On Within A Song , John Abercrombie pays tribute to formative influences, to the recordings and the musicians that shaped his early listening and his future directions. The period addressed is the 1960s, with specific reference to key recordings by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Bill Evans. This new album, revisiting some classics of the era, is effectively a modern jazz primer, but it s also much more. Manfred Eicher and I had been talking for a while about doing an album that might pay homage to a particular jazz artist or composer. But in the end I preferred to look at the era when my own musical tastes were shaped. The recordings that I was listening to back then were mostly post-bebop jazz albums, usually by artists who were stretching the forms, in their various ways. Guitarist Abercrombie and tenorist Joe Lovano convey their empathy with the original protagonists, while also bringing much of their own creativity into service. There is superlative playing from both of them, with encouragement and alert support from Joey Baron and Drew Gress, also vital contributors to the project. The album opens with Where are You , from Rollins The Bridge , and from the same source comes Without A Song , the latter now enveloped in John s title track. Hearing Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall on The Bridge was an epiphany for me, Abercrombie says. They just turned my head around. When I heard them playing Without a Song ", I thought that s the best thing I ve ever heard! So for this new album I wrote songs based upon it. Jim Hall has long been one of John s primary influences, admired for musicality and harmonic sophistication beyond the creation of great solos, and there are several Hall references on the disc, in connections to Rollins, Bill Evans and also Art Farmer. I had the opportunity to see Art Farmer s band with Jim Hall, Steve Swallow on acoustic bass and Pete La Roca on drums quite often, and every time I saw them they played Sergio Mahanovich s tune Sometime Ago in such a poignant way. It was so moving. In my mind, at least, it was the theme song of the Art Farmer-Jim Hall Quartet. Hall was also on board for Bill Evans s Interplay album whose title tune is reinterpreted here. I always liked this tune of Bill s. It s a very well-written theme on a minor blues. The construction of the melody, and Bill s use of intervals, is quite unique. Plus, I welcomed the chance to play a blues on an ECM album. Ornette Coleman s Blues Connotation , originally recorded on This Is Our Music , plays more loosely with the language of the blues. I liked the total sound of Ornette s bands with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and either Ed Blackwell or Billy Higgins. It was clear to me that Ornette had a concept and knew what he was doing. I heard his alto playing really as an extension of Charlie Parker. Having recorded Round Trip already in the quartet with Mark Feldman [on The Third Quartet in 2006], I was looking for another piece with that feeling of openness. Blues Connotation has that quality. It s a piece that gives you the option of playing in a blues style or freely, and this time we took a freer path. Abercrombie describes himself as a late bloomer vis-à-vis Kind of Blue : It was released in 59 but I didn t hear it until 1962, when I was a student in Boston. I was completely captured by Miles s playing on that album, the simplicity and beauty of it. Of course, the album is meanwhile so well-known that certain tunes have been practically worn out with repetition. But I thought it was still possible to play something fresh on the chord progressions of Flamenco Sketches and create our own melodies. Coltrane s Crescent , was also
T**8
Too mellow?
If you've been listening to John Abercrombie for a while or have even a smattering of his considerable output over the past many years, especially as a leader, this one may strike you as something different.I heard an anecdote of the brilliant young turk who played for the master and played the score note for note flawlessly. When the master played the same notes the music came to life in a way the young man could not duplicate. When asked the difference the master replied: You don't love every note. On this release John Abercrombie and Joe Lovano do love every note. Nothing is wasted, nothing is forced. It is contemplative. The tempos are all slow to moderate, though never ponderous.The last collaboration of these two that I'm aware of was on JA's 1999 "Open Land" where Lovano put in an appearance with John's working quartet of the time. This outing gives the two a chance to interact directly and share their love and respect for the music.John is still playing guitar with his thumb, a technique he adopted in the mid-90s and has not abandoned since. (And he has never come off sounding like Wes.) That soft attack has possibly never been better balanced than in this interplay with Lovano's rich, lingering sax. But JA's guitar is so soft in the mix, if you didn't know better, at first hearing you might take this for a Joe Lovano release with JA sitting in. It almost sounds like John, so often the leader, wants to take a back seat, let the guitar come to the music from below and let the sax sail over top. Too often in this recording I find myself wondering "Where's John?" He's so low in some parts of the mix Joey Barron's light cymbal taps almost drown him out. That may be the "something different" in this release and I find myself wishing for just a hint of the dynamic of the earlier collaboration.
