Details continue to leak out regarding Joe Zawinul’s concert plans. As of now Zawinul will have two European tours, one this spring and summer, and another one in the fall. At this time there are no plans for North America.

In terms of specific concerts, in addition to the March 31 Cape Town and April 24 MDR concerts previously reported, we know that Zawinul is scheduled to perform with Maria João in Portugal on June 29, at the Coliseu do Porto. (The concert is billed as “Maria João and the Joe Zawinul Quartet”.) And Peter Basler, one of Zawinul’s European booking agents, reported on the Zawinul Fans Mailing List that Zawinul will perform in Cork, Ireland on October 27.

As metioned in a previous item, Etienne M’Bappe will take over the electric bass duties. What of Victor Bailey? Victor is touring Europe this summer with his own group. A friend at az-iz tells me that “Victor is still with the Syndicate. He will juggle between His own band and the Syndicate. As of now the plan is this summer he will be with his band and then in the fall with the Syndicate.” However, Peter Basler indicates that Bailey is not part of the fall plans. So I guess we’ll just have to see…