Joe Zawinul

When the coming out of the one-oscillator Sputink was anounced it was the first time Joe Zawinul ever heard about a synthesizer. In 1971 Roger Powell who was with ARP instruments invited him to try the new ARP 2600. In Joe's own words: "I was knocked out. Arps had patchcords, too, but with a keyboard, and with this keyboard I did some memorable recordings, like ‘Black Market.’ The Arp got some nice sounds. Some very human sounds" - The Wire, September 11, 2007 by Howard Mandel

Back in 1975 Joe explained in an interview why he preferred the 2600 monophonic synth to the Minimoog: "I like the Arp because of what I can do with it. I hear the Moog, it's immediately the Moog. With the Arp I can do things that will fool the heck out of you. I can hide between voices, I can do all kinds of things. To me it's a much more natural sound. The variety of colors is greater, too. Woodwind sounds... if you have the right hearing, you can really get it. But it takes time and work..."

During the Weather Report era he toured the world with his two 2600s which used extensively on Mysterious Traveller, Tale Spinnin', Black Market and Heavy Weather. “I have my own ‘magic book’ of sounds I’ve created on the 2600. Melody lines from 'Black Market', 'Scarlet Woman', lots of music and sound effects from other albums I’ve done. I tape some nice stuff just playing around. With the 2600, you never have to listen to the same sound twice, if you don’t want to.” - ARP's advertising literature

This one-of-a-kind instrument was custom made by Korg in the mid-1980s at the request of Zawinul. It is not a synthesizer, as it has no capabilities to produce sound of its own. Rather, it is a MIDI controller consisting of a melodica mouthpiece for breath control, and a set of accordion-like buttons. A picture of Zawinul playing the Pepe appears in the April 1988 issue of downbeat. In the accompanying article, Zawinul says, “Originally, I was an accordion player and it was always my dream to have an instrument like the accordion. It looks like a bassoon mouthpiece, but I used a mouthpiece from a Melodica. On the right hand side, it’s an accordion with buttons. It’s very difficult to learn the accordion with two notes on each button, but with Pepe’s six notes, it becomes a real head trip.”

Here's a video of Joe playing the "Pépe"

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

The Nord Lead 1 can be seen 8:30-8:35 into this video Live from Lugano 2007

The Korg Prophecy can be seen 0:00 into this video Zawinul Syndicate live from Lugano 2007

You can see Zawinul playing it many times thorugh this master-piece live concert (a duet, with Trilok Gurtu) ...Like in 02:27''; 10:59'''; the full keyboard appears clearly in minute 12;00->05''; 13:10''; 13:17'', etc.... The Korg 707 is "small in size, simple in its design and offers fairly easy editing. It is a digital FM type synthesizer which makes some very thin and digital but sometimes interesting sounds. The synth engine is similar to the DS-8 without on-board effects." [From: http://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/korg_707.php]

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

"Zawinul did not stop at the Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos he used in the 1960s. By the late 1960s he was extending his sonic palette with effects like phase shifters, Echoplexes, wah-wahs and ring modulators, and when synthesizers came on the market he was among the first to buy one (the EMS Putney). The list of synthesizers he has used since then — among them the ARP 2600, Rhodes Chroma, Oberheim Four-voice and Eight-voice, ARP Quadra, Sequential Prophet 5 and Prophet T8, Korg Trident, Oberheim Xpander, Korg VC10 vocoder, Emu Emulator, Casio CZ101, Korg DW8000, DSS1, DSM1 and M1 — reads like a synth museum's treasure list."

A Presonus ACP88 can be seen in a photo of Zawinul's equipment.

A Roland VP-9000 can be seen in a photo of Zawinul's equipment.

According to SoundOnSound article/interview, Joe Zawinul had a Korg M1R Ex module in his studio rack. It can be seen on the photo of the whole rack units in the Music Room section.

Some Music Room outboard (from left, top to bottom): PreSonus ACP88 dynamics, TC Electronic M*One, Korg A1 and Ensoniq DP4+ effects, Roland VP9000 Variphrase processor; patchbays, M-Audio Tampa preamps (x2), Korg Triton Rack sound module, Emu ESI4000 sampler, Korg M1R Ex and M3R sound modules.

According to SoundOnSound article/interview, Joe Zawinul had a Korg Triton Rack module in his studio rack. It can be seen on the picture of the whole rack units in the Music Room section, and it's mentioned in the caption.

Some Music Room outboard (from left, top to bottom): PreSonus ACP88 dynamics, TC Electronic M*One, Korg A1 and Ensoniq DP4+ effects, Roland VP9000 Variphrase processor; patchbays, M-Audio Tampa preamps (x2), Korg Triton Rack sound module, Emu ESI4000 sampler, Korg M1R Ex and M3R sound modules.

Joe Zawinul also mentions the Korg Triton Rack module as part of his live rig, in "The Mastermind" section.

Zawinul's live rig is relatively modest in size: "For live I'm using a couple of rackmounted modules like the Triton, which is really nice, and the Wavestation and M1/R [Ex] rack units. I only have four actual keyboards on stage, the Prophecy, the M1, the Triton keyboard and the Sequential Circuits T8. [...]"

According to SoundOnSound article/interview, Joe Zawinul had a Korg M3R module in his studio rack. It can be seen on the picture of the whole rack units in the Music Room section, and it's mentioned in the caption.

Some Music Room outboard (from left, top to bottom): PreSonus ACP88 dynamics, TC Electronic M*One, Korg A1 and Ensoniq DP4+ effects, Roland VP9000 Variphrase processor; patchbays, M-Audio Tampa preamps (x2), Korg Triton Rack sound module, Emu ESI4000 sampler, Korg M1R Ex and M3R sound modules.

According to SoundOnSound article/interview, Joe Zawinul had a Korg Triton workstation in his keyboard live rig and in studio. It can be seen on the picture of his keyboard rig in the Accordions In The Forest section, and it's mentioned in the caption.

Joe Zawinul's keyboard rig, set up as for live use: from left, Korg M1 workstation, Clavia Nord Lead synth (underneath M1); Korg Prophecy monosynth and Sequential Circuits Prophet T8 synth; Korg Triton workstation.

The same article also mentions the Korg Triton as part of the studio gear, in "Keeping It In The Family" section, quoting his son Ivan.

The Music Room contains dozens of sound sources, both rackmounted and as keyboards. Ivan Zawinul runs through just a few of them: "Joe's live rig normally stands in the studio room — Prophet T8, Korg Prophecy, Triton, M1, M1R [Ex], Clavia Nord Lead, Roland VP9000, and the Korg Pepe. In the studio he also often uses an 01/W keyboard, Prophet 5, Rhodes Chroma Polaris and Chroma Expander, Overheim Xpander, Korg MS2000, ARP Quadra and 2600. All keyboards, apart from the ARP 2600, are MIDI-fied. The drum machines we use are the Oberheim DX, Alesis HR16, Korg DDD1, Korg Electribe, Korg AR1, and an ARP eight-step sequencer. As far as samplers are concerned, we originally began with the Korg DSS1, and then we had a Korg DSM1, followed by the Ensoniq ASR10, and eventually an Emu ESI4000. Today we use the Triton and the Roland VP9000. We have a Triton for the studio and for live; we have SCSI and hard drives to interchange and swap data. We have an extensive collection of samples, collected during years of travelling and often programmed and layered at home."