Joe Zawinul, 75, keyboardist and force behind jazz fusion

VIENNA, Austria - Joe Zawinul, 75, who soared to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion and performed and recorded with Miles Davis, died Tuesday at Vienna's Wilhelmina Clinic.

His manager, Risa Zincke, said Mr. Zawinul, who had been hospitalized since last month, suffered from a rare form of skin cancer.

Mr. Zawinul won widespread acclaim for his keyboard work on chart-topping Davis albums such as In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew.

In 1970, he founded the band Weather Report and produced a series of progressive albums, including I Sing the Body Electric and the Grammy-winning live recording 8:30.

Weather Report enjoyed its biggest commercial success with 1977's Heavy Weather, which featured Mr. Zawinul's tune "Birdland," which became one of the most recognizable jazz hits of the '70s after it was also recorded by Maynard Ferguson and the Manhattan Transfer.

After the band's breakup, he founded the Zawinul Syndicate in 1987.

Mr. Zawinul, who was born in Vienna and moved to the United States in 1959, is credited with bringing the electric piano and synthesizer into the jazz mainstream.

Last spring, he toured Europe to mark the 20th anniversary of the Zawinul Syndicate.

He sought medical attention when the tour ended, the Viennese Hospital Association said in a statement last month.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer cited the loss of a "music ambassador" cherished around the world. "As a person and through his music, Joe Zawinul will remain unforgettable for us all," Fischer said in a statement.

Mr. Zawinul played with Maynard Ferguson and Dinah Washington before joining saxophone great Cannonball Adderley in 1961 for nine years. With Adderley, he wrote several important songs, among them the funky hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy."

He moved on to a brief but crucial collaboration with Davis, who was moving into the electric arena. It was Mr. Zawinul's tune "In a Silent Way" that was the title track of Davis' first electric foray.

Funeral plans were not released, but Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl told reporters the musician would be given an honorary grave in the capital.

Mr. Zawinul's wife, Maxine, died earlier this year. He is survived by three sons.