Classically trained Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul flourished at the forefront of jazz's '60s electrification—and beyond. His composition "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," on which he played electric piano, became a soul-jazz hit for Cannonball Adderley. He wrote and performed the impressionistic "In a Silent Way" with Miles Davis before launching a thousand fusion groups as co-founder of Weather Report (motto: "We never solo, we always solo") and penning infinitely inventive tunes like "Birdland" and "Black Market." Beginning with 1986's Di•a•lects, Zawinul's work reflected his increasing interest in Brazilian, African, and Middle Eastern sounds.