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ZAWINUL, JOSEF “JOE” (1932–2007). Zawinul was originally from Austria and studied Classical piano during World War II at the Vienna Conservatory. After spending several years playing jazz in Austria, Zawinul applied for and was awarded a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1959. After moving to the United States, Zawinul was at Berklee for a few weeks before he was called to perform in several local groups and was introduced to Maynard Ferguson. Ferguson hired him right away, and Zawinul toured with Ferguson for almost eight months before being called to tour with Dinah Washington. While Zawinul appreciated the work, his true passion was not to be playing with a vocalist. In 1961, when he was called to tour with Cannonball Adderley’s group, he excitedly accepted the position. Zawinul remained with Adderley until the late 1960s and was recorded both as a performer and composer on many of Adderley’s albums. Zawinul’s biggest jazz hit, “Mercy Mercy Mercy,” was recorded while touring with Adderley.

Miles Davis hired Zawinul to record and compose for several recording sessions that Davis had planned. Bitches Brew (1969, Columbia); Big Fun (1972, Columbia); and Live-Evil (1970, Columbia) were the results of these recording sessions. The sessions were especially important because Zawinul had begun experimenting with electronic instruments and synthesizers, both of which would be an important part of his repertoire for the remainder of his career. Wayne Shorter was also a member of these recording sessions. Shorter left the Davis group shortly after these recordings and assembled a new supergroup, Weather Report, and asked Zawinul to be a member. Weather Report’s first album was well received, and the group was quick to pioneer the Fusion movement. The group would remain together for 15 years and record 15 albums.

In 1988, Zawinul formed the Zawinul Syndicate, a trio that specialized in playing Jazz Fusion. Zawinul also began a career as a producer working with Malian singer Salif Keita on the album Amen (1991, Mango), and also as a composer, writing works including the symphony “Stories of the Danube” for the 1993 Bruckner Festival. Zawinul continued to perform with the syndicate through the mid-2000s in addition to performing Weather Report works and composing. Zawinul died due to terminal cancer in 2007.

ZENTNER, SIMON H. “SI” (1917–2000). Zentner became a trombonist at an early age and picked up the instrument rather quickly. He was awarded a college scholarship but decided to pursue performing professionally. He performed in several bands during the 1940s including the large groups of Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, and Harry James before deciding to become a full-time studio musician in 1949. His passion for big band music led him to leave the studio in 1955 and resume freelancing with big bands until he formed his own band in 1959. Zenter was fortunate to maintain his band with a lot of success and even had a song penned by Bob Florence, “Up a Lazy River,” make it onto the Top 40 Billboard charts. In 1965, the band was disbanded, and Zentner played as part of a house band backing up the singer Mel Tormé. Zentner remained in Las Vegas for the remainder of his life, serving as musical director for several shows and performing in big bands whenever he could. Zentner died due to complications of leukemia in 2000 but performed up until 1999.

ZONOPHONE. A record label established by Frank Seamon and purchased by Victor Records in the early 1900s. The label was rarely used in the United States before 1910 and became almost exclusively British after 1910. Zonophone was considered to be the cheaper label associated with Gramophone records and was used to issue recordings of 1920s British dance music in addition to reissuing American recordings it had acquired before 1910. Zonophone was acquired by Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI) and merged with the record label Regal to form the label Regal-Zonophone.