Artist / Title: The Zawinul Syndicate
Date August 31, 1997
Location: Yoshi's, Oakland, California
Seats: Table-36 (Dead Center)
Deck: Panasonic SV-255 (DAT)
Mics: Neumann KM-140
Source: DAT: Master Tape, 2-Mic Stereo
Rating: A+
Length: 86 Minutes
44.1Khz, 16-bit (CD) (FLAC)
CD Jewel Case artwork
Seating Chart
Joe Zawinul Autograph from the show
Musicians: Josef Zawinul Keyboards, Vocals
Gary Poulson Guitar
Victor Bailey Bass Guitar, Vocals
Paco Sery Drums, Kalimba, Vocals
Manolo Badrena Percussion, Vocals
CD1:
01 - Ochy - Bala / Pazyryk
02 - South Africa / Introduction to a Mighty Theme
03 - Waraya
04 - Patriots
05 - Sunday Morning - Sunday Evening
06 - Indiscretions
CD2:
01 - Asi Trabajamos
02 - Bimoya
03 - Band Introductions
04 - Zansa II
05 - Carnavalito
About About this recording
Back when I introduced my Weather Report, 1982-06-01 recording, I said that it was probably the best Weather Report recording and concert you had never heard. I will say the same about this one. This could be the best Zawinul Syndicate recording you've never heard, and after hearing it...might still be the best. This is a recording and a show where every star in the universe aligned to make an almost flawless recording of a memorable event. But it almost never happened...
The Zawinul Syndicate was playing Yoshi's Oakland for about five straight days. On the very first night, sometime around August 25th, a guitar player friend and I went to the concert (he's Pete Escoveto's guitar player). We arrived at the show a few hours early to eat dinner and get good seats (general seating). We met the guitarist, Gary Poulson and talked to him for a while. Gary was having a tough time with Joe and the two had apparently been arguing. Gary described how difficult it was to work for Joe, and had some very sharp words to say about it. The tension was palpable.
On stage that night, things seemed a bit off. The tension between Joe and Gary seemed to roll onto a bad vibe on the stage. Joe was giving Gary nasty looks, occasionally yelling across stage in anger, and the whole thing seemed like a mess. The music was great, but the tension was so high that it really detracted from the show. I was glad I didn't record this show. But I also had tickets for closing night, August 31st. I was hoping it would be a better show.
August 31st was a night where every star in the universe aligned to make the perfect recording of the perfect performance. Instead of being mediocre, this show absolutely burned the house down. The playing was so good, so tight, and the vibe was so good this night. Whatever tension existed a few nights earlier was clearly gone by August 31st. The band delivered an incredible performance, and the recording came out great. The audience was perfectly behaved, and so quiet that you couldn't hear a single word or comment even during the quietest musical passage.
The recording itself is a solid A+ rating. To me, that means it sounds better than a commercial product. This recording is crystal clear, and has a full 60+ decibels of dynamic range. No equalization or compression was added. I only made sonic edits to remove microphone noise, coughs, and sneezes during the most delicate moments. Otherwise, this recording is exactly what I captured the night of the show.
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