P**W
Abercrombie's tribute to the jazz in the 60's
This is a bit unusual production from the ECM Records, whose jazz productions are mostly filled with original compositions by the performers. Unlike the others this album by the John Abercrombie Quartet (J.A. on guitar, Joe Lovano on the tenor, Drew Gress on the bass, and Joey Baron on the drums) performs three original compositions, two standards, and four jazzmen originals. The last group are dedicated to: Miles Davis ("Flamenco Sketch"), Bill Evans ("Interplay"), John Coltrane ("Wise One"), and Ornette Coleman ("Blues Connotation"). Noteworthy in these selections is that Joe Henderson's Miles tribute album ("So Far, So Near") in the same quartet format with John Scofield on the guitar played that Miles tune and Kenny Garrett's Coltrane tribute album ("Pursuance") in the same quartet format (with Pat Metheny) on guitar played another selection "Lonnie's Lament" from the Coltrane masterpiece album "Crescent". The album book let has a brief note by John Abercrombie that references to the 60's as an inspiration for this album. The two standard tunes, "Where Are You?" by Jimmie McHugh and "Sometime Ago", by Sergio Mihanovich, open and close the album. The former is known from the Sonny Rollins album "The Bridge" and the latter is known from the "Sergio Mendez '66" album are clear references to the 60s. Of the three compositions by J.A., the title track is a variation of "Without A Song" with the measures 13, 14, and 15 of the A-part of the AABA tune played in 3/4 instead of the 4/4. In the final chorus, at the B-part the tune morphs into the original, which is quite charming.As to the performance, only three tunes are mid- to up-tempo four beats (the title track, the Ornette tune, and an original "Nick Of Time") and so the atmosphere is much suppressed. As a post-Coltrane generation tenor saxophonist, Joe Lovano shows off his amazing deep sound and creative in-and-out phrasing, sprinkled with some freaky tones. J.A. is in the top form as usual and some of his solos sound great. And the support that Drew Gress and Joey Baron provide is excellent. In particular, Baron's deep understanding of music and his ability to adjust his playing are well represented in the amazing brush work in the opening tune and the cymbal in the last tune, which totally blew me off. I think these two tracks along with "Within A Song" and "Wise One" are the best tracks of the album.Since I am not a great fan of the Third Quartet of J.A. with Marc Copland, I highly welcome this new quartet and hope to listen to more performance by this group.
S**N
JA's best in years
I've been listening to John Abercrombie since TIMELESS and can enthusiastically recommend this beautiful release as one of his very best. Groundbreaking? No, but this tribute to his musical heroes is a subtle return to his roots and he has able support from Lovano, Gress & Baron. Mostly covers but ever so tastefully done. I'm very glad John and Manfred Eicher have teamed up once again with a solid outing; easily one of his top 5 quartet releases for ECM.
F**D
Four Stars
Enjoyed Abercrombie's work on this cd. Great group interplay.
J**S
Five Stars
Great record. Beautiful writing and playing. Recorded wonderfully.
J**E
It's a Fantastic CD
Of course I recommend this super CD of John Abercrombie, it's quiet, peaceful and good to rest with the correct music.
A**K
Great Album
Great Album
T**S
A good Cd, for high end system.
It's a good Cd. But not edgy at all, or played dangerous. Everything is played safe, and that is why I give it only 4 stars.Maybe too safe. No wow moments!
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