Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy is a jazz song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Cannonball Adderley and his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - Live at 'The Club. The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit. The original version was performed by: Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone), Nat Adderley (cornet), Joe Zawinul (electric piano), Victor Gaskin (bass) and Roy McCurdy (drums). The track is performed by Zawinul on a Wurlitzer electric piano. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy has been re-recorded numerous times, most notably by The Buckinghams in August 1967, who added lyrics to the tune. Josef Erich Zawinul (1932–2007) was an Austrian jazz composer and keyboard player that grew up in Vienna. He first came to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and went on to play with Miles Davis, becoming one of the creators of jazz fusion, a new musical genre that combined jazz with rock. He co-founded the group Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, where he pioneered the use of electric piano and synthesizer. At an early age, the accordion was his first instrument, he later went on to study the clarinet, violin and piano at the Vienna Konservatorium. In 1959 he moved to the USA to attend Berklee College of Music, but a week later he received a job offer from Maynard Ferguson, so he left college and went on tour. He spent most of the 1960s with Cannonball Adderley, during which time he wrote Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Walk Tall, and Country Preacher. At the end of the decade he recorded with Miles Davis on “In a Silent Way” as Davis was starting to experiment with jazz fusion. Weather Report’s biggest commercial success came from Birdland on their 1977 album Heavy Weather and is one of the most recognisable jazz pieces of the 1970s. Zawinul also wrote a symphony, called Stories of the Danube, which was commissioned by the Brucknerhaus for the opening of the 1993 Bruckner Festival in Linz.

Jock McKenzie studied trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester where he was a joint recipient of the college’s concerto prize. Since 1987 Jock has based his musical career in Hampshire, working as a freelance trumpeter, conductor, composer, arranger and brass teacher. Currently Jock holds the position of Professional Leader (Brass) for Hampshire Music Service and is the Director of the Hampshire County Youth Band. It is the mix of all of these musical roles that has led to Jock establishing a reputation as a leading creator of brass music resources, particularly in the field of education and brass ensemble music. In 2020 Jock was awarded an “Honorary Fellowship of the University of Winchester” for services to music education. Currently Jock is working part-time for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; providing tuition for their Brass Teaching Module. In 2024 Jock was given the award for “Services to Youth” by Brass Bands England.