VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Jazz legend Joe Zawinul, who soared to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion and performed and recorded with Miles Davis, died early Tuesday, a hospital official said. He was 75.

Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month. A spokeswoman for Vienna's Wilhelmina Clinic confirmed his death without giving details.

Zawinul won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Davis albums such as In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and was a leading force behind the so-called “Electric Jazz” movement.

In 1970, Zawinul founded the band Weather Report and produced a series of albums including Heavy Weather, Black Market and I Sing the Body Electric. After that band's breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987. Zawinul is credited with bringing the electric piano and synthesizer into the jazz mainstream.

This past spring, he toured Europe to mark the 20th anniversary of the Zawinul Syndicate. He sought medical attention when the tour ended, the Viennese Hospital Association said in a statement last month.

Damn, this totally sucks. Apparently, he checked into the hospital after his last concert in Hungary. He had to know he had it. If so, he died doing what he's always done, making great music. Now I'll go crying somewhere.



Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter
2007.08.03 - Veszprem, Hungary