World Music from the Vienna Woods: Joe Zawinul (1932-2007)

In the run-up to the Zawinul Awards, the exhibition about the life and work of Joe Zawinul will be presented. It offers a first insight into Zawinul's artistic legacy, which will be processed and archived at the Archive of Contemporaries (Donau Uni Krems) from fall 2025. The show presents documents, objects and photos that are closely linked to his biography.
Zawinul's Lower Austrian roots can also be discovered, as he spent a large part of his childhood on his grandfather's farm in Oberkirchbach near St. Andrä/Wördern. In post-war Vienna, he established himself as a driving force in the burgeoning jazz scene and played piano in ensembles such as the Austrian All Stars and in the two-sound band of legendary clarinettist Fatty George. Equipped with a scholarship for the jazz academy at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he took the plunge in 1959 and conquered the jazz stages of America from New York. He made a name for himself in the 1960s as a companion to Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis. In 1971, he mutated into a chief himself: his band project Weather Report became groundbreaking for the fusion of jazz, rock and electronic music. With the Zawinul Syndicate, he subsequently also set milestones in the world music genre.