper

Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

October 2012
i

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

ABSTRACT

Making the weather in contemporary jazz: an
appreciation of the musical art of Josef Zawinul

by Alan Cooper

Josef Zawinul (1932-2007) holds a rare place in the world of jazz in view of the fact that
as a European he forged a long and distinguished musical career in America. Indeed,
from a position of relative obscurity when he arrived in New York in 1959, he went on to
become one of contemporary jazz’s most prolific and commercially successful
composers. The main focus of this dissertation will be Zawinul’s rise to prominence in
American jazz during the 1960s and 1970s. In this vital period of his creative life he is
associated with a variety of jazz contexts: performing with Julian ‘Cannonball’
Adderley’s band as a hard bop pianist in the early 1960s; developing new approaches as a
composer and keyboard player for Adderley’s group during the ‘soul jazz’ period (1966
to 1969); recording independently under his own name (1966 to 1970); collaborating with
Miles Davis in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and co-founding the influential
contemporary jazz ensemble Weather Report (early 1970s onwards). Most significantly,
he was a key figure (both as a performer and composer) in the new electro-acoustic jazz
that emerged in the mid-1960s and his unwavering commitment to this hybrid idiom has
left a substantial and wide-ranging body of work.
ii

Given the impact and scale of Zawinul’s contribution to contemporary jazz in the second
half of the twentieth century, it surely prompts the question: why has there been a dearth
of scholarly discussion concerning his artistic legacy? With the aim of rectifying this
omission, it is hoped that this dissertation will therefore go some way towards bringing
long overdue critical engagement with his music. To this end, this study will examine a
selection of Zawinul’s mature works and attempt to explicate not only the diverse range
of influences (musical and cultural) that were essential to his artistic development but
also the nature of his aesthetic eclecticism from which he created an individual
compositional language.
iii

Contents

1 Introduction: Josef Zawinul and the contemporary jazz controversy 1

2 Open jazz: transcending classification and stylistic boundaries 12

3 Jazz and the counter culture: the radicalism of open jazz in context 100

4 Artistic recognition and musical identity 138

5 New artistic pathways: the formative years of Weather Report 188

6 Anatomy of a contemporary jazz standard: ‘Birdland’ 232

7 Conclusion: The way of sound 261

Appendix 268
Bibliography 283
Discography 294
Videography 298
iv

Tables/Illustrations

Figures

2.1 Table showing the main events in ‘It’s About That Time’ 92

4.1 Table showing the main events in ‘Baptismal’ 146

4.2 Cover, Josef Zawinul, Zawinul LP 162
4.3 Table of tracks on Zawinul showing their principal tonalities 167
4.4 Table showing the main events in ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ 169

4.5 Table showing the main features of the solos in ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ 174

4.6 Table showing the main events of ‘In A Silent Way’ 178

5.1 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Orange Lady’ 211

5.2 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Unknown Soldier’ 213

5.3 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz’ 217

5.4 Table showing the structural sections of ‘Nubian Sundance’ 220

5.5 Table showing the rhythmic structure of ‘Man In The Green Shirt’ 222
5.6 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Man In The Green Shirt’ 223
5.7 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Badia’ 226
5.8 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Black Market’ 229
6.1 Table showing the main structural framework of ‘Birdland’ 238
6.2 Table showing the musical textures used in ‘Birdland’ 240
6.3 Table showing the G related tonalities of ‘Birdland’ 243
v

6.4 Table showing the principal melodies of ‘Birdland’ 244
6.5 Table showing the four pedal points of ‘Birdland’ 248
6.6 Josef Zawinul’s sketch of ‘Birdland’ 256
6.7 Transcription of ‘Birdland’ 257
vi

List of tracks on Zawinul Project CDs

1. Zawinul Project CD I
o Track 1. ‘Bernie’s Tune’ arranged by Gerry Mulligan
o Track 2. ‘The Preacher’ by Horace Silver
o Track 3. ‘So What’ by Miles Davis
o Track 4. ‘Pithecanthropus Erectus’ by Charles Mingus
o Track 5. Part One of ‘Free Jazz’ by Ornette Coleman
o Track 6. ‘It’s About That Time’ by Miles Davis
o Track 7. ‘Baptismal’ by William S. Fischer
o Track 8. ‘The Soul of a Village – Part II’ by William S. Fischer

2. Zawinul Project CD II
o Track 1. ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 2. ‘In A Silent Way’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 3. ‘Orange Lady’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 4. ‘Unknown Soldier’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 5. ‘Boogie Woogie Waltz’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 6. ‘Nubian Sundance’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 7. ‘Man In The Green Shirt’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 8. ‘Badia’ by Josef Zawinul
vii

3. Zawinul Project CD III
o Track 1. ‘Black Market’ by Josef Zawinul
o Track 2. ‘Birdland’ by Josef Zawinul
viii

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