Joe Zawinul and The Zawinul Syndicate - 75 (2008) [2CD]

Keyboardist and composer Joe Zawinul, who succumbed to cancer September 11, 2007 at age 75, left behind a half-century legacy of brilliant music that will last for generations. Born in Austria and originally trained in classical music, Zawinul embraced the jazz tradition at a young age and eventually pushed the art form to unprecedented limits via his two most innovative projects, Weather Report and later the Zawinul Syndicate.

Despite the medical and physical challenges of his final months, Zawinul's regimen of composing and performing never let up. Indeed, one of his final performances proved to be one of his best.

The aptly titled 75 was recorded in concert at a festival date in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 7, 2007 - the last birthday Zawinul would celebrate before his death two months later. The two-disc set is a final snapshot of this brilliant and dedicated road warrior of jazz, surrounded by his revered Zawinul Syndicate, a collection of stellar collaborators hailing from every corner of the globe. In addition to the Switzerland performance, 75 also includes a track recorded on a Hungary stage, where Zawinul is joined by legendary saxophonist and Weather Report co-founder Wayne Shorter.