Hi folks,

I had the pleasure of seeing Zawinul in Athins Mons, a tiny city about
30 minutes outside Paris, a couple of days ago. The line-up included
Jorge Bezerra - Percussion/Vocal, Alegre Correa - Guitar, Linley Mathe -
Bass,
Nathaniel Townsley - Drums, and Sabine Kabongo - Vocals.

I've seen the band a few dozen times with Manolo, so I admit it was
very strange to see the group with Bezerra initially. However, as the
show progressed I realized that he definitely has what it takes and
contributed brilliantly to the group. He's a lot younger than Manolo
and his energy/enthusiasm/stage presence were very impressive.
Alegre Correa was another interesting change. At first, I was surprised
at how radically different his guitar approach was to previous Zawinul
guitarists. He seems to be steeped in more traditional jazz guitar than
fusion (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), but he locked into
the rhythmic groove Zawinul demands of all his axemen. His solos
however seemed almost Django Reinhardt-esque at times. Again,
a very interesting change and an enjoyable one (though I still miss
Gary Poulson).

Linley has evolved into a total monster. I think he's a major find
for Zawinul. Each time I see him, he's taken his game up another
notch. I'd love to see what he'd come up with on his own. Sabine and
Nathaniel were their usual superlative selves.

I was initially concerned about the radical personnel shifts in the
group, but yet again, Joe has put together a really excellent group.
Don't miss an opportunity to catch it....

FYI, here's a recent article on Manolo:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXV/is_9_14/ai_n8569127

Cheers