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friday

Yacht Rock Episode 11 Plot Synopsis: The year is 1977. The music industry has been thrown into turmoil by the arrival of a dark force from across the Atlantic—the barbarian Sex Pistols and their punk rock. In a panic, record company moguls call together the greatest musical minds of their generation and charge them with a single task: to create music so smooth that it will restore balance to the airwaves and equilibrium to the universe. Chuck Mangione is the first to respond, releasing Feels So Good. But before he can say “Maui-Waui,” Sid Vicious appears and crushes his flugelhorn with one stomp from his filthy jackboot. Ex–Miles Davis sideman Joe Zawinul steps up to the plate. “Look, I have this new instrument, it’s called a synthesizer. I think we can use it to…get smooth,” the maestro confides to sax-man Wayne Shorter. Zawinul nervously dials the controls and lays his fingers on the keys, tapping out the first few notes of “Birdland.” Sid Vicious immediately perishes of a heroin overdose. A movement is born. The Zawinul Syndicate performs at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $44. (202) 337-4141. (Aaron Leitko)