Keyboardist/composer/bandleader Joe Zawinul, who rose to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion, died on Tuesday, September 11, 2007, of Merkel cell carcinoma. He was 75. Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month.

Zawinul won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Miles Davis albums such as In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and is credited with bringing the electric piano and synthesizer into the jazz mainstream.

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 Weather Report’s breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987. This past spring, he toured Europe to mark the 20th anniversary of the Zawinul Syndicate.

Zawinul’s last album, Brown Street, was released by Heads Up International on February 27, 2007. The two-disc set captured Zawinul, a few of his longtime friends and collaborators, and the 15-piece WDR Big Band in an electrifying live performance. Recorded in October 2005 at Zawinul’s own Birdland Club in Vienna, Brown Street showcased Zawinul, Syndicate drummer Nathaniel Townsley, Weather Report and Syndicate bassist Victor Bailey and Weather Report drummer/percussionist Alex Acuna in expanded, orchestral renditions of some of the finest Zawinul compositions from the highly influential Weather Report oeuvre.

“Joe Zawinul was a true jazz pioneer,” says Dave Love, President of Heads Up. “He was an artist who was always looking forward. He was respected for his innovative style, and the jazz fusion community will be indebted to him forever for his contributions.”

Merkel cell carcinoma, also called neuroendocrine cancer of the skin, is a rare disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found on or just beneath the skin and in hair follicles. Merkel cell carcinoma usually appears as firm, painless, shiny lumps of skin. These lumps or tumors can be red, pink, or blue in color and vary in size from less than a quarter of an inch to more than two inches. Merkel cell carcinoma is usually found on the sun-exposed areas of the head, neck, arms, and legs.

Zawinul’s wife, Maxine, had died earlier this year. He is survived by his sons Eric, Ivan and Anthony.