Jazz Articles about Bill Bruford

Bill Bruford / Tim Garland: Earthworks Underground Orchestra

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
December 4, 2006

Bill Bruford forged his reputation as a relentless pioneer striving to advance the art of percussion. Using odd times and improvisation in rock or exploring with electronic drums, he sought to challenge both his self-expression and the drummer's role. Since 1986, his primary outlet as a composer and bandleader has been Earthworks. What began as an electro-acoustic quartet has become strictly acoustic, bringing him back to his early love: jazz. To celebrate this twenty-year anniversary, Bruford and ...

Bruford: Rock Goes to College

by John Kelman
October 18, 2006

Bruford Rock Goes to College Winterfold Records 2006 Charting the career of drummer Bill Bruford, one has to sometimes wonder exactly what was he thinking? On the cusp of major commercial success on the heels of Close to the Edge (Atlantic, 1972), Bruford chose to leave Yes to join King Crimson--a band with no small cachet, but at the same time never possessing the commercial appeal of Yes in terms of record sales. But ...

The Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974)

by John Kelman
October 12, 2006

Despite bassist/stick player Tony Levin stepping in to replace departing touch guitarist Trey Gunn, the incarnation of King Crimson that released The ConstruKction Of Light (Virgin, 2000) and considerably stronger The Power To Believe (Sanctuary, 2003) seems to be, at the very least, on hiatus. While Crimson's only remaining original member, guitarist Robert Fripp, has reconvened with 26-year Crimson veteran guitarist/drummer Adrian Belew for ProjKct Six, the future of Crimson proper is uncertain. This is, consequently, as ...

Bill Bruford / Tim Garland: Earthworks Underground Orchestra

by John Kelman
January 26, 2006

Although jazz has left behind its America-centricity and become a more international language, a mysterious chasm still exists between the American and UK jazz scenes. For every artist like Kenny Wheeler who has achieved American recognition, a dozen others have not. But with Earthworks Underground Orchestra, drummer Bill Bruford and woodwind multi-instrumentalist Tim Garland narrow the gap, proving that swing is more than a defined rhythm--it's a feel, with an expanding definition.

Bruford's 1980s electro-acoustic Earthworks quartet began a gradual ...

The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Volume Two: 1981-2003

by John Kelman
November 30, 2005

While Robert Fripp—erstwhile leader and only remaining member of the group that literally shook the foundations of the rock world in 1969 with In the Court of the Crimson King (Discipline Global Mobile)— rankles at those who call the continually evolving band King Crimson a progressive rock band, what band better fits the term progressive? Merriam-Webster defines the word progressive as: “making use of or interested in new ideas, findings, or opportunities," and “moving forward or onward." ...

Bill Bruford: The Bruford Tapes & Gradually Going Tornado

by John Kelman
October 14, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2Drummer Bill Bruford may be best-known to some as the meticulous yet ever-grooving drummer behind classic Yes and a number of King Crimson line-ups, but it's been within his own body of work as a leader where he's shown the most growth. More than just a timekeeper with an ability to subdivide complex meters in ways that manage to feel remarkably natural; his own career has exhibited a single-mindedness, a sense of purpose that ...

Bill Bruford's Earthworks: All Heaven Broke Loose / Stamping Ground

by John Kelman
October 9, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2As described in an earlier review of his first round of Earthworks reissues, drummer Bill Bruford considers 1987 as something of a fence constructed in his career—the year where he, at least from the perspective of his own work, stopped being considered a rock drummer, becoming a jazz drummer. Walking away from “all guitars and electric" towards “all saxophones and acoustic," it's a distinction made only by people who need to stylistically pigeonhole an ...