The Zawinul Syndicate was a jazz fusion band formed by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul in 1988. The band evolved out of Zawinul's former band Weather Report.^[1] The band adhered to Zawinul's roots in jazz. Their style could be described as a combination of unusual grooves, driving and swinging rhythms and many borrowings from different music cultures.

Zawinul himself stated that he gave the band its name due to a syndicate bearing more resemblance to a family than "just" a band.^[2]

After the death of Zawinul in 2007, several members of The Zawinul Syndicate decided to reform and perform Zawinul's music live under the shortened name The Syndicate.^[3]

Many different musicians have been part of Zawinul's Syndicate. For example:

Drummers

• Jonathan "Hollywood" Joseph
• Cornell Rochester
• Rodney Holmes
• Paco Séry
• Mike Baker
• Nathaniel Townsley
• Karim Ziad
• Stéphane Galland
• Kirk Covington

Percussionists

• Manolo Badrena
• Arto Tunçboyacıan
• Robert Thomas Jr.
• Aziz Sahmaoui
• Jorge Bezerra Jr.
• Bill Summers
• Lynne Fiddmont
• Abdou M' Boup

Bassists

• Gerald Veasley
• Matthew Garrison
• Richard Bona
• Victor Bailey
• Linley Marthe
• Étienne M’Bappé

Guitarists

• Scott Henderson
• Randy Bernsen
• Gary Poulson
• Fareed Haque
• Alegre Corrêa
• Amit Chatterjee

Singers

• Maria João
• Sabine Kabongo
• Carl Anderson
• Leata Galloway
• Richard Page

The last concert of the band took place on 3 August 2007 in Güssing, Austria, six weeks before Zawinul's death.

Discography per Allmusic.^[4]

• The Immigrants (CBS, 1988)
• Black Water (CBS, 1989)
• Lost Tribes (Columbia, 1992)
• World Tour - live (esc records 1998)
• Vienna Nights – Live At Joe Zawinul's Birdland (BHM, 2005)
• 75th (BHM, 2008)
• Hollywood Bowl 1993 (Hi Hat, 2